Purpose
The purpose of Policy Notification (PN) 123 is to notify all Acquisitions Program (AP) employees and any other persons providing procurement services on behalf of AP of a new policy on the Phased Bid Compliance Process.
The Phased Bid Compliance Process (PBCP) is a process that can be incorporated into solicitations involving either a request for proposal or a request for standing offer (RFP/RFSO). It provides bidders or offerors with an opportunity, after the solicitation closing date, to correct a finding of non-compliance with respect to Eligible Mandatory Requirements. Where a bidder or offeror is evaluated as non-compliant they will be offered an opportunity to submit additional or different information in order to be re-evaluated as compliant with respect to such Eligible Mandatory Requirement. The policy sets out a common set of factors that will be the basis of Public Works and Government Services Canada’s decision concerning whether the PBCP will form part of the terms of a given RFP/RFSO.
Expected outcomes
The PBCP is expected to support the Government of Canada’s procurement objectives of competition and best value to Canada by increasing the number of bids or offers that demonstrate compliance with the eligible mandatory requirements of a given PWGSC RFP/RFSO.
Context
The October 2015 mandate letter for the Minister of Public Services and Procurement directs the Minister to ensure that Government of Canada procurement processes are made simpler and less administratively burdensome. In the fall of 2015, the Acquisitions Program established flexible bid compliance as an objective in support of this Ministerial mandate.
In June 2016, the Acquisitions Program released Policy Notification 117 - Certifications, Declarations and Proofs, which supports its commitment to flexible bid compliance by providing flexibility to bidders concerning when they are required to provide such documents when mandatory. At approximately this time, Public Services and Procurement Canada’s Acquisitions Program also committed to develop a policy that provides similar flexibility to bidders and offerors concerning compliance with a broader range of mandatory requirements associated with a certain subset of its RFPs/RFSOs.
Policy
When the PBCP must be included in a request for proposal (RFP) or request for standing offer (RFSO):
Subject to the exceptions set out below, the PBCP must be included in an RFP/RFSO when the estimated value exceeds $2,000,000, and one or more of the following factors are present:
- the requirement is complicated;
- four or fewer bids are anticipated;
- the Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy will be applied;
- a socio-economic criteria is a rated requirement with a mandatory minimum threshold score;
- the work involves significant innovation;
- a mandatory requirement is unfamiliar to industry;
- the procurement is subject to a Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement and contains a rated requirement with a mandatory minimum threshold score.
Notwithstanding the above, PWGSC Directors and above may determine that:
- the PBCP not be included in an RFP/RFSO where the above factors are met;
- the PBCP be included in an RFP/RFSO where the above factors have not been met.
The justification for the above-noted exceptions must be documented in the procurement file.
Application of the PBCP:
Phase I: Compliance assessment — Required financial information
- After the closing date and time of an RFP/RFSO, PWGSC procurement officers will:
- examine all bids or offers to ensure that they contain a financial submission and that the submission is not missing financial information;
- notify bidders or offerors of missing financial information and give them a specific time period to provide it; and
- not provide any details concerning the bidder’s or offeror’s financial submission to any member of the evaluation team.
- If a bid or offer is missing the entire financial submission, it will be considered non-compliant and will be given no further consideration.
Bids or offers that continue to have missing financial information after the allotted time given to bidders or offerors to provide this information will be considered non-compliant and will not be given further consideration.
Phase II: Compliance assessment — All other eligible mandatory requirements
- The evaluation team will assess only the bids or offers with all required financial information as established in Phase I, to determine if they demonstrate compliance with all other eligible mandatory requirements as outlined in the RFP/RFSO. Upon completion of this assessment, the PWGSC procurement officer will issue a Compliance Assessment Report (CAR) to all bidders or offerors. This report will inform bidders or offerors either that PWGSC is continuing to consider their bid/offer or identify any eligible mandatory requirement for which the bid or offer does not as yet demonstrate compliance;
- Bidders or offerors whose bids or offers do not as yet demonstrate compliance with one or more of the eligible mandatory requirements will be invited to submit additional or different information, only for the purpose of rendering the re-evaluation of the eligible mandatory requirements identified in the CAR as compliant.
