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Intelligence gathering & information management crucial to success in bidding on international development projectsIn the competitive game of internationally funded projects, there are many innings and many players. One Canadian company has been winning almost half of the projects it has applied for in the last three years -- an excellent batting average in the world of international financial institutions (IFIs), where competition is becoming increasingly stiff. Keeping its eye on the ball helps Cowater International Inc. to know where the next pitch is coming from. Cowater International Inc. has always targeted international work. Founded 16 years ago by two engineers and a chartered accountant, Cowater initially focused on water projects in Ghana, but their business spread quickly into social development and accountability. Company principals saw that clients didn't always know how to manage the water works, nor how to ensure responsible record keeping. Today, with a staff of 35 and an additional number of associates, Ottawa-based Cowater has worked on projects funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), IFIs, and the United Nations in 31 countries on four continents. Competition for internationally funded projects is getting tougher, says Cowater's Senior Vice- President, Ken Dye. He attributes this trend to two factors. First, there are more Canadian firms looking to expand their business, and international markets offer scope for that growth. Second, the capacity of local companies is building up. Local companies are gaining the requisite technical expertise, which they can offer to IFI projects at a lower cost than international firms can provide. Keeping competitiveEnsuring the company's continued competitiveness depends on a number of strategies, including a basic but valuable one: focusing and building on company expertise. Cowater has three primary business lines. Colour-coded pins stuck on a large world map on its meeting room wall represent the three: blue pins represent water, sanitation and environment; black pins show financial management, audit and accounting; and red pins indicate social development. (Cowater has a fourth business line. Cowater Alaska Inc provides a flush tank and haul system to remote Alaskan communities that previously did not have a safe disposal system for household sewage.) Despite the substantial number of pins, patterns are readily seen. Blue pins tend to be huddled together in specific countries, while the black ones are spread across the map. " With our water projects, it makes sense to focus on one country," says Dye. The company builds on in-country knowledge and contacts gained through each successive project. Cowater's expertise is building in three targeted countries: Ghana, Pakistan and Nepal. The company's financial management work, however, takes Cowater around the world. " Our work in strengthening the capacity of auditors general offices naturally takes us to new countries, since there's only one auditor general per country!" Cowater also targets projects based on size: it can comfortably handle projects valued between $500,000 and $5 million. On some bids, Cowater will join forces with another company. " We joint venture often, on about 10-15% of the bids," says Dye. " For example, we just finished a project in Cambodia with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and we will work with a Quebec firm on an upcoming bid." " When you haven't got the horsepower yourself, joint venturing makes sense," Dye adds. What also makes sense is to methodically track both the opportunities available and the company's progress in the application process. About seven years ago, Cowater realized it couldn't keep track of every bid and potential project without some help. By customizing a commercial software package, the company created a project-tracking system to help monitor CIDA-, IFI- and UN agency-funded projects and provide the company with updates. In mid-March 2001, Cowater was tracking 158 projects in various stages. Intelligence gatheringDye points out that to every project, there are months -- sometimes years -- of pre-tender work: a project must be identified, a plan organized, and government approvals sought before an international call for tender can be placed. It is possible to get wind of an upcoming project in this pre-tender phase, in part through maintaining personal contact with officers at IFI liaison offices, CIDA, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), and the funding institutions themselves. Finding out about projects early allows Cowater to write an expression of intent (EOI, also known as a letter of intent-LOI) to ensure that the funding body knows about the company. The EOI is written expressly to gain Cowater a spot on a short list of about six companies that will be invited to submit a proposal. All the IFIs and UN agencies have Web sites announcing their procurement activities. Cowater's marketing co-ordinator regularly reviews these sites for project opportunities and notes any news or progress on the tracking system. Dye notes that IFIs update their sites frequently; the Asian Development Bank (ADB), for example, updates their data every Wednesday. Web-based information can precede traditionally published information by weeks, making this regular check important to Cowater's efforts to keep ahead of the news. For companies new to this bidding process, Dye recommends that they contact an IFI liaison officer, to get a feel for what a particular institution may require. From terminology (the Asian Development Bank uses " EOI," while CIDA prefers " LOI" ) to the weighting of application elements, each institute has its own preferred style, which, if not followed carefully, can serve to exclude an otherwise competent company from the project. Dye also encourages personal contact with the funding institutions. " Face-to-face meetings must occur, so the funding officers keep your company in mind. You've got to be in their face, or they'll forget you." Cowater is currently active in numerous ongoing projects, including policy leadership and advocacy for gender equality in Bangladesh; water and sanitation in Nicaragua; financial and management accounting systems in Mongolia; and social development research in Pakistan. It also continues to bid on upcoming projects. Despite increasing competition for CIDA-, IFI- and UN agency-funded projects, Cowater's batting average rose to .500 last year. Its strategy appears to work. For more information, contact:
Export Financing Division, DFAIT or
Ken Dye, Senior Vice-President |
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