Consulting to support the MEF and the IDB in the analysis, evaluation and development of effective management models for projects financed with external resources in Panama

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in coordination with the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) of Panama, is calling on consulting firms to submit proposals to analyze the systemic constraints of the portfolio with external financing, evaluate institutional alternatives, and design a conceptual model of management, coordination, and governance along with its roadmap for gradual and sustainable implementation.

1. Institutional and operational diagnosis of the portfolio

Bottleneck Analysis: Assess legal, fiduciary, operational, and institutional capacity constraints that affect the execution of IDB operations, considering sectoral specificities and the complexity of interventions.

Articulation with systems and institutions: Analyze the coordination schemes between the IDB, the MEF, the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) and the Project Execution Units (UEP/UCP), as well as the integration of processes with the public investment cycle (SINIP) and national platforms (ISTMO, SIFADE, Panama Compra, COBE and the new SIGIP).

Benchmarking with multilateral banks: Interview and review the experiences of other multilateral organizations present in the country (World Bank, CAF and CABEI) to contrast disbursement curves, contractual reforms and lessons learned from their execution models.

2. Evaluation of alternatives and conceptual design of the model

Evaluation of management options: Analyze the legal, fiduciary and financial viability of different institutional alternatives, such as the strengthening of existing UEPs, PMO/UAP support schemes, shared models or cooperation with specialized international agencies.

Architecture of the recommended model: Define the conceptual design of the institutional and operational model (including an explicit diagram of roles, governance, decision flows, and fiduciaries), aligned with the SINIP project typologies.

Enabling conditions and risk management: Identify the regulatory, budgetary, and human capacity requirements, as well as the critical dependencies necessary to ensure the scalability and viability of the model in the Panamanian context.

3. Strategic roadmap and participatory methodology

Gradual implementation plan: Formulate an indicative short-, medium- and long-term roadmap with the sequence of institutional decisions, priority actions and sustainability criteria for the decision-making of the Government of Panama.

Methodology and fieldwork: Execute the work through a participatory approach that combines regulatory reviews, face-to-face missions in Panama, inter-institutional workshops and validation sessions with the key actors of the portfolio.

Note: Interested companies should review the requirements on the BEO Bidder Portal.

Executing unit: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

IDB project: PN-T1391

Contact: [contact details removed]

Financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).