Procurement and Tenders Policy

1. Purpose and scope

This policy governs every purchase made with TIPCS funds, including donor funds: goods, equipment, services, consultancy, translation, printing, venues, logistics, audit and professional services. It applies to the Board, the executive administration, staff, committee members and anyone who prepares or approves a purchase for the Tunisian Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies (TIPCS).

It does not cover recruitment, fellowships, internships or volunteering, which have their own policies. Grants to partners and partnership choices follow the partnership and due diligence policy.

2. Definitions

• Call for tenders (CFT n/yy): a published invitation to submit technical and financial offers against stated criteria.
• Call for expression of interest (CEOI/yy): a published invitation to firms or experts to declare interest and qualifications, used to build a shortlist or roster.
• Request for quotations: a written request sent to several suppliers for prices on a clearly described need.
• Evaluation committee: at least three people, free of conflicts, who check and score offers.
• Supplier or consultant registration: an entry in the TIPCS roster made through a TIPCS account; it promises no order.
• Related party: as defined in the ratified Conflicts of interest policy.

3. Principles

TIPCS is a private non-profit and is not bound by the government decree that governs public procurement. It nevertheless follows that decree’s principles of transparency, competition and equal treatment, together with its donors’ rules.

• Transparency: notices state subject, rules, documents, criteria and closing date; outcomes are recorded.
• Competition: where the nature and size of the purchase allow, several suppliers are invited and compared on the same basis.
• Equal treatment: the same information, deadlines and criteria for everyone; rules change only by a notice sent to all.
• Value for the mission: best overall value (quality, fitness, cost, risk), not the lowest figure alone.
• Integrity: no gift, bribe or improper advantage is offered or accepted.
• Accountability: every decision is justified in writing and kept on file.

4. Rules and procedure

The Board supervises; the executive administration manages purchasing and signs. Any spending commitment, purchase, contract or expense needs three different signatures: the President or Executive Director; the Treasurer or Finance Manager; and the senior officer in charge. Nobody signs twice or signs their own request. Splitting a purchase to avoid a threshold is forbidden. Payments are made only by authorised humans, after delivery is confirmed.

The method depends on the value, urgency and donor requirements and is stated in each notice. The thresholds are not yet set.

• Need: the requesting officer writes the need and specifications, checks the budget and signs.
• Notice: the executive administration publishes the call or sends the quotation request; clarifications are asked in writing and answered to all interested parties without naming the asker.
• Receipt and opening: offers are received by the stated means; late offers are not opened; time of receipt is recorded.
• Evaluation: the committee checks compliance and scores offers against published criteria; bidders may be asked to clarify, never to change, an offer.
• Decision: the recommendation is approved with three signatures; all bidders are informed in writing and, on request, of the strengths and weaknesses of their own offer.
• Standstill: a short pause stated in the notice before signature, during which a bidder may challenge.
• Contract: a written contract or purchase order with scope, deliverables, schedule, payment terms, integrity and data-protection clauses.
• Delivery and payment: delivery is checked against the contract before payment is authorised.

5. Roles and responsibilities

6. Rights and obligations of suppliers and bidders

Suppliers and consultants are adults or legally constituted entities. They have the right to the same information as other bidders, to ask clarifications, to be told the outcome, to a written reason on request, to challenge a decision, and to have their documents and data treated in confidence. Registration or an expression of interest does not promise an order, a contract or selection.

They must submit truthful documents, declare any link with TIPCS personnel, respect the integrity and confidentiality clauses, refrain from contact with committee members during evaluation, and deliver as contracted. False statements, collusion or attempted corruption lead to exclusion and, where relevant, report to the authorities.

7. Legal framework

This is general information, not legal advice; check the current text before relying on any of these.

• Decree-Law 2011-88 on associations: TIPCS must keep transparent accounts and records and follow the rules on public and foreign funding.
• Public procurement decree for public bodies: TIPCS is not bound by it but follows its principles of transparency, competition and equal treatment, and its donors’ rules.
• Code of Obligations and Contracts: purchase contracts are contracts in good faith.
• Law 2000-83 on electronic exchanges and commerce: electronic offers, signatures and records.
• Law 2017-10 on reporting corruption and protecting whistleblowers: anyone may report suspected corruption in a procedure and is protected.
• Organic Law 2015-26 as amended by Organic Law 2019-9: due diligence on funds and counterparties to prevent terrorist financing and money laundering.
• Organic Law 2004-63 on personal data: bidder and supplier data.
• Law 94-36 on literary and artistic property: rights in commissioned work.

8. Data protection and record keeping

Supplier and bidder data is processed under Organic Law 2004-63; the TIPCS declaration to the INPDP is in progress. Only the data needed to run the procedure is collected, and bids are kept confidential until award. A complete file is kept for every purchase: need, notice, offers, committee declarations and minutes, decision, signatures, contract, delivery and payment. Retention period: [period to be fixed by the Board after the INPDP declaration], subject to the longer period required by Decree-Law 2011-88 and donor agreements.

Controller: Tunisian Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies (TIPCS), registered office Avenue Mahmoud Bourguiba, Monastir 5000, Tunisia; contact Contact@tipcs.org. Under Organic Law 2004-63 you may ask to be informed about how your data is used, to access it, to have it corrected, to object to its processing and to have it deleted, within the limits of that law, by writing to Contact@tipcs.org. If you are not satisfied with our answer, you may complain to the National Authority for the Protection of Personal Data (INPDP), www.inpdp.nat.tn.

9. Safeguarding, conflicts of interest, anti-corruption and donor rules

The ratified Conflicts of interest, Anti-fraud and integrity, Sanctions and due diligence and Safeguarding policies apply. Everyone involved declares any link with a bidder in writing before seeing offers and steps aside if one exists; related-party purchases need prior Board approval without the person concerned. No gift or hospitality is accepted from a bidder. Suppliers are screened under the due diligence rules (Organic Law 2015-26 as amended). Contracts include integrity, safeguarding and data-protection clauses.

Where a donor agreement imposes stricter procurement, eligibility, visibility or audit rules, those rules apply to that project in addition to this policy, and the donor’s prior approval is sought where required.

10. Complaints and whistleblowing

A bidder may challenge a decision in writing during the standstill period, to Contact@tipcs.org quoting the notice reference. The challenge is reviewed by a person not involved in the procedure, who answers in writing. Anyone may report a suspected irregularity in confidence to Contact@tipcs.org with the subject “CONFIDENTIAL – Concern”. The ratified Whistleblowing and complaints policy applies and Law 2017-10 protects good-faith reporting.

11. Review of the policy and version control

The Board reviews this policy at least once a year, with a report from the procurement focal point and the external auditor’s observations. Each version carries a number and date. Version: Draft 1.0, 8 Nov 2026.