Procurement Notice

Study the effects of the informal sector on productivity in APO member economies; identify trends in and determinants of informal-sector productivity and impacts on national economies; and examine policy interventions to manage the informal sector to improve productivity growth and achieve better socioeconomic outcomes.

For more details, the PN and Implementation Procedures.

Informal-sector employment shares range from over 80% in some developing APO members, including numerous women, to 26% in the ROK (ILO data). Informal-sector enterprises suffer from low economies of scale and lack of access to finance, undermining their productivity. Countries with larger informal sectors fare less well in inclusive development with lower productivity, fiscal resources, financial deepening, capital accumulation, institutional quality, empowerment of women, and social security coverage. However, informal sectors encourage entrepreneurship and digital technology use, providing secondary jobs in times of high inflation.

While the APO publication “Issues and Challenges on the Productivity Performance of the Informal Sector in Selected APO Members” (2023) provides descriptive case studies of informal sectors in developing members, the objective of this research is integrated multicountry analysis to test, measure, and provide insights on inclusive growth.

The APO will select a research institution with extensive, specialized expertise in multicountry analysis of informal-sector productivity as demonstrated through publications and international research.

Measuring informal-sector productivity in APO members and reference economies; Multicountry analysis of informal-sector productivity; Characteristics of informality; Determinants of informality; Effects of informality on inclusive development; and Policy recommendations.

1. 1. Cover letter of interest (Annex 1).
2. 2. Basic organizational details (Annex 2).
3. 3. Profile of the organization (maximum 1 A4-sized page).
4. 4. Experience in conducting research in similar areas (Annex 3).
5. 5. Financial proposal to indicate the cost of services (Annex 4).
   1. Total costs and breakdowns for conducting the research should be given only in US dollar amounts.
   2. All national taxes and levies applicable should be stated and   included in the total costs. The APO will consider the inclusive costs as the final quoted prices when evaluating proposals.
   3. All rates and costs quoted in financial proposals should be written in both numeric and alphabetic forms, e.g., USD2,500 (two thousand five hundred US dollars).

Download: Annexes.

1. 1. Proposals with all required information specified should only be sent via email in password-protected PDF file attachments signed by authorized representatives no later than 10:00AM (Japan Standard Time), Monday, 20 April 2026 to rminamoto@apo-tokyo.org and asato@apo-tokyo.org.
2. 2. The subject line of the email message should be: Proposal for Research on Raising Informal-sector Productivity by <Institution name>.

1. 1. The selected institution will be awarded a contract with the APO for conducting the research, based on the following selection criteria:
   1. Technical proposal (Proposed scope of work; methodology; timeline; table of contents; and research team composition)
   2. Prior experience in conducting similar projects
   3. Quality of prior publications
   4. Financial proposal (Quotation)
2. 2. Only the selected institution will be notified via email within 1 month of the submission deadline of the acceptance of its proposal.

1. 1. The APO reserves the right to annul the RFP or the vendor selection process, or to accept or reject any or all proposals in whole or part at any time, without stating any reason and without incurring any liability to the affected institution.
2. 2. The APO is not obligated to respond to any objections or to inform the affected institution of the grounds for such decisions.
3. 3. The APO also reserves the right to change the scope of work in case of need or depending upon changes in requirements before or during the implementation phase. However, if changes are made during the implementation phase, the APO will negotiate the costs for the additional work separately with the institution.

1. 1. The APO will not bear any costs related to the research, planning, design, or any other such activity related to the preparation of proposals in response to this RFP by institutions for sending proposals to the APO.
2. 2. The APO may, at its own discretion, extend the submission deadline by notifying all bidders of the extension in writing. Any proposal received after the deadline will be rejected.

A prospective institution requiring any clarification of this document, or the process itself, shall submit its queries in writing only to the following email addresses:

Multicountry Program Division 2
Asian Productivity Organization (APO Secretariat)
1-24-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
Email: rminamoto@apo-tokyo.org and asato@apo-tokyo.org