To promote transparent and fair competition, UNDP Iran conducts competitive procurement process through public advertising for all procurement cases. 

Procurement Ethics

As funds of UNDP are entrusted to the organization by the public at large, it is imperative that all transactions committing UNDP are carried to the highest degree of public trust and should be conducted with impeccable standards. UNDP requires that all country offices observe the highest standard of ethics throughout the procurement process, which must allow offerors to compete for UNDP business on a fair, equal and transparent basis.

Staff associated with the procurement function, therefore are responsible for protecting the integrity of the procurement process and maintaining fairness in UNDP’s treatment of all Offerors. Any procurement personnel maintaining a conflict of interest or potential conflict should immediately notify the Resident Representative of UNDP.

To safeguard UNDP against illicit use of publicly entrusted funds in terrorist financing, country offices should assess all entities with whom business is conducted, to ensure that funds are used for their intended purposes. To sustain financial control of such public funds and compliance with the UN’s regulations and guidelines regarding anti-terrorist financing practices, organizational due diligence requires country offices to undertake:

• review of the entity’s profile (i.e., background, financial reports, annual statements);
• confirm business registration with government authorities; and
• verify entity against the United Nations Security Council 1267 Committee’s list of terrorists and terrorist financiers.

All staff are responsible for the regularity of actions taken by them in the course of their official duties. Any staff member that takes action contrary to the UNDP Financial Rules and Regulations or these Guidelines may be held personally responsible and financially liable for the consequences of such action.

Best Value for Money

By and large the core governing principle of UNDP is to obtain the best value for money. In the context of the procurement process, obtaining “best value for money” means selection of the offer, which presents the optimum combination of life-cycle costs and benefits, which meet the country offices’ needs. Furthermore, this can also include social, environmental and other strategic objectives defined in the procurement plan. The principle of best value for money is applied at the award stage to select the offer that effectively meets the stated requirement.

Fairness, Integrity and Transparency

As competition is the basis for efficient, impartial and transparent procurement; country offices are therefore, responsible for protecting the integrity of the procurement process and maintaining fairness in UNDP’s treatment of all Offerors. Sound procurement (i.e. openness of the process, probity, complete and accurate records, accountability and confidentiality) establishes and then maintains rules and procedures that are attainable and unambiguous.

Effective Competition

The objective of UNDP’s competitive processes is to provide all eligible prospective Offerors with timely and adequate notification of UNDP’s requirements and an equal opportunity to tender for the required goods, civil works and services. Country offices should ensure that restrictions are not placed on the competitive processes limiting the pool of potential Offerors, as UNDP does not accept procurement awarded to exclusive Contractors or countries, unless otherwise explicitly mentioned in a Donor agreement.

Interest to UNDP

In practice, the specific procurement rules and procedures established for the implementation of a programme are contingent upon the individual circumstances of the particular case; however four considerations consistently guide the UNDP’s interest for the acquisition of inputs:

• the need for economy and efficiency in the implementation of the programme, including the procurement of goods, civil works and services involved;
• the access to procurement opportunities for all interested and qualified Offerors worldwide, except where other criteria mandated by the Security Council or General Assembly prevails;
• giving all eligible Offerors the same information and equal opportunity to compete in providing goods, civil works or services; and
• the importance of transparency in the procurement process.