UNHCR’s policy is to limit purchasing by Partners to only those occasions when the Partner has a clear proven advantage, such as awareness of local conditions or specific technical expertise. Partners wishing to procure on behalf of UNHCR should read the Implementing Partnership Management Guidance Note No. 4: Procurement by Partners under Partnership Agreement (English) first. Provisions and terms for entrusting UNHCR funds to a Partner for procurement are additionally regulated in the applicable Partnership Agreement.
Partners can conduct procurement on behalf of UNHCR under either of the following conditions:
- Strict adherence to the Implementing Partnership Management Guidance Note No. 4: Procurement by Partners under Partnership Agreement
- Pre-qualification on the basis of their own Partner procurement procedures submitted for evaluation by UNHCR
Evaluation of the Partner procurement policy and procedures is based on the principle that a Partner, who is entrusted with funds donated to UNHCR to implement procurement activities, should have comparable policy and procedures to the principles of UNHCR for procurement. Partner procurement policy and procedures must include the following basic elements to be considered for pre-qualification:
- Policy on Local/International Procurement
- Policy statement on competitive bidding
- Procurement responsibilities defined
- Contract types and value-limits defined for high value contracts
- Audit trail (documentation of procurement actions)
These are only minimum requirements. There are several other elements which would be desirable and advantageous to an Partner being considered for pre-qualification.
Some of the other major policy objectives for Partners procuring on behalf of UNHCR are:
- Competitive bidding shall be employed in all procurement undertaken by the Partner.
- The widest possible base of potential vendors suitable for a specific contract should be invited to bid.
- The Partner Procurement Unit is to assure that goods and services are supplied in a timely manner, of adequate quality and quantity and at the lowest cost, which meets the requirements of the Purchase Order or Service Contract.
Decision to entrust UNHCR-funded Procurement to a Partner is subject to the assessment of Partner procurement capacity, conducted by the respective Field Offices.
The definitive guide for businesses wanting to partner with the UN refugee agency. Revised 2015 edition.