Section 2 – Definitions Page 1 of 5

SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS

For the purpose of this Request for Proposal(s) (RFP),

“Abuse” means theft, waste, or improper use of assets related to ADB-related activity, either
committed intentionally or through reckless disregard.

“ADB” means Asian Development Bank.

“ADB Member” means a member of ADB, as listed on https://www.adb.org/about/members.

“Anticorruption Policy” means ADB's policy requiring Beneficiaries, ADB staff, and all parties
carrying out ADB-financed, -administered, and -supported activities to adhere to the highest ethical
standards. For details, please refer to https://www.adb.org/documents/anticorruption-policy.

“Applicable Policy” means the

(i) Guidelines on the Use of Consultants by ADB and its Borrowers (2013, as amended
from time to time) and its associated project administration instructions; or

(ii) ADB Procurement Policy (2017, as amended from time to time) and its associated staff
instructions

governing the selection and Contract award process. Applicable Policy for technical assistance
(TA) projects is indicated in the Data Sheet. Applicable Policy for staff consulting engagement is
the ADB Procurement Policy.

“Beneficiary” means the government, government agency, or other entity that benefits from the
TA project by ADB. Regional TA (RETA) assignments may have multiple beneficiaries. There is
no beneficiary in staff consultancy assignments.

“Beneficiary’s country” means the country/ies of the receiving Beneficiary/ies in the Data Sheet
and/or TOR. RETA assignments may have multiple beneficiary countries.

“Close relative” means spouse, children (including adopted children), mother, father, brother
(including half-brother), sister (including half-sister), niece, nephew, aunt, or uncle.

“CMS” means the ADB Consultant Management System, which is the online consultant
recruitment and management system used for this RFP process.

“Coercive practice” means impairing or harming, or threatening to impair or harm, directly or

indirectly, any party or the property of the party to influence improperly the actions of a party.

“Collusive practice” means an arrangement between two or more parties designed to achieve
an improper purpose, including influencing improperly the actions of another party.

“Conflict of interest” means any situation in which a party has interests that could improperly
influence that party’s performance of official duties or responsibilities, contractual obligations, or
compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Conflict of interest includes actual, potential, or
perceived conflict of interest.
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“Consultancy inputs” means the time the Consultant shall dedicate to the Services. One person-
month is equivalent to 30 calendar days (for field work) or 22 working days (for home office). For
periods of less than 1 person-month of field work, the calculation basis is 1 calendar day which is
equivalent to 1/30 of a month. For less than 1 person-month of home office work, the calculation
basis is 176 working hours which is equivalent to 1 person-month, or 8 hours, which is equivalent
to 1/22 of a person-month, or as the Contract provides.

“Consultant” means a legally established private or public entity, or a joint venture, invited to
submit a proposal for the Services through this RFP and, if selected, the entity that provides the
Services to ADB.

“Contingency” means a noncompetitive cost estimate made available by ADB to cover currency
fluctuations for contracts not denominated in USD and/or potential changes in the scope of
Services. Contingency is generally not included in lump sum contracts.

“Contract” means the legally binding written agreement signed between ADB and the Consultant
and includes all attached documents and appendixes. The Contract is finalized and signed based
on the standard form of contract included in Section 8 of this RFP.

“Corrupt practice” means the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting, directly or indirectly,
anything of value to influence improperly the actions of another party.

“Counterpart support” means the support specified in the Data Sheet that ADB and/or any
executing agency (EA) or implementing agency (IA) involved in the project commits to provide for
the Consultant free of cost during the Contract period to support the Consultant’s delivery of the
Services. Examples of common counterpart support offers may include access to data, counterpart
staff support, office space, transportation, logistical support, equipment, etc. Agreed counterpart
support and/or other specific assurances are included as an appendix to the Contract.

“Data sheet” means Section 4 of this RFP, which contains specific data and information on the
selection process and Services.

“Day” means calendar day, except where otherwise stated.

“DMC” means an ADB developing member country.

“Evaluation criteria” means the criteria that form the basis for technical evaluation of the
Consultant’s Proposal, as specified in Section 5 of this RFP.

“Executing agency” or “EA” means the agency or authority (usually a government entity) of the
Beneficiary’s country administering the TA. The EA may be ADB for RETA. There is no EA for
staff consultancy assignments.

“Experts” is defined in "Personnel".

“Field work” means work at an assignment location other than the location where the Consultant
holds office or its nominated personnel hold permanent residence, as the case may be.
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“Fraudulent practice” means any act or omission, including a misrepresentation, that knowingly
or recklessly misleads, or attempts to mislead, a party to obtain a financial or other benefit or to
avoid an obligation.

“Full-time employee” means an individual (i) currently employed under a contract or agreement
of employment with the Consultant or any sub-consultant; (ii) entitled to receive regular
remuneration and benefits (e.g., social security, pension, or medical contributions) from the
Consultant or sub-consultant; and (iii) engaged to work for the Consultant or sub-consultant for
the number of hours per day and days per year considered the norm for full-time employees in the
country of employment or in the country in which the person is assigned.

“Home office work” means work at the location where the Consultant holds office or its
nominated personnel hold permanent residence, as the case may be.

