Procurement Notice

Examine the relationship between environmental and carbon policies and productivity in APO member economies; assess the potential inhibiting effects of environmental regulation through regulatory compliance costs and imports of decarbonization technologies; examine the potential innovation-offset effects of green innovation on productivity and environmental performance; develop evidence-based policy implications for supporting green transformation and sustainable productivity growth; and contribute to the APO Productivity Outlook 2027.

For more details, please see the PN and Implementation Procedures.

In its role as a think tank, the APO conducts research to monitor the economic growth and productivity performance of its members. As part of this effort, it publishes the APO Productivity Outlook to provide in-depth insights into productivity prospects and structural developments in key sectors. Cross-country comparative analyses of productivity factors, levels, and growth rates are included. The goal is to contribute to evidence-based productivity policymaking in APO member economies.

Green transformation is increasingly shaping productivity in APO member economies. Environmental and carbon policies may raise short-term compliance and technology costs, while also encouraging green technology adoption and innovation that can support productivity over the longer term. As environmental regulations, carbon pricing, emissions trading, and the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism expand, APO economies may face different challenges depending on their technological and institutional capacity and reliance on imported decarbonization technologies.

The APO will select one research institution with expertise in productivity analysis, sectoral productivity decomposition, and/or green productivity measurement, with a track record of publications in English on productivity statistics and sectoral or thematic productivity issues, and with experience in providing research and advisory services to governments. The institution should demonstrate the capacity to conduct cross-country analysis of APO member economies and to work with internationally comparable data.

Research focus and analytical framework; Environmental/carbon policy indicators; Productivity trends across APO economies; Environmental regulation and imports of decarbonization technologies; Cross-country comparison and adjustment challenges; Policy implications; Data and methodological requirements; Coordination and quality assurance requirements.

• ・Cover letter of interest (Annex 1).
• ・Basic organizational details (Annex 2).
• ・Profile of institution (maximum 1 A4-sized page).
• ・Experience in conducting research in similar areas (Annex 3).
• ・Financial proposal to indicate the cost of services, including the proposed allocation of resources across the two research phases.
• ・Total costs and breakdowns for conducting the research should be given only in US dollar amounts.
• ・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.
• ・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.

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 16:00 (Japan Standard Time), 6 November 2026 to tislam@apo-tokyo.org, hsakama@apo-tokyo.org.

The subject line of the email message should be: Proposal for Conducting Research on the APO Productivity Outlook 2027: Green Transformation and Productivity by <Institution name>.

• ・The selected institution will be awarded a research contract with the APO for conducting the research, based on the following selection criteria:
  • Methodology of research;
  • Prior experience in conducting similar research;
  • Quality of prior publications; and
  • Research quotation.
• ・Only the selected institution will be notified via email within 1 month of the submission deadline of the acceptance of its proposal

• ・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.
• ・The APO is not obligated to respond to any objections or to inform the affected institution of the grounds for such decisions.
• ・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.

• ・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.
• ・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, should submit its queries in writing only to the following email address by the deadline of 6 November 2026:

Knowledge Creation and Innovation Department
Asian Productivity Organization (APO Secretariat)
1-24-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
Email: tislam@apo-tokyo.org, hsakama@apo-tokyo.org