2013年-世界发展银行全球_Assessment_Framework_to_Monitor_and_Evaluate_e-Government_Procurement_Systems_in_India_70页_1mb

Summary of the Assessment Framework to Monitor and Evaluate e-Government Procurement Systems in India

Core Content

This report by the World Bank outlines an assessment framework for monitoring and evaluating e-Government Procurement (e-GP) systems in India. It is based on the World Bank's experience in assessing 21 installations and 6 e-Tendering systems in India since 2008. The report emphasizes the need for a more robust and standardized framework to ensure the quality, security, and transparency of e-Procurement systems, which are increasingly used in public procurement processes.

Main Points and Key Issues

The World Bank has identified 36 critical issues in e-Procurement systems in India, which are categorized into two main groups:

1. Issues Pertaining to the Issuance of "No Objection" by the World Bank

• Confidentiality of Bid Documents compromised
• Bid proposals should not be encrypted using bidder's key
• Mandatory submission of originals before bid submission date is disallowed
• Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and Recovery Time Objective (RTO) undefined
• Lack of commitment on record keeping
• System malfunction procedure undefined
• Procurement of Digital Signature Certificate by foreign bidders

2. Important Issues from the Viewpoint of the Government of India

• Adoption of form-based systems
• Serious usability issues
• Electronic systems should replace manual systems and not co-exist
• e-Procurement servers should be under government control
• Weak Project Management Unit (PMU)
• De-duplicated vendor database
• Lack of adoption of item codification standard
• Central Public Procurement Portal (CPPP) as a one-stop shop
• Need for a mechanism to address vendor lock-in and exit management
• Standardize encryption methodology
• Need to define e-Procurement Enterprise Architecture
• Need for e-Procurement rules

STQC Guidelines Review

The report reviews the STQC's e-Procurement guidelines and suggests several improvements to align them with the requirements of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs):

• Assess e-Procurement installation and not just the application software
• Shift from demand-driven to supply-driven assessment
• Consolidate and classify requirements in a logical sequence
• Present the guidelines as a check-list
• Make the guidelines as specific as possible
• Visualize the larger picture of the e-Procurement landscape
• Establish benchmarks for comparison
• Introduce competition by grading and ranking e-Procurement installations

Proposed Concept Model

A new Concept Model for the e-Procurement assessment guideline is proposed, which is an evolved version of the STQC guidelines. The model includes 33 subject areas under four layers: Data, Application, Infrastructure, and Process. It emphasizes:

• Grading and ranking of installations based on the allocated weightage
• Evaluation of the broader e-Procurement landscape, including standards, policies, legal framework, and integration with external systems
• Annual assessment reports to be published, promoting a culture of continuous improvement

Institutional Framework and Operational Procedure

The report recommends the establishment of a robust institutional framework to assess e-Procurement systems regularly (e.g., every 6 months). The framework includes:

• A dedicated team with expertise in technology and public procurement
• The option to outsource routine compliance checks to third-party agencies
• Core activities such as policy development and report preparation must be handled internally by the Government of India

A six-step iterative procedure is proposed to operationalize the assessment:

1. Develop assessment guidelines (i.e., the desired state)
2. Prepare assessment list for the year
3. Conduct assessment of e-Procurement installations
4. Grade and rank the systems
5. Publish Annual e-Procurement Assessment Report
6. Revise guidelines based on feedback and new developments

This framework is designed to encourage competition among installations, improve system quality, and promote standardization and integration across e-Procurement systems in India.

Broader Applications

The proposed Assessment Framework is not limited to e-Procurement systems. It can be used as a vehicle to implement policy in other federated e-Governance systems, such as:

• e-District (with the development of e-District specific guidelines)
• State Data Centers (SDC)

This would enable systematic monitoring and policy alignment across various e-Governance initiatives in India.

Conclusion

The report highlights the importance of standardization, transparency, and security in e-Procurement systems. It recommends that the Government of India takes the lead in developing and maintaining the assessment framework, ensuring that e-Procurement systems are robust, compliant, and continuously improved. The World Bank aims to collaborate closely with the Government to achieve these goals and ensure Value for Money (VfM) from the initiative.

Key Assumptions and Recommendations

• The Central Government should bear the cost of setting up and managing the institutional framework for e-Procurement assessments.
• The assessment guidelines should evolve periodically to reflect new developments and set new benchmarks.
• Competition among e-Procurement installations can be introduced through grading and ranking.
• De facto standards should be promoted rather than de jure standards, especially in a federal system like India.

This framework is expected to catalyze the development of robust e-Procurement systems and inter-networking among them through standardization and integration.