“Implementing agency” or “IA” means an agency authorized to implement the project.

“Instructions to Consultants” or “ITC” means Section 3 of this RFP, which provides Consultants
with information needed to prepare their Proposals.

“Integrity violation” means any act, as defined under ADB’s Integrity Principles and Guidelines
(2015, as amended from time to time), that violates ADB’s Anticorruption Policy (1998, as
amended to date), including corrupt, fraudulent, coercive, and collusive practice, abuse, conflict of
interest, obstructive practice, violation of ADB sanctions, retaliation against whistleblowers or
witnesses, and other violations of ADB’s Anticorruption Policy, including failure to adhere to the
highest ethical standards.

“International personnel/expert” means a qualified individual who has had exposure to

international context and best practice. See also “Personnel”.

“Joint venture” or “JV” means an association with or without a legal personality distinct from that
of its members, of more than one entity where one member has the authority to conduct all
business for and on behalf of any and all the members of the JV, and where the members of the
JV are jointly and severally liable to ADB for the performance of the Contract.

“Key expert” means an individual professional provided by the Consultant or any sub-consultant
whose skills, qualifications, knowledge, and experience are critical to the performance of the
Services under the Contract and whose curriculum vitae (CV) is taken into account in the technical
evaluation of the Consultant’s Proposal. See also “Personnel”.

“Lead partner” means the partner designated in a power of attorney to represent the joint venture.

“Letter of Invitation” or “LOI” means Section 1 of this RFP, which is the letter sent by ADB to
Consultants that invites them to respond to the RFP.

“National personnel/expert” means a qualified individual who performs an assignment in his/her

own country or in a country where he/she is a legal resident (with right to work), where the role
does not require international experience. See also "Personnel".

“Non-key expert” means an individual professional provided by the Consultant or any sub-
consultant, who is assigned to perform the Services or any part thereof under the Contract and
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whose CV is not evaluated individually during technical evaluation, although ADB retains the
prerogative to approve or reject the CV based on the proposed approach and methodology. See
also “Personnel”.

“Partner” means any entity that makes up a joint venture and “partners” mean all such entities.

“Personnel” or “nominated personnel” means qualified individuals the Consultant assigns to

perform the Services or any part thereof under the Contract, and collectively comprises Key
Experts and Non-Key Experts, who are each classified as International or National. In this RFP,
"personnel" may be used interchangeably with "experts".

“Proposal” means the Consultant’s proposal forms and required attachments available in and
submitted through CMS in response to this RFP, comprising a proposal submission letter and a
combined technical and financial offer. The CMS proposal forms and required attachments are the
only acceptable format for the Proposal. Any additional material other than the completed forms
and required attachments that is attached into the available attachment fields within CMS shall not
form part of the Proposal but shall be reviewed by the evaluation committee solely for compliance
with the general conditions of proposal submission set out in Section 3 of this RFP. Such additional
material shall otherwise not influence the technical or financial evaluation.

“Provisional sums” means the cost estimates provided by ADB for noncompetitive items
anticipated under the Services, which are indicated in the Data Sheet. These items cover costs
that the Consultant would administer on behalf of ADB, but for which no competitive quote is
expected at the time of RFP and which will not be considered as part of the financial evaluation.
Provisional sums may cover items such as equipment, workshops, seminars and studies, or
similar expenses.

“RFP” means this Request for Proposal(s).

“SCQS” means simplified consultants’ qualifications selection.

“Selection method” means the method used by the RFP for selecting the Consultant, as defined
in the Applicable Policy and as specified in the Data Sheet, for which the method used in this RFP
is simplified consultants’ qualifications selection (SCQS).

“Services” means the work to be performed by the Consultant pursuant to the Contract.

“Staff consultants” means a category of consultant that are recruited by ADB to support
operations and are financed by ADB’s internal administrative budgets, capital expenditures
budget, and other special funds.

“Standard forms for proposal submission” means Section 6 of this RFP, which are the forms
that Consultants are required to complete and submit. All the forms are to be completed directly
within CMS, which is specified in Section 6. The completed forms comprise the Proposal and are
the only acceptable format for the Proposal.

“Sub-consultant” means any person or legally established entity with whom the Consultant
intends to subcontract any part of the Services and for whom the Consultant is fully responsible.
“Sub-consultant entity” refers to a private or public entity intended for subcontracting.
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“Technical assistance” or "TA" means the assistance ADB provides to help DMCs prepare,
finance, and execute development projects and programs, including the formulation of specific
project proposals. ADB may also provide TA to assist DMCs in the coordination of their
development policies and plans with a view to achieving better use of their resources, making their
economies more complementary, and promoting the orderly expansion of their foreign trade, in
particular, intra-regional trade.

“Terms of Reference” or “TOR" means Section 7 of this RFP, which explains the objectives;
scope of work; activities; responsibilities of ADB, the Beneficiary (where applicable), and the
Consultant; and expected Contract results and deliverables.

“Type of proposal” means the proposal forms, evaluation criteria, and proposal preparation
period used by the RFP, as defined in the Applicable Policy, for which the type used by SCQS is
a single-stage proposal (SSP).