The government of Maldives has issued the Unsolicited Proposals Policy (USP Policy) to promote private sector participation in the country's development, pursuant to clause 10.27 of the Public Finance Regulations published under the Public Finance Act.
The policy has been published in the government gazette, according to the President's Office. A USP is a proposal that offers a unique solution to a government need which has not been explicitly requested by the government. The policy outlines the framework that would be used to consider and assess such proposals that are aligned with the pledges of the government and contributes to its development agenda. Ministry of Economic Development is appointed as the One-Stop Shop to submit proposals under the policy.
There are 3 stages in accepting and reviewing an unsolicited proposal. The first stage aims to ensure the proposal complies with the requirements laid out in the policy, subsequent to which a strategic assessment of the proposal will be carried out to determine whether the proposal warrants a direct negotiation with the government.
Detailed criteria for the assessment of proposals are outlined in the policy, which aims to harness private-sector innovation and capabilities in the delivery of strategic projects of the government, while protecting public-policy objectives and intellectual property rights, encouraging competition, and ensuring transparency and accountability, according to the President’s Office.
The government wants to encourage private parties to put forward ideas that will help to deliver better public services and give those ideas a fair hearing.