The independent parallel bid evaluation strategy: lessons from Uganda National Roads Authority

We adopted a qualitative and cross-sectional design to examine lessons from the independent parallel bid evaluation (IPBE) strategy from Uganda National Roads Authority. The IPBE strategy leads to improved bidder confidence, improves objective assessment, timely high-quality decisions, in addition to organisational learning and procurement cost reduction. The study found the strategy relevant for reintroduction and rolling out to other entities, after making provisions for its operationalisation in the legislative and regulatory framework. Since the study only considered lessons from the strategy, future research should aim at understanding the relationships between the lessons learnt using various methods. Academia has an opportunity to study further this strategy that may make a breakthrough of the inherent unethical bid evaluation challenge in sub-Saharan Africa. Procurement professionals should make use of the strategy to learn and improve the bid evaluation outcomes that has a large impact of onward procurement processes.