Borehole Drilling – Planning, Contracting & Management: A UNICEF Toolkit

Cost Effective Boreholes Partnership of the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) by UNICEF and Skat Foundation

Borehole Drilling – Planning, Contracting & Management: A UNICEF Toolkit has been developed to bring uniformity to practices and to guide UNICEF staff involved in borehole procurement and the supply of equipment, as well as contracting consultancy services for borehole siting and supervision. The document is based on a review of good practices within UNICEF, lessons from previous projects, the principles in the RWSN Code of Practice for Cost Effective Boreholes, the UNICEF Guidance Note on Professional Water Well Drilling.

The Toolkit guides both UNICEF programme and supply staff through the life of a project. It follows a logical sequence on UNICEF procurement practices and provides recommendations on processes (Invitation to Bid [ITB] versus Request for Proposal for Services [RFPS]), evaluation criteria, contract provisions, generic bill of quantities, terms of reference and contractual approaches to seek technical services for siting of boreholes, borehole construction and supervision of construction works.

Details:

The Toolkit comprises five modules which follow the logical sequence of a project's life. Modules are interconnected, and it is advisable to initially read them in order to become familiar with the whole process. Subsequently, depending on the information sought, they can be consulted separately for specific guidance.

Introduction to the UNICEF Toolkit

Module 1 – Principles for Planning, Contracting and the Management of Borehole Drilling Projects –- sets out the responsibilities for key stakeholders and presents eight principles for the planning, contracting and management of borehole drilling projects. These principles are applicable to all borehole projects in which UNICEF is involved, either directly as the contracting Client or in support of the National Government or other agencies. The principles are to be used to develop appropriate contracts for borehole projects and are applicable to all boreholes fitted with handpumps4. The principles aid decision-making and streamline the procurement process.

Module 2 – Procurement Considerations for Borehole Drilling Works – highlights key aspects to be considered in the procurement process for borehole drilling construction. It should help UNICEF programme and supply staff in the country offices to work together in the project planning, procurement and contract management. The module defines the roles and responsibilities of UNICEF Programme and Supply staff at each stage of the procurement process as well as guidance on risk management. It specifically provides key information for the pre-contractual and contracting phases, including advice for pre-qualification of drilling contractors and a list of the key contract documents. Module 2 provides a clear comparison of the two solicitation methods likely to be used in borehole projects – ITB (invitation to bid) and RFPS (request for proposal for services) and advice on which one to use. Guidance on evaluating the technical and financial proposals is given, including suggested criteria for the evaluation assessment. The payment schedule is described in detail.

Module 3 – Borehole Siting and Drilling Supervision Consultancy provides guidance and advice for the preparation of an agreement for borehole siting and supervision consultancy. The module includes a template for the Terms of Reference (ToR), a UNICEF standard structure of Agreement and templates for other key documents that should be annexed to the contract. Note that the Terms of Reference and Agreement assume that UNICEF is the Client, i.e. that borehole construction, as well as the siting and supervision, is directly contracted by the UNICEF Country Office.

Module 4 –Terms of Reference for Borehole Drilling Works and Pump Supply and Installation provides an overview of contract options, and guidance and advice for the preparation of ToRs for (i) borehole drilling works and (ii) Pump Supply and Installation. These two ToRs define the scope of work and set out the responsibilities of the Drilling Contractor, pump supplier and other stakeholders. Each ToR forms the basis for the preparation of the technical and financial proposals by the bidders, and subsequently becomes an integral part of the contract. The module is structured according to the UNICEF standard structure of ToR, in the form of templates that can be modified to suit local requirements.

Module 5 – Request for Proposal for Services (RFPS) provides guidance on how to customize the RFPS in VISION for the procurement of borehole drilling works. With Terms of Reference (ToR) developed, the RFPS process needs to define the framework of the solicitation and future collaboration with the supplier(s). The contract(s) that will be granted to the successful supplier(s) is (are) extracted from VISION.

Although much of the guidance in the toolkit is for boreholes that are procured and contracted by UNICEF directly, the guidance should also be useful for Governments and NGOs. However, Government will have to adhere to public procurement procedures, and other agencies will use other Information Technology (IT) systems for generating key documents.