Core Procurement Principles

The Core Procurement Principles are the five foundational values that the Asian Development Bank's 2017 procurement policy places at the centre of every procurement decision on ADB-financed projects: economy, efficiency, fairness, transparency, and integrity.

What are the Core Procurement Principles?

Rather than prescribing rigid methods for every situation, ADB's adb-procurement-policy anchors procurement decisions to these five principles, allowing executing agencies and ADB to choose methods that are genuinely fit for purpose while remaining accountable to a consistent value framework.

Economy means that the process uses public funds wisely and achieves value for money rather than simply the lowest price. Efficiency means the procurement is conducted in a timely manner that does not delay project delivery or burden executing agencies with unnecessary process. Fairness means all eligible suppliers are given equal opportunity to compete and that evaluation criteria are applied consistently. Transparency means that procurement procedures, evaluation criteria, and award decisions are disclosed in a manner that allows participants and observers to understand and verify how decisions were made. Integrity means that the process is free from fraud, corruption, and conflicts of interest, consistent with the requirements of the adb-anticorruption-policy.

Together, the principles form the test against which any proposed procurement method, including the default of open competitive bidding, is assessed. A method that satisfies value for money and the other four principles is permissible; a method that cannot satisfy them requires additional justification.

Why Core Procurement Principles matter for bidders

Suppliers who understand these five principles can anticipate how ADB and executing agencies will justify unusual procurement choices. When a project uses limited competitive bidding or direct contracting instead of open competition, the executing agency must show which principle supports that choice, such as urgency justifying efficiency over broad competition. For firms preparing bids, the transparency and fairness principles mean evaluation criteria must be published in advance and applied as stated, giving bidders a legitimate basis to question deviations. The integrity principle underpins the cross-debarment regime: conduct that violates it can result in debarment enforceable across all five major multilateral banks.

FAQ

Are the five principles ranked in priority order?

No. The principles are co-equal; ADB expects procuring entities to satisfy all five simultaneously, with the method chosen being the one that best balances them given the specific project context.

Can a borrower deviate from open competition if it satisfies the efficiency principle?

Deviations from open competition require ADB's agreement and must be documented in the procurement-plan. Efficiency alone rarely justifies bypassing competition; the justification must address all applicable principles.

Do the Core Procurement Principles apply to consulting services as well as goods and works?

Yes. They apply to all procurement categories under ADB-financed projects, including consulting services selected through methods such as qcbs.