Procurement management for goods, physical services and works
Procurement management for goods, physical services and works
7–17 April 2025
The course is available in English
This professional training course is a Specialized Course part of the Master programme in Public Procurement Management for Sustainable Development. Specialized Courses provide a focused and in-depth look to each of the corresponding subjects of the Master programme, enabling participants to attain a high degree of knowledge and proficiency in an abridged amount of time.
Introduction to the course
Public procurement refers to the process of acquisition by government and public entities of goods, works and services that are necessary to fulfil their mandate in the provision of services and facilities to the general public. Public procurement has, for long, been overshadowed with inefficiency, corruption and disregard of fundamental "value for money" considerations. This has adversely impacted the rate and quality of progress in realising the objectives of national development. Furthermore, now more than ever, sustainable development constitutes an essential element of public procurement, which can be used as tool of strategic regulation to purchase goods, works, services in an efficient and sustainable way. This professional training course aims at helping procurement professionals to gain practical skills to enhance economy, efficiency, transparency and sustainability in the management of public procurement operations of works, goods and services. Throughout the course, you will explore legislative, regulatory, organizational and managerial foundations of public procurement. The insight will be on specific public procurement frameworks and tools, developed by different international organizations and International Financial Institutions (IFIs) - as the World Bank approach on Project Procurement Strategy for Development and the OECD Methodology for Assessing Procurement Systems (MAPS). Further, the course will provide you with comprehensive coverage of the whole spectrum of technical, procedural and business competencies needed for successful implementation of each step of the procurement process (needs identification, market research, procurement planning, competition/bidding procedures, bid evaluation, contract award and contract management) for goods, physical services and works. In this way, you will be able to cope with regulating, executing and monitoring challenges, indispensable for successful implementation.
Who attends this course?
National and international public procurement practitioners; procurement staff of national agencies; project directors and procurement staff of projects funded by international financial institutions (World Bank, Asian, African, Islamic and European development banks, etc.); United Nations and NGO personnel; other officers involved in the financing, control and monitoring of national procurement operations.
Why should I join?
National development projects typically incorporate substantial investments for the acquisition of goods, physical services and works which are often financed by development partners like the Multilateral Development Banks and UN Agencies. Government agencies responsible for the execution of such projects are often constrained by the scarcity of procurement practitioners who are competent in discharging the full range of bidding and contract administration functions in accordance with the guidelines and procedures of the funding agencies and the standards of professional business practice. Such deficiencies in staff capacity can compromise the achievement of the projects’ outcomes as well as undermine the integrity and “value for money” considerations in the procurement process. This professional training course contributes to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of:
- National procurement practitioners
- Procurement staff from International Financial Institutions (IFI)-funded projects as well as UN staff who are involved in planning, executing and monitoring both national and international competitive bidding operations.
What will I be able to do?
- Competently plan and execute the entire procurement process functions for procurement of goods, physical services and works.
- Competently choose the contractual strategy and supervision of contracts performance in accordance with the standards of professional practice.
What are the programme objectives?
At the end of the Programme, you will be able to:
- Efficiently design your contracting strategy and set up and a well informed and balanced procurement plan
- Competently prepare well-balanced procurement documents
- Conduct bid evaluation, contract award and contract administration procedures
- Use proficiently the international commercial trade terms INCOTERMS
- Understand how to improve sustainability, safety and gender aspects for execution of public procurement in conformity with the existing national legislation and international standards.
What does the programme contain?
The course entails two core modules, specifically on procurement of goods and physical services (Week 1) and on procurement of works (Week 2).
The key topics that will be addressed are:
Public Procurement of Goods and Physical Services - Week 1
Goods:
- Setting pre-qualification criteria
- Standard Bidding Documents preparation
- Bidding process
- Evaluation
- Contract Management
- Managing Variations
- Inspection, Acceptance and Warranty
- Case Study: World Bank Project Procurement Strategy for Development
Physical Services:
- Types and nature of services, Employer’s requirements
- Process of selection for procurement of physical services
- Bidding documents preparation
- ToR and evaluation criteria
- Key performance indicators
- Bid evaluation criteria and contract award
- Effective contract management
- Quality assurance systems
- Social, labour and environmental clauses typically used in award procedures
Public procurement of works -Week 2
- Types of Works Contracts
- Contracting strategy and Planning
- Pre and Post Qualification for Works
- Standard Bidding Documents for Works and Bidding Process
- Contract Conditions
- Evaluation Process for Works (One and Two – Envelope)
- Contract Management
Course Methodology
This two-weeks course is delivered face-to-face at the ITCILO Campus in Turin (Italy) by senior procurement advisors and consultants from ITC-ILO. The course is conducted using a highly participative training delivery methodology through a combination of interactive presentations by subject-matter specialists followed by plenary discussions. Individual and group assignments are used extensively in order to demonstrate in practice the proper application of IFIs’ guidelines and to enable measurement of participants’ learning achievement.
Solution and analysis of case studies are emphasised as principal techniques for acquisition of new knowledge and attainment of prescribed exit competencies. Individual guidance is provided, upon request, to help participants to troubleshoot procurement-related problems on their own projects.
What certification will I get as a successful candidate?
You will obtain a certificate of achievement once you have completed successfully the programme requirements.
This certificate will demonstrate that you possess the right knowledge, skills and attitudes to plan and execute the entire contract administration process in the flexible and agile manner.
