ACCC " Teaches" Art of Obtaining IFI-funded Work

When Rudy Sabas joined the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) in 1992, he brought with him his considerable experience in dealing with the international financial institutions (IFIs) such as the Asia Development Bank (ADB). Under his tutelage, the ACCC subsequently got short-listed for three ADB projects and, in a major coup, won all three, including a US$3.5-million institutional strengthening project in Bangladesh. As befitting the representative of an organization with a niche in skills training and many IFI-funded projects now under its belt, Sabas here provides a step-by-step " lesson" in winning IFI-funded work.

Created in 1972, the ACCC is the national membership organization representing colleges and institutes to government, business and industry, both in Canada and internationally. Among its mandates is marketing the capabilities and capacity of its members to meet the education and training needs of other countries.

" I work specifically with the IFIs, marketing the national system of colleges and institutes as a comprehensive and integrated training agent to industry, labour and government," explains Sabas, who gained his knowledge of the IFI procurement process through his previous employment with the Philippine National Economic and Development Authority.

Register with IFIs
Sabas's efforts to market the ACCC to the ADB began with registering the Association with the ADB's database of consultants, DACON. " You have to register your firm with each IFI to be included on their active list of consultants," explains Sabas. " Registration is the initial step any organization has to take to get IFI work."

The second step, Sabas explains, is to introduce your organization to the project officers at the IFI. " You have to get to know the project officers who develop the projects. You have to connect with them before the bidding process begins."

Sabas visited the ADB twice in 1995, which was when he discovered the challenge that the ACCC faced in selling its expertise in an area - education - where, he learned, the Bank preferred Ph.D. academic qualification. It was in distinguishing its offerings from those of a university that the ACCC defined its niche. That niche is not on the academic side of education, but on the " non-formal" side of skills training, labour development and women and technology - areas that are well suited to the needs of developing countries.

The next step, Sabas explains, is to match your firm's capabilities with upcoming projects - a list of which is published on-line - and to submit an expression of interest. " Find out what is in the pipeline as early as possible," he advises. " Match your capabilities to what's in the pipeline and make that known to the Bank. If you can't visit in person, send an e-mail or fax - just to let them know you are interested in that specific project. Then submit your official expression of interest."

Define your niche
Sabas cannot overstress the importance of defining one's niche. " The shotgun approach, where a company submits expressions of interest for all the projects within their sector, is a waste of time. The project officers will not take you seriously if you claim you can do everything. Narrow down the projects to the ones that match your specific area of expertise."

In 1996 ACCC submitted expressions of interest for three upcoming ADB technical assistance projects - one in Cambodia for developing a project encouraging the employment of women, one in Thailand for providing advisory services in skills development, and the Bangladeshi project to strengthen the Directorate of Non-formal Education in delivering its literacy programs.

Getting short-listed was the next challenge. " The process is very competitive. When the ADB short-lists firms, they are short-listing the key consulting firms in each country. So as a Canadian firm, you have to show that you are the best Canadian firm for the job. The key is to sell your niche."

Sell your niche
Sabas attributes the ACCC's decided competitive edge to Canada's uniquely decentralized system of education, which is a provincial responsibility. " When I am selling our expertise to the IFIs, I tell them I have 10 different models I can rely on; I can mix them, or use one or another, depending on the country's needs. It makes us much more flexible. That's one of our niche niche niche abilities," he stresses.

Clearly having sold the ADB on its niche abilities, in 1996 the ACCC was short-listed for all three projects for which it had submitted expressions of interest. " That's the maximum a firm can get in one year - and then we won them all," says Sabas proudly. " We entered the IFI market with a big bang."

However, preparing the proposal that decides the winner is, says Sabas, the most difficult part of the process. He identifies three key elements to the preparation of a successful proposal: finding appropriate local partners, undertaking a site visit to gather project and country information, and selecting the right team.

Find a local partner
The best source for finding a local partner, says Sabas, is through the Canadian trade officers in the relevant country. For the project in Bangladesh, the Canadian High Commission in Dhaka gave the ACCC the names of five potential local firms, two of which became its partners.

The next step was undertaking the site visit. " It's not required to do the site visit before you do the proposal, but it's worth the investment - especially on a US$3.5-million project. My advice is don't short-change on the proposal. Spend your money to do the site visit. It will make your proposal stronger."

For the Bangladeshi project, the ACCC sent four Canadians to undertake the site visit, as well as using its local partners to take on a great deal of the information gathering.

The Association paid particular attention to the screening process for selecting the team, as well as to reviewing and rewriting its consultants' curriculum vitaes to ensure they highlighted skills relevant to the project. " We spent about 70 percent of our time on this process - to make sure we got the correct person for the correct position. Personnel weighs far more than the methodology in the ADB proposal, so firms who are serious should really pay attention to their personnel."

The ACCC's methodical approach not only won it the three ADB projects, but has proven successful with other IFIs, including the World Bank, which is funding a follow-up project that the Association is currently undertaking with the Bangladeshi Directorate of Non-formal Education.

Publication date: 2002/04/15