Reducing Post Project Blues

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is changing business and society in ways that would have been unimaginable only a few years ago. Its full potential has yet to be realized—the way we gather information, make products, interact with businesses, and access products and services are all evolving. In emerging markets, AI offers an opportunity to reach the underserved by lowering costs and barriers to entry for entrepreneurs and businesses, creating innovative business models, and leapfrogging traditional technologies. Private sector solutions lie at the heart of ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity, and AI is and will remain an integral part of that process. But much more can be done. This report explores the role of AI in emerging markets and developing countries—both across and within key sectors—both today and in the future. It also examines the issue of gender bias, and how Big Data can advance, rather than impede, equality. If managed well, AI solutions will expand opportunities and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Introduction This chapter discusses good management practices for community drinking-water supplies. A community drinking-water supply is a reticulated, publicly or privately owned, drinking-water supply connecting at least two buildings on separate titles, and serving at least 1500 person days a year (eg, 25 people at least 60 days per year). An integrated management system should be designed to meet the requirements of the Drinking-water Standards for New Zealand 2005 (revised 2008) (DWSNZ), statutory requirements and the consumers’ needs, as well as environmental and cultural considerations. The most important constituents of drinking-water are undoubtedly those that are capable of having a direct impact on public health. It is up to the water suppliers to demonstrate to their consumers that the management of the water supply system is being undertaken in a responsible and efficient manner.

Introduction   The Standard Bidding Document for the Procurement of Works–Small Contracts (SBD Works-Small) has been prepared by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for use in contracts involving “smaller” contracts—valued at generally less than $10 million by open competitive bidding. It is based on the Master Document for Procurement of Small Works, prepared by multilateral development banks and international financing institutions. It reflects the structure and the provisions of the Master Document, except where specific considerations within ADB have required a change. The SBD Works-Small follows a postqualification procedure that requires Bidders to submit the information pertaining to their qualifications together with their bids. In this event, it will be necessary to ensure that a Bidder’s risk of having its bid rejected on grounds of qualification is remote if due diligence is exercised by the Bidder during bid preparation. For that purpose, clear-cut, pass-fail qualification criteria need to be specified by the Employer in both the Invitation for Bids as well as the Bidding Document to enable Bidders to make an informed decision on whether to pursue a specific contract and, either to do so as a single entity or in Joint Venture. Postqualification criteria, requirements, and relevant forms for submission are covered in Section 3 (Evaluation and Qualification Criteria) and Section 4 (Bidding Forms). The SBD Works-Small is intended for both lump sum (activity schedule) and admeasurement (unit prices in a bill of quantities) types of contract, which are the most common in civil works contracting. Lump sum contracts are used particularly for building construction and other forms of construction where the works are well defined and are unlikely to change in quantity or specification, and where it is unlikely to encounter difficult or unforeseen site conditions (for example, hidden foundation problems). Otherwise, admeasurement contracts should be used. The main text is applicable to both types of contracts (lump sum and admeasurement). Fixed prices are provided as a default unless price adjustment is allowed and indicated in Section 2 (Bid Data Sheet). An important feature of the SBD Works-Small, which is only available in electronic format on the ADB website, is that it can be used with minimum changes, as it does not contain explanations, footnotes, or examples that should not form part of the Bidding Document. The provisions in Section 1 (Instructions to Bidders) and Section 7 (General Conditions of Contract) must be used with their text unchanged. This user’s guide is provided to guide employers in preparing a bidding document based on the SBD Works-Small for a single-stage: one-envelope bidding procedure. This guide includes the Bidding Process and the Invitation for Bids, which are not part of the Bidding Document. ADB welcomes any feedback or experiences from both Borrowers and Bidders on the use of its Standard Bidding Document. For information on procurement under ADB-financed projects, contact