On Wednesday, November 19th, Gallina Vincelette, Vice President of Operations Policy & Country Services, and Hiba Tahboub, Chief Procurement Officer at the World Bank, visited the Netherlands as part of a three-day tour of Europe, which also included stops in Brussels and Berlin. During their visit to The Hague, TIO at the Netherlands Enterprise Agency hosted a Dialogue Session with 16 representatives from Dutch companies and organizations to discuss recent World Bank procurement reforms, as well as the challenges and opportunities encountered by practitioners. In a lively and open exchange, participants shared their experiences with the Bank’s procurement system and offered practical suggestions for further improvement.
The afternoon began with an insightful presentation by Gallina Vincelette, who provided an overview of Dutch company performance in Investment Project Financing (IPF) tenders and summarized the procurement reforms introduced in March and September of this year. Each year, roughly 40,000 IPF procurement opportunities are issued; between FY21 and FY25, Dutch companies secured 349 contracts worth a total of USD 685 million (excluding contracts awarded to foreign subsidiaries of Dutch firms). Urban Resilience and Water were highlighted as sectors in which Dutch companies are particularly competitive.
Following the presentation, the group moved on to a tour de table in which each company had the opportunity to share experiences, offer feedback, and pose questions related to the Bank’s Operational Procurement policies and processes. Topics raised included new local-labour requirements for works, the potential to leverage framework agreements from other financial institutions, the use and application of rated criteria, limitations on participating in both project design and implementation unless bundled in a single contract, early market engagement opportunities, and collaboration between PIUs and firms in defining the scope of Terms of Reference. A recurring theme was the limited feedback provided to bidders, with several participants noting that the transparency of bid evaluations could be strengthened beyond the publication of award notices.
The Dialogue Session was a great success, and we extend our sincere thanks to the World Bank for their visit and to all participants for their candid and constructive contributions.
Please reach out to Tio@rvo.nl if you are interested in participating in procurement or other events organized by RVO Team International Organizations.
Netherlands for the World Bank 
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