Overview
CARIBBEAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (CDB)
Request for Information/Market Sounding Notice
| RFI Reference No. | [insert reference] |
| Issue Date | 26 June 2026 |
| Market Briefing Session | July 10, 2026 |
| Deadline for Questions | July 17, 2026, 4:30 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time |
| Deadline for Submission of RFI Responses | July 31, 2026, 4:30 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time |
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Important Notice: This Request for Information is a pre-procurement market engagement exercise only. It is not a procurement process, a request for expressions of interest, a request for proposals, or an invitation to submit a financial proposal. Participation is voluntary and will not confer any advantage or disadvantage in any subsequent procurement process. |
1. Background
The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB or the Bank) is considering the procurement of consultancy services to support the update, modernisation and digitalisation of its internal Operations Policies and Procedures Manual (OPPM).
The envisaged assignment is expected to be multidisciplinary in nature. It may involve review and benchmarking of the existing OPPM, stakeholder engagement, gap analysis, business process and workflow review, development of a modern digital manual architecture, knowledge management, systems integration concepts, governance arrangements, change management, communications, training and implementation support.
Before launching a formal procurement process, CDB wishes to undertake a preliminary market engagement exercise to better understand the market, potential delivery models, indicative level of effort, relevant expertise, cost drivers and realistic budget assumptions for an assignment of this nature.
2. Purpose of this RFI
The purpose of this RFI is to invite interested consultancy firms, institutions or consortia to provide non-binding information that may assist CDB in:
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understanding the types of firms and expert profiles that may be able to deliver the services;
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assessing whether the assignment should be structured as one integrated consultancy or separated into phases or specialist workstreams;
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refining the draft scope of services and expected deliverables;
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identifying key implementation risks, assumptions and dependencies;
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obtaining non-binding indicative information on likely level of effort, professional rate ranges and overall budget ranges; and
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preparing a realistic and well-structured Terms of Reference (TOR) for a future competitive procurement process.
Information received through this RFI may be used by CDB solely to inform internal planning, budgeting and procurement design. Responses will not be evaluated for selection purposes.
3. Nature of the Exercise and Procurement Safeguards
This RFI is not intended to pre-qualify, shortlist or select any firm. No contract will be awarded as a result of this exercise. CDB may, at its discretion, proceed with a formal procurement process at a later stage, revise the scope, change the procurement approach, or decide not to proceed.
To preserve transparency and fairness:
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participation in this RFI is not a condition for participation in any subsequent procurement process;
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non-participation in this RFI will not disqualify any firm from participating in any subsequent procurement process;
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CDB will not rank, score or shortlist respondents based on RFI submissions;
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any material clarifications shared during the market briefing will be made available to all registered participants or otherwise recorded in a consolidated clarification note;
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respondents should not submit confidential, proprietary or commercially sensitive information unless clearly marked as such; and
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CDB may use aggregated and non-attributable information from responses to refine the TOR and budget estimate.
Proposed Assignment
4. Summary of the Proposed Assignment
The proposed consultancy is expected to support the Bank in updating the OPPM and transitioning it into a more integrated, digital, searchable and user-centred operational manual. The final scope will be refined following this market engagement.
4.1 Indicative Areas of Work
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Review and assessment of the existing OPPM, including its structure, completeness, clarity, internal coherence, continued relevance and usability.
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Benchmarking against selected multilateral development banks and relevant good practices for operational policy and procedure manuals.
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Mapping of the requirements, fiduciary standards and operational peculiarities of special funds administered by the Bank, including relevant climate funds and other financing arrangements.
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Stakeholder engagement with relevant departments and business units, including Operations, Legal, Finance, Risk and other relevant areas.
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Comprehensive gap analysis covering policies, procedures, workflows, templates, roles, accountabilities, cross-department dependencies and system interfaces.
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Workflow and process improvement recommendations, including streamlining, role clarity, decision points, critical paths and cross-cutting themes such as gender equality, environmental and social considerations.
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Development of a unified taxonomy and modern architecture for the OPPM, replacing the current multi-volume structure with a single integrated digital manual.
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Digital and user-centric design features, including rich search, hyperlinks, interactive prompts or hints, modular content, printable and PDF-exportable content, and AI-friendly structuring of procedures.
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Systems architecture concept describing how OPPM content may interact with digital workflows, document repositories, OP365, SharePoint, finance tools, intranet or staff portals, and future workflow platforms.
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Governance model for OPPM maintenance, including roles, update triggers, quality assurance, version control, change logs, editing rights and notification arrangements.
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Change management, communications, training options, staff validation, testing with pilot users and roll-out support.
4.2 Potential Phasing
Given the breadth of the proposed assignment, CDB is interested in receiving market feedback on the most appropriate delivery approach, including whether the services should be implemented through a phased methodology. Respondents are invited to comment on possible sequencing, key dependencies, realistic timelines, and whether any components should be separated, combined, or prioritised.
A possible structure could be:
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Phase |
Indicative Focus |
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Phase 1 - Diagnostic and Market-Informed Design |
Review of existing OPPM, benchmarking, stakeholder consultations, gap analysis, delivery model, digital concept and implementation roadmap. |
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Phase 2 - OPPM Architecture and Content Development |
Development of the updated manual structure, taxonomy, process maps, revised procedures, templates, links and content model. |
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Phase 3 - Digitalisation, Testing and Governance |
Digital manual prototype or configuration concept, user testing, governance model, version control, maintenance arrangements and integration points. |
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Phase 4 - Change Management and Roll-Out Support |
Training materials, communications, user guidance, transition support and roll-out planning. |
Instructions
5. Information Requested from Respondents
Interested respondents are invited to submit a concise response, preferably not exceeding 8 to 10 pages excluding annexes, covering the items below. Responses may be submitted by individual firms or by firms indicating possible association or consortium arrangements.
