RFT – Audit Services At Global Water Partnership

Dear Bidder,

The Global Water Partnership welcomes you to the tender notification of 293220, Audit Services .

The Global Water Partnership (GWP) is an international action network created in 1996 to foster the implementation of integrated water resources management. The GWP Network includes government institutions, non-governmental organisations, academic and research institutions, private companies, and public sector service providers.

Our Vision

A water secure world.

Our Mission

To advance governance and management of water resources for sustainable and equitable development.

Our Work

We prioritise opportunities with key global or regional policy frameworks such as:

• Water solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals
• Climate resilience through water
• Transboundary water cooperation

Our Values

Inclusiveness | Openness | Transparency | Accountability | Respect | Gender sensitivity | Solidarity

The GWP Organisation (GWPO) was established as an intergovernmental organisation in Sweden. It is managed by the Executive Secretary who is accountable to the Steering Committee (SC). The SC oversees policy and approves the work programme and budget. The SC and its Chair are appointed by the Sponsoring Partners, comprising the ten founding members of GWPO.

The GWPO Secretariat manages GWP’s finances and reports on funding received at the global level. It also helps with the exchange of knowledge and resources and ensures communication and coherence across the Network. The GWPO Secretariat is in Stockholm, Sweden. The Secretariat staff is currently 40 members recruited from all parts of the world. The staff is composed of administrative, operational, scientific, and technical positions. More information can be found at www.gwp.org (http://www.gwp.org).

GWPO Finances

GWPO is donor funded through core contributions, 2022 approximately Euro 11m, provided by countries like Sweden, Netherlands, Austria, and others. In addition to core funding, GWPO receives designated funding. Euro 4m is estimated for 2022 as designated funding (project funding), from organisations like the European Commission and United Nations Development Programme.

GWPO provides the GWP Network (13 Regional Water Partnerships and approximately 30 Country Water Partnerships) with core funding in the area of Euro 3.5-4.0m.

Approximately Euro 3m of the core contributions is allocated to staff costs. Remaining funds are used for activities within the so-called thematic areas.

The GWP Network entities are not legally part of GWPO. The Network handles its financial/administrative/HR management either through host institutions or through legally recognized entities. The Network entities are to carry out an annual audit, provided by an external auditor. The external auditors of the 13 Regional Water Partnerships are to be approved by the GWPO auditor. Any Country Water Partnership receiving more than Euro 10k/year has to conduct a local audit.

The Network reports to GWPO through quarterly reports. All accounting material/supporting documents are archived at the Network entities site.

PROCESS:

This is a competitive procurement procedure. In order to participate, you will need to complete the necessary information in the system and submit the requested documents by the tender deadline. We require full completion of the tender documents in order for your bid to be regarded as compliant. Those bids returned incomplete may be rejected.

All bids must be submitted in English and the bidder shall bear all costs incurred in the preparation and submission of tenders.

Returned bids must remain valid for consideration for a minimum period of no less than 90 days from the tender closing deadline. Please note GWP is under no obligation to award a contract or to award it to the lowest bidder.

As part of this tender process, please be advised that GWP may request samples and/or conduct visits to the suppliers’ offices/plants/warehouses/stores etc. to verify any of the information provided in your bid.

A bidder may withdraw its tender bid at any time prior to the closing date if the withdrawal is done in CTM eSourcing system prior to the closing date.

Should you require any further information or clarification on the tender requirements, please contact GWP’s Procurement Unit in writing via the message function in the eSourcing system. All correspondence between potential bidders and GWP should be through the system and note that both GWP and all the bidder’s actions are logged in the system and auditable.

CONTENT OF THE TENDER OFFERS

Bidders should offer services for the complete assignment as defined in the tender questionnaire. Please note that each requirement is to be addressed separately, with clear reference to the requirements.

All costs must be included in the tender offer. The costs are to be specified in Swedish kronor or Euro including VAT if the supplier is required to charge it. GWPO is not exempt from VAT and does not have a VAT number.

PARTICIPATION:

Follow these instructions when your business is participating in one of GWP’s procedures:

1. Log into the system, click accepts. Be aware that when you click accept, you have not submitted a request for prequalification, but have just accepted that you have been given access to the presented material.
2. By accepting you will get access to the relevant material. You can now answer the questions asked and attach the documents as specified in the tender.
3. Please note that the response to participate must be done before the deadline. Otherwise, GWPO will not accept your response bid.

Note: Offers must be submitted through the CTM system, and before the tender deadline expires. It will not be possible to submit tenders after the deadline.

The deadline for requests to participate is 02/05/2022 local time.

GWPO will examine the tenders to determine whether they are complete, the documents have been properly submitted, and the requirements have been addressed. A tender may be rejected if the tender is incomplete, or fails to address the requirements.

Award of the Tender will be based on the following criteria:

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

Bidders must meet the following criteria;

• Bidder’s confirmation of compliance with GWP’s Terms and Conditions and GWP’s Supplier’s Ethical Standards Declaration
• Bidder has a valid business license
• Bidder has valid tax registration

KEY CRITERIA

The following criteria are considered very important in the evaluation of this tender;

• Experience of audit of similar organisations as GWPO (e.g. Intergovernmental organisations, not for profit, networks etc.)
• Price
• Access to global network of associated audit firms
• Approach to the assignment

PREFERRED CRITERIA

The following criteria are considered quite important in the evaluation of this tender;

• Financial stability of the company
• Meeting the technical specifications requested
• Bidder provides satisfactory client references
• Bidder does not rely on the services of a subcontractor

GWPO will enter detailed discussions with the bidder rated as having submitted the most advantageous bid to arrive at a contract for the assignment. If such discussions are unsuccessful, GWPO may invite the second rated bidder for discussions.

Sincerely,

Procurement Unit

Global Water Partnership