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KfW 2026-0023, Procurement Procedure „ Environmental and Social Consulting Services for E&S Experts “

Bidders’ Questions and KfW's Answers (Version 3) Date of Distribution 03.09.2026

No.	Reference Documents	Question		Answer
1	Deadline Extension		To ensure that we can develop a high-	Thank you for your interest in participating in our tender process, which is highly appreciated. Kindly note that this tender process was already initiated with an extended submission period. For that reason, we are currently not anticipating any further extensions. We still hope to receive your proposal and thank you for your kind understanding.
			quality and competitive proposal that fully
			addresses the specific requirements of
			the Terms of Reference (ToR) and the
			needs of KfW, we would like to kindly
			request an extension of the submission
			deadline.
			This additional time would enable us to
			prepare a comprehensive and well-
			considered proposal that aligns with your
			expectations and project objectives.
			Thank you for your support and
			collaboration
2	Short CVs	Can the same individual be named simultaneously as the Team Coordinator and as one of the required Environmental or Social Experts (i.e., counted toward both roles), or must the Team Coordinator be a distinct individual separate from the 3+3 Environmental/Social Experts, bringing the Core Team to a minimum of 7 distinct persons?	Can the same individual be named	The Team Coordinator must be distinct to the core E&S Experts, which means that 7 CVs must be presented.
			simultaneously as the Team Coordinator
			and as one of the required Environmental
			or Social Experts (i.e., counted toward
			both roles), or must the Team Coordinator
			be a distinct individual separate from the
			3+3 Environmental/Social Experts,
			bringing the Core Team to a minimum of 7
			distinct persons?

[Seite 2]

No.	Reference Documents	Question		Answer
3	Declarations concerning eligibility		Shareholder status vs. "permanently	Operating shareholders/partners or members of the executive bodies of the tenderer or a consortium member may be classified as “permanent employee (P)” in the “List of Available Personnel” and counted towards the 90% ratio under Section 3.1.1, provided that they perform E&S-related work on an ongoing operational basis for the relevant company. A purely supervisory or advisory role is not sufficient. The tenderer shall confirm, by submitting the “List of Available Personnel”, that any person classified as “permanent employee (P)” meets these conditions.
			employed"
			In relation to Section 3.1.1 (Access to
			workforce) of the Vergabeunterlagen,
			which requires that 90% of the E&S
			workforce be "permanently employed in
			the company" (part-time and/or full-time),
			please clarify whether a shareholder or
			partner of the tendering company or a
			consortium member firm, who may not
			hold a formal employment contract but
			has an ownership stake and is actively
			engaged in the company's E&S
			operations, qualifies as "permanently
			employed" for the purposes of this
			criterion. Alternatively, please confirm
			whether this status would be classified as
			a freelancer or external resource (F) on
			the "List of Available Personnel" form.
4	Conditions for participation	Maximum number of consortium members Section 5 of the Vergabeunterlagen ("Conditions for participation pertaining to consortia") sets out the obligations of consortium members but does not appear to specify a maximum number of firms permitted to form a consortium for this tender. Please confirm whether there is a maximum number of firms that may jointly	Maximum number of consortium	There is no legally established upper limit on the number of members in a consortium, provided that the requirements of public procurement law and antitrust law are observed.
			members
			Section 5 of the Vergabeunterlagen
			("Conditions for participation pertaining to
			consortia") sets out the obligations of
			consortium members but does not appear
			to specify a maximum number of firms
			permitted to form a consortium for this
			tender. Please confirm whether there is a
			maximum number of firms that may jointly

[Seite 3]

