e-REOI Expression of Interest Participation Guideline

01How the EOI Stage Works

Before asking for full proposals, the Procuring Entity (the Client) publishes a Request for Expression of Interest with a short Terms of Reference (TOR). Any eligible firm may respond. The Client rates the responses and invites only a short list of the best-qualified firms to submit technical and financial proposals.

1. Find the REOI on e-GP; read the notice, the TOR and the short-listing criteria.
2. Decide whether to apply alone or with partners, and check you have no conflict of interest.
3. Complete the EOI submission form, management and technical competence, experience tables and financial statements on e-GP.
4. e-Sign and submit before the closing date.
5. If short-listed, you receive a Letter of Invitation with the RFP (e-PS5, e-PS6, e-PS7 or e-PS8).

The EOI is not a proposal. Do not send a methodology, CVs or prices unless the notice asks for them. Focus on proving your firm has done this kind of work well.

02Can You Apply?

Before spending time on the EOI, confirm that your firm and any partner:

• Has legal capacity to contract and is registered (the date of incorporation or registration is required).
• Is not debarred or declared ineligible for corrupt, fraudulent, collusive, coercive or obstructive practices.
• Meets any minimum the notice sets, such as years in business, number of similar assignments or turnover.

You must declare that, and cannot apply if:

• Your firm, association or JV was engaged to prepare this TOR.
• Any of your full-time, part-time or contracted experts was engaged to prepare it.

Think ahead: if your experts prepare a TOR for a follow-on assignment as part of this work, your firm and those experts are disqualified from that follow-on assignment. If the follow-on work matters more to you, plan staffing accordingly.

03Alone or as a Joint Venture

The form asks you to choose "EOI as single party" or "EOI as joint venture" and list the JV parties. All answers are then given for the JV as a whole.

• Partner to fill gaps, not to add names. A partner who brings a discipline or similar experience you lack strengthens the EOI; one that duplicates you adds little.
• Explain the association in management question i: why these firms, who leads, each firm's role and how you will coordinate.
• Show each firm's share in the experience tables: JV role (lead or secondary) and the staff-months each partner provided.
• Plan for the RFP: once short-listed, you generally cannot join another short-listed firm, and changing JV composition later needs the Client's approval.

04Firm Details and Declaration

Finally, e-sign the eligibility declaration: you have read the REOI and TOR, and neither your firm nor any of your experts was engaged to prepare the TOR. A false declaration can exclude you and may be treated as a fraudulent practice.

05Management Competence

Six questions. You may type the answer or upload a well-formatted document. Evaluators prefer specific, evidenced answers over general claims.

Weak vs strong Weak: "We are committed to the highest quality standards." Strong: "Every report is reviewed by a senior expert not on the team, using our ISO 9001 review checklist, before it is sent to the Client. Our QA Manager signs off the final version."

06Technical Competence and Experience

Upload a narrative summarizing your firm's experience and professional qualifications relevant to the TOR, then list assignments in two tables. This is usually where the short list is won or lost.

For each assignment you enter:

• Name, contract value (with currency), location and duration in months.
• Client's name, mobile and email: the Client may call them, so use a contact who will answer.
• Number of your professional key staff and total key staff-months.
• Start and completion dates.
• JV role (not applicable, lead or secondary) and the staff-months your JV partners provided.
• A description of the assignment and of the services your own staff actually provided.

• Upload proof for every row: contract, completion certificate or client letter. Each item has its own upload.
• Lead with your strongest, most recent similar assignments; quality beats quantity.
• Claim only your share. If you were the secondary partner, say so and describe your part; overstating is easy to spot from the staff-months.
• Mirror the TOR's words in each description so evaluators can see the match.
• Keep the numbers consistent: duration should agree with the dates, and staff-months with staff numbers.

07Financial Statements and TOR Response

• Form 3, audited financial statement (mandatory): one row per financial year, with the amount in Taka (or Taka equivalent) and in words. Give the years and the figure the notice asks for; upload the audited statements.
• Foreign currency: convert at the Bangladesh Bank rate on the date the REOI was published, not the date of your accounts.
• Form 4, response on TOR (optional): comments against TOR reference numbers. Use it to show understanding: point out a missing task, an unrealistic timeline or a data gap, briefly and constructively.

Example: currency conversion The REOI was published on 1 November when the Bangladesh Bank rate was Tk. 122 per US$. Your turnover of US$ 500,000 is entered as Tk. 6,10,00,000 (Taka six crore ten lakh).

Check that the amount in figures and the amount in words agree. A mismatch invites a clarification at best and a lower score at worst.

08Submitting on e-GP

• Map the Management Competence and Technical Competence documents in the Document Mapping section, along with each assignment's supporting files.
• Use clear, searchable PDFs, virus-free and readable. Name files so evaluators can match them to the rows.
• Write in English, with translations of documents in another language.
• Ask questions through e-GP early; answers and any changes are shared with all firms.
• Upload well before the deadline: large files take time, and late submission is not possible.
• e-Sign and keep the acknowledgement.

09After You Submit

1. The evaluation committee checks eligibility and rates each EOI against the published criteria.
2. You may be asked to clarify. Answer by the deadline, without adding new assignments or changing your answers.
3. The short list is approved and all firms are told the result.
4. Short-listed firms receive a Letter of Invitation and the RFP.

Not short-listed? Ask for the reasons so you can improve next time, and you may complain under the PPA 2006 and PPR 2025. You may still join a short-listed firm as a JV partner or sub-consultant, but only with the Client's approval before the proposal deadline.

10EOI Checklist

• Notice, TOR and short-listing criteria read; "similar assignment" definition understood.
• No involvement in preparing the TOR by the firm or any expert.
• Single or JV chosen; JV parties listed and their roles explained.
• Firm details complete; registration date checked; certificates uploaded; company profile uploaded.
• Eligibility declaration e-signed.
• All six management questions answered specifically, or marked not applicable with a reason.
• Technical narrative uploaded and mapped.
• Similar and other assignments listed with verifiable client contacts and proof for every row.
• Audited financial statements entered for the years asked, converted at the publication-date rate, figures and words agree.
• Optional TOR response added if useful.
• Files uploaded and EOI submitted before the closing date; acknowledgement saved.

11Common Questions