Bid Protest

The Bid Protest is an administrative review mechanism, not a misconduct reporting channel. It is designed specifically for suppliers who believe they have been unfairly treated or that procurement procedures were not followed during a UNOPS procurement process in which they participated.

While misconduct (such as fraud or corruption) must be reported via the Integrity Portal to UNOPS’ Internal Audit and Investigations Group (IAIG), challenges to procurement evaluation processes must follow the formal Bid Protest procedure. Detailed instructions and contact poin are located within the specific solicitation documents for each tender.

Please consult the UNOPS Procurement Manual (Section 10.2) which contains the protest procedures. You may also consult the Supplier Resource Centre (Post Bidding section) for the mandatory prerequisite steps required before lodging a formal protest.

Primary goal: To review the fairness and accuracy of a specific procurement process.

Who can initiate the protest? Only suppliers who participated in that specific tender.

Typical issues covered: Incorrect evaluation, bias in requirements, or breach of procurement rules.

Timing: Must be filed within strict timelines (please see solicitation documents).

Result: Re-evaluation of bids, cancellation of award or process correction.

Important Note: If a Bid Protest review uncovers evidence of fraud, the matter will be internally referred to the Investigations team (IAIG). However, the Bid Protest process itself remains focused on the procurement outcome.