Para 2.2.1 — NONCONSULT_MANUAL

1. Purpose/ Objective Statement of Services: “Purpose/ Objective Statement of Services” should be prepared by the user. One of the important contents of this statement is short description of service to describe the subject matter of procurement which would be used in all subsequent documents. Bringing out the background and context, this should justify how the proposed procurement of services would fit in with short-term and strategic goals of Procuring Entity. Making such a statement is important to put the need for services in clear perspective. It may seem elementary or academic but is a necessary and critical first step in properly designing a procurement proposal.

2. Service Outcome Statement: Once the “Purpose/ Objective of Services” has been clearly defined, the next step is to formulate a ‘Service Outcome Statement’. This should list out qualitatively and quantitatively the outcomes expected from the Procurement of Services, as well as the expected time-frame and a rough estimate of cost of Procurement of services (including related costs to be incurred by the organisation). At this stage, it is not necessary to go into details of all the activities required to achieve the service outcomes,

2.2.1. Preparing Procurement Proposal/ Concept Paper As a first step towards procurement of services, a formal written brief Proposal and Justification for the Services should be prepared (Please see a suggested format in Annexure 3: Format of Procurement Proposal). It is akin to the Indent for Materials/ Material Requisition in case of Procurement of Goods. The User should prepare in simple and concise language the requirement, purpose/ objectives and the scope/ outcomes of the Services and justify the procurement based on analysis of in-house available capacity/ capability. The eligibility and qualification criteria to be met by the service providers should also be clearly identified at this stage. Justifications for procurement of NC Services as given in para 1.11 may be kept in view. It is the basic document for initiating procurement of services. It is also the document from which the subsequent detailing of Services and Activities Schedule for non-consultancy services is drawn up. A procurement proposal should contain:

2.2.2. In-principle Approval for initiating procurement of Services Based on the justification in the Procurement Proposal, in-principle administrative approval and budgetary sanction for initiating procurement of such services should be accorded by the Competent Authority (CA) as laid down in SoPP. Further stages may be proceeded with only after such approvals.

Chapter 2: Need assessment and Procurement Planning but it should list at least the broad activities to help in putting a rough estimate to the cost of the services. A 'Service Outcome Statement' should provide a concrete basis for subsequently defining the type and amount of work that needs to be done by service provider and the time-frame within which the output needs to be received by the user. The estimated cost is needed to ascertain the level of administrative/ financial approvals necessary as per SoPP.

3. Justification for the Procurement of Services: The Concept Paper/ Procurement proposal should analyse the capabilities/ capacities required to carry out the services. It should also analyse the available in-house capabilities/ capacities and compare these with the ones required for the assignment. Based on this assessment, the Procurement should be justified in the light of para 1.11.