No.	Reference Documents	Question		Answer
		participate as a consortium of tenderers, or whether the number of consortium members is unrestricted provided the eligibility and technical requirements are met
5	Vergabeunterlage, Page 108 via eVergabe		Minimum requirements for the general 50-	This is correct. 3.1.1 of the Kriterienkatalog lays out the minimum requirement: The Tenderer has access to minimum 50 experts working in the E&S sector, of which 90% of the employees working in the E&S workflow (part-time and/or full-time) are permanently employed in the company. The distribution should be balanced in the sense of being diversified and reasonably even across experience levels and education degrees, without any single category being disproportionately represented.
			expert workforce (outside Core Team and
			Expert Pool)
			Section 3.1.1 requires access to a
			minimum of 50 experts in the E&S sector.
			Within this group, the 7 Core Team
			members and the 19 Expert Pool
			members form a subset with defined role
			based, sectoral, and qualification
			requirements. For the remaining experts
			within the 50 who are not part of the Core
			Team or the 19 member Expert Pool,
			please clarify whether there are any
			minimum requirements regarding specific
			expertise or specialization areas, sector
			coverage, country or geographic
			coverage, or language capacity.
			Alternatively, please confirm whether the
			only applicable requirements for this
			broader group are the 90% permanent

broader group are the 90% permanent

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No.	Reference Documents	Question		Answer
		employment ratio and the general balanced distribution across experience levels and education degrees
6	Concept		In the document	The formal requirements for preparing the concept can be found at the top of page 15 of document KfW 2026-0023 – Evaluation Matrix.
			‘VERGABEUNTERLAGEN KfW-2026-
			0023 Environmental and Social
			Consulting Services for E&S Experts
			Offenes Verfahren (EU) (VgV)
			Ausschreibung – section 1.4 ‘Contents of
			the tender’’, it is mentioned that ‘For
			documents that the tenderer must prepare
			themselves (e.g. concepts), the format
			specifications provided by KfW must be
			adhered to.’ We presume this would apply
			to the ‘Written Concept’ for which we have
			not found the relevant format
			specifications to be used. Can you clarify?

specifications to be used. Can you clarify?

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No.	Reference Documents	Question	Answer
7	Consortium of tenderers‘ declaration	The ‘VERGABEUNTERLAGEN KfW- 2026-0023 Environmental and Social Consulting Services for E&S Experts Offenes Verfahren (EU) (VgV) Ausschreibung’ talks about a “Declaration of Consortia”, however we have only found a template names ‘‘Consortium of tenderers‘ declaration’. Can we assume this is the same document?	Yes, this correct.
8	Terms of Reference	The TOR talks about a total of 1710 days effort which will be divided among the three consultancy firms to be chosen equally (leading to 570 per consultancy firm). However, the ‘Leistungsverzeichnis’ invites the consultancy firm to present the rates for the different specialists for a total of 1710 days. Please clarify if the budget needs to reflect 1710 or 570 days.	The budget for the entire framework agreement with three consultants totals 1,710 days. An even distribution is a reasonable assumption. Please refer to the contract for information on the rotation cascade and the contractual criteria for deviations from the consultant’s assignment. To ensure comparability, please submit a bid for 1,710 days.

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No.	Reference Documents	Question		Answer
9	Commitment in the Event of a Reliance on the Capacities of Other Entities	For the presentation of our bid, we shall collaborate with a few external subcontractors and other offices across the world that consist of the same group however are a part of different legal entities. Do we understand correctly that that each of these subcontractors/entities would need to sign the form ‘KfW 2026- 0023 - Commitment in the Event of a Reliance on the Capacities of Other Entities’?		Yes, since these are separate companies—despite being part of the same corporate group—due to their status as distinct legal entities, the form must be completed by each company whose capacity the bidder or the bidding consortium relies on to demonstrate its capability in accordance with § 47 VgV.
10	Submission of the Bid		It is mentioned in	If a document requires a signature, it is permissible to submit it as a PDF so that it can be signed digitally.
			VERGABEUNTERLAGEN KfW-2026-
			0023 Environmental and Social
			Consulting Services for E&S Experts
			Offenes Verfahren (EU) (VgV)
			Ausschreibung’ – section 1.1 Electronic
			submission of a Tender : Tenders need to
			be submitted exclusively electronically in
			text form. A signature is not
			required.’ And Section 1.4 Contents of a
			tender: ‘All forms to be submitted must be
			submitted in the format (e.g. Word or
			Excel) in which they were provided to the
			tenderer. Additional conversion (e.g. to
			PDF) should be avoided. However, some
			of the forms requested as a part of the
			Tender request for a Signature. In these
			cases, is it acceptable to transform these
			files to pdf for signing? Or is the tenderer
			expected to a) not sign these forms or b)
			sign the word file with an image?

sign the word file with an image?