5.1 Firm Profile and Relevant Experience
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Brief description of the firm or consortium and areas of specialisation.
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Relevant experience with multilateral development banks, international financial institutions, public sector institutions or comparable organisations.
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Experience with operational manuals, policy and procedure reform, institutional governance, business process review, knowledge management, digital manuals, intranets, SharePoint-based solutions, change management or training.
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Examples of comparable assignments, indicating client type, scope, duration and approximate scale where disclosure is permitted.
5.2 Suggested Delivery Model and Team Composition
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Views on whether the assignment is likely to be delivered by a single firm or by a consortium/multidisciplinary team.
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Suggested key expert profiles required for successful delivery.
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Indicative role of each expert profile and expected level of seniority.
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Any specialist inputs that may be required, such as MDB operations, legal/policy drafting, business process mapping, UX/digital knowledge management, systems architecture, SharePoint/OP365, gender, environmental and social, change management or training.
5.3 Comments on the Draft Scope
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Comments on whether the indicative scope is clear, realistic and appropriately sequenced.
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Activities that may need to be added, removed, separated, clarified or phased.
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Key assumptions, dependencies or risks that CDB should consider before finalising the TOR.
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Potential deliverables that would be most useful for CDB to request in the formal TOR.
5.4 Indicative Level of Effort
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Indicative staff inputs, expressed as approximate ranges of person-days or person-months by expert profile.
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Expected assignment duration and sequencing of key phases.
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Comments on activities likely to be the main drivers of time and cost.
5.5 Non-Binding Indicative Rate and Budget Information
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Non-binding indicative professional fee ranges or daily/monthly rate ranges by expert profile or seniority level.
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A high-level indicative budget range for comparable assignments, where possible.
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Main cost drivers, including travel, workshops, digital platform configuration, system integration, testing, training and change management.
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Any distinction between consultancy services, software/platform costs, licensing, hosting, implementation support, or third-party tools.
5.6 Implementation Timeline
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Indicative timeframe for completion of a diagnostic and design phase.
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Indicative timeframe for full development and roll-out of the updated OPPM.
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Activities that could be accelerated, conducted in parallel or should be sequenced carefully.
5.7 Questions for CDB
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Questions, clarifications or information that respondents would need in order to prepare a high-quality proposal in a future procurement process.
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Suggestions for how the future procurement documents could be structured to encourage meaningful competition and value for money.
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Indicative prices: Respondents may provide non-binding indicative professional fee ranges, daily/monthly rate ranges by expert profile, and/or high-level budget ranges for similar assignments. This information is requested solely to assist CDB in understanding market conditions and preparing a realistic budget estimate. It will not be treated as a financial proposal and will not be used for evaluation or selection in any subsequent procurement process. |
6. Market Briefing Session
CDB intends to hold an open virtual market briefing session for interested respondents. The purpose of the session will be to provide background on the proposed assignment, explain the RFI process and allow respondents to raise preliminary questions.
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Item |
Details |
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Date and Time |
July 10, 2026 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Atlantic Standard Time |
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Format |
Virtual meeting via MSTeams |
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Registration |
Interested participants should register by emailing tonya.millar@caribank.org cc: procurement@caribank.org by July 8, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time |
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Meeting Link |
The meeting link will be shared with registered participants. |
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Questions |
Questions raised during the session may be answered during the session or through a consolidated clarification note. |
To maintain fairness and transparency, CDB may prepare and circulate a written summary of material questions and responses following the session. CDB does not intend to hold individual meetings with respondents at this stage. If individual discussions are considered necessary, they will be structured, documented and conducted on a consistent basis.
7. Submission Instructions
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Item |
Instruction |
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Submission Format |
Electronic submission in PDF or Word format. |
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Submission Email |
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Deadline |
July 31, 2026, 4:30 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time |
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Subject Line |
RFI Response - Update and Digitalisation of CDB OPPM - [Firm Name] |
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Maximum Length |
Preferably 8 to 10 pages, excluding annexes. |
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Language |
English. |
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Contact for Clarifications |
Tonya Millar, Operations Officer (Analyst) at tonya.millar@caribank.org cc: procurement@caribank.org |
Late submissions may be reviewed at CDB's discretion for market research purposes only. CDB is not obliged to respond individually to submissions.
8. Confidentiality and Use of Information
Respondents should clearly identify any information that they consider confidential or commercially sensitive. CDB will take reasonable steps not to disclose such information outside the Bank except as required for internal review, audit, legal, governance or procurement planning purposes, or as otherwise required by applicable policies or law.
CDB may use non-confidential, aggregated or anonymised information received through this RFI to refine the TOR, budget estimate, procurement strategy, evaluation approach or implementation arrangements for a future procurement process.
9. Costs of Participation
Respondents are responsible for all costs associated with preparing and submitting a response to this RFI and participating in the market briefing session. CDB will not reimburse any costs incurred by respondents in connection with this RFI.
10. Conflict of Interest and Fair Competition
Respondents are invited to identify any actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest that may arise in connection with the proposed assignment or any future procurement process.
CDB may take appropriate measures to preserve fair competition in any subsequent procurement process. Such measures may include publishing relevant information made available during this market engagement, refining the TOR to avoid undue influence, and ensuring that all prospective bidders have access to the same material information.
11. Next Steps
Following completion of this RFI, CDB may use the information received to refine the scope, budget, procurement method and timeline for a future competitive procurement process. Any future procurement opportunity, if launched, will be advertised separately in accordance with CDB's applicable procurement requirements.