Every World Bank-financed notice names a procurement method. The method tells you who can compete, how bids are judged, and how much work the bid will take. In the 949 energy and water notices we looked at, the methods were:
| Method | Notices | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Request for Bids (RFB) | 467 | Formal competitive bidding for goods and works. Usually needs a bid security, technical compliance tables and a priced bill of quantities. It is the main route for substations, pipelines and treatment plants. |
| Request for Quotations (RFQ) | 333 | Simple price comparison for small, standard goods or works. Quick to answer, short deadlines, mostly won by local suppliers. |
| Quality- and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) | 39 | Consulting firms are scored on technical quality and price, often weighted 80/20 or 70/30. Expressions of interest lead to a shortlist. |
| Direct Selection | 38 | Contracts awarded without competition (e.g. an extension or a sole supplier). You can't bid, but these notices show who the agencies already trust. |
| Individual Consultant Selection | 32 | Hiring individual experts (e.g. a dam specialist). Not relevant to firms, except as a teaming signal. |
| Consultant's Qualification Selection (CQS) | 29 | Small consulting assignments awarded on experience alone. A strong, specific expression of interest is the whole game. |
Practical takeaways. If you supply equipment, watch RFB and RFQ notices. If you are a consulting firm, the Request for Expression of Interest is your entry point. In CQS the shortlist is the decision, so put your most relevant references first. Use Direct Selection and award notices to learn which firms and price levels agencies accept.
Figures: AsiaTender Watch analysis of World Bank procurement notices (CC BY 4.0), published 1 Oct 2025 to 14 Oct 2026, in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, Indonesia, the Philippines, Viet Nam and Lao PDR. Notices were tagged energy/power or water/sanitation by keywords in the notice title (949 notices). Keyword tagging is approximate.
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