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No.	Reference Documents	Question	Answer
11	Contract	Should the Tenderer have comment on the contract template, where, how and when should we include our comment on the contract template and specific clauses during the Tender process?	Because this is an open bidding process, bidders are not permitted to make any changes to the tender documents as a whole.
12	General Contractual Conditions/Terms of Reference	In the general contractual conditions, clause 8 mentions the "results of performance". Could you please confirm this designate our deliverable which are the results of our services?	Yes

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No.	Reference Documents	Question	Answer
13	Short CVs	Regarding "B. Qualification of Core Team Members": There are requirements relevant to the knowledge of languages. How are you going to proof the level of knowledge. Is any kind of certification required? or is it enough to state in the CV the level? Are Core Team Members allowed to be part of the expert workforce as well (minimum 50 experts)? or must Team Members be additional profiles? Can a Member of the Core Team be an External Consultant?	No language certification is required; it is sufficient to state the language level in the CV. The language skills may be verified during the interviews, and a severe misrepresentation of actual language levels may lead to the bidder’s complete disqualification from the procurement process. Yes, the minimum expert workforce of at least 50 experts may include the 7 core team members. Yes. A Core Team member may be an external consultant. The Tenderer must have access to the required Core Team members and ensure that they meet the qualification requirements applicable to the respective role. The Tenderer must further ensure that the proposed Core Team can be mobilised and remains available to perform the services in accordance with the requirements of the tender documents, including under short-notice conditions. The Tenderer’s approach to personnel availability, substitution arrangements and continuity is to be addressed in the written concept, which is preferably demonstrated by a high percentage of permanent staff.
14	Team Coordinator / Team Manager terminology	The Tender Documents consistently refer to the key position as Team Coordinator, whereas the Price Schedule refers to “Core Team – Team Manager” and allocates 240 person-days to this position. Please confirm that “Team Manager” in the Price Schedule is intended to mean the Team Coordinator?	The assumption is confirmed. The Team Coordinator is the Team Manager in the Price Schedule

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No.	Reference Documents	Question	Answer
15	Task 5(b) – meaning of ESAP	For the Team Coordinator, Task 5(b) requires experience in a “Gap analysis of an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment with an Environmental and Social Action Plan.” Please confirm whether the required action plan must be formally entitled Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP), or whether equivalent instruments such as an ESMP/ESRMP, corrective action plan, compliance action plan or other documented remedial-action matrix would also satisfy this requirement?	Other plans that consist in identifying gaps and measures to remediate this gaps, such as compliance action plan, corrective action plan etc. are eligible for this criteria, under the condition that applicable standards (ESS or IFC PS) are considered in this analysis.
16	Meaning of “completed after 2020”	The minimum requirements state that each personal project reference must be completed after 2020. Please confirm whether a completed assignment, task order, call-off, contract phase or clearly defined work package may qualify as a completed reference where the wider programme or overall project is still ongoing.	The wider programme can still be ongoing, but the task conducted by the expert used as a reference must be closed.

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No.	Reference Documents	Question	Answer
17	World Bank ESS / IFC Performance Standards requirement	Please clarify what is meant by a project having been “implemented in terms of” the World Bank Environmental and Social Standards or IFC Performance Standards. In particular, is it sufficient that the consultant was required to review or assess a project against those standards, or must the standards have been formally contractually applicable to the underlying project? In addition, where a project expressly applies one or more relevant IFC Performance Standards, would this qualify as experience with the IFC Performance Standards for the purposes of the minimum requirement?	A review against applicable standards is qualified as a project reference.
18	Sector coverage requirement for Environmental and Social Experts	The requirements state that each Environmental Expert must demonstrate knowledge of at least five sectors and that the expert group as a whole must cover all sectors. Please confirm that the intended interpretation is that each individual expert must demonstrate at least five sectors, while the three Environmental Experts collectively must cover all 13 sectors. Please also confirm that the same interpretation applies to the Social Experts?	It is confirmed that each individual expert must demonstrate at least five sectors, while the three Environmental Experts collectively must cover all 13 sectors. The same applies to the Social Experts.

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No.	Reference Documents	Question	Answer
19	Cross-reference to sector list	The sector-coverage requirement refers in different places to Section 2.2.4 and Section 3.2.4 of the Form “Declarations concerning eligibility”. Please confirm the correct section reference?	The correct section reference in the form “Declarations concerning Eligibility” is 2.2.4. The same sectors are also referenced in sections 5 and/or 6 in the CV forms for the environmental and social experts respectively.
20	Indicative workload and equal allocation	KfW estimates a total of 1,710 person- days over the term of the Framework Agreement and states that the three contractors shall receive an approximately equal share. Please confirm whether the approximately equal allocation is intended to apply only to the overall number of person-days, or whether KfW also intends an approximately equal allocation within each personnel category: Team Coordinator, Environmental Experts, Social Experts and Expert Pool?	KfW generally intends an approximately equal allocation within each personnel category services but this will depend on the needs to be covered by services.
21	Cascade assignments and expert availability	Standard assignments may be offered with only 2–3 days’ mobilisation notice. Please clarify the procedure where the nominated Core Team expert is temporarily unavailable. In particular, may another suitably qualified Core Team or Expert Pool member be proposed for the assignment, and may a cascade assignment be declined without penalty or loss of position in the cascade?	It is the bidder’s responsibility to address the organizational approach to such cases in the written concept. In principle, another suitably qualified Core Team or Expert Pool member or Expert Pool member might be proposed for the assignment. A cascade assignment can be declined without penalty. Whether a Panel Firm submits a binding offer or not does not change the rotation order for the next individual contracts (7.1. framework agreement) .

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No.	Reference Documents	Question	Answer
22	Total renumeration	For the purposes of Section 19.6, read together with Sections 30.4 and 30.9, please clarify how “total remuneration” will be determined in the context of a framework agreement. Will the calculation be based on the estimated total remuneration under the framework agreement or on the remuneration under the individual call-off or assignment in connection with which the relevant violation occurred?(1) Please also clarify whether the value of the affected call-off will be taken into account when assessing the proportionality of any contractual penalty under Section 30.4.(2)	1. According to section30.9 (a) the calculation of the total remuneration is based on the estimated total remuneration of the framework agreement. 2. The basis for determining the amount of the contractual penalty in each individual case (for example in the case of a contractual penalty according to 19.6) is the severity and the consequences of the violation (Section 30.4.).
23	Short CVs	Regarding the knowledge of the 13 sectors by the 3 environmental experts and the 3 social experts, the CVs ask to provide maximum 3 sentences per sector to explain how the expert has obtained the required knowledge. Does these three sentence have to refer to the projects referenced in the CV, or can they relate to the expert experience outside of the project references?	The sector knowledge can be either obtained from the projects referred in the CV or from other projects, in case those would not meet all the criteria to be included the CV

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No.	Reference Documents	Question	Answer
24	Presentation of the concept and Case Study Solution	How are the dates for the respective presentations coordinated?	The presentation of the concept and the case study solution are to take place between Monday 28 September 2026 and Friday 2 September 2026. We would therefore be grateful if you could let us know, for planning purposes, the dates on which you can arrange for the required number of people to attend in person. The appointments themselves will take around three hours per bidder. These will take place in the morning and afternoon. YOU WILL ONLY RECEIVE AN ACTUAL INVITATION IF YOUR TENDER MEETS THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS AND ACHIEVES THE MINIMUM SCORE.

KfW 2026-0023 - Question & Answer catalogue Version 3.pdf