- For point rated requirements with an associated minimum threshold score that a bidder or offeror has failed to achieve, the CAR will also provide the bidder’s or offeror’s score. Bidders or offerors will not be given any additional information concerning the compliance of their bid or offer other than is included in the CAR;
- All bidders or offerors invited to submit additional or different information will receive the same length of time in which to respond to their CAR;
- An acceptable response to the CAR must:
- address only the eligible mandatory criteria identified in the CAR;
- clearly identify any additional or different information, as well as the precise location in the bid or offer where this information applies;
- subject to a. above, identify any other changes to the original bid or offer that are necessitated by the additional or different information the bidder provides in response to the CAR; and
- otherwise follow the Bid or Offer Preparation Instructions in the RFP/RFSO document.
- The decision to respond to the CAR is at the complete discretion of the bidder or offeror. If a bidder or offeror does not respond to the CAR within the allotted time, PWGSC will consider this to be a “no change” response.
- Any response to the CAR that is received after the required time and date will not be given any consideration.
- The evaluation team will review the additional or different information provided by the bidder or offeror to determine whether the bid or offer now demonstrates compliance with the eligible mandatory requirements identified in the CAR. Bids or offers that do not demonstrate compliance with all eligible mandatory requirements at the completion of Phase II will be considered non-compliant and will be given no further consideration.
- For point rated requirements with an associated mandatory minimum threshold score, the bidder’s or offeror’s original score will be used in the determination of the overall final score.
Phase III: Completion of the evaluation process
In this phase, the evaluation process as set out in the RFP/RFSO documents will continue until the successful bidder(s) or offeror(s) is identified or until it is determined that there is no successful bidder or offeror.
Phased Bid Compliance Process Handbook
This document supports implementation of this policy by providing information on how the PBCP is to be applied and identifying the associated roles and responsibilities of Acquisition Program Procurement Officers, officials in client departments and agencies, as well as bidders and offerors as will be set out in the solicitations document.
The Handbook can be requested by email at the following address:
tpsgc.papcsp-appbcp.pwgsc@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca
Reporting requirements
Procurement officers are required to provide information related to the usage of the Phased Bid Compliance Process in an individual Request for Proposal or a Request for Standing Offer (RFP/RFSO). Specific reporting details may be obtained by contacting the following address:
tpsgc.papcsp-appbcp.pwgsc@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca
Contact information
Enquiries related to this policy notification can be sent by email to the following address:
tpsgc.papcsp-appbcp.pwgsc@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca
Changes to the Supply Manual and Standard Acquisitions Clauses and Conditions Manual
Changes to the Supply Manual and Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions Manual will be provided at a later date. For specific RFP/RFSO clauses and conditions please contact:
tpsgc.papcsp-appbcp.pwgsc@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca
Lexicon of terms
- Eligible Mandatory Requirements
- Mandatory requirements for which compliance can be assessed shortly after bid closing.
- Compliance Assessment Report
- A Compliance Assessment Report (CAR) will be issued to all bidders or offerors. The CAR will indicate either compliance or identify incomplete eligible mandatory requirements.
- Evaluation Team
- Group responsible for assessing bids or offers for compliance with the eligible mandatory requirements of a request for proposal or request for standing offer.
- Financial Information
- Information that enables the price of a bid or offer to either be derived or readily determined.
- Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy
- When applied, this policy requires a company to undertake business activities in Canada, equal to the value of the contract.
- Socio-economic objectives
- Socio-economic objectives are specific objectives identified by the Government of Canada which may be associated with a given procurement. These objectives include: aboriginal considerations, Canadian content, environmental sustainability, Industrial and Technological Benefits, innovation, and Small and Medium Enterprises.
- Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement
-
- Comprehensive Land Claims Agreements (CLCAs) are negotiated in areas of Canada where Aboriginal rights and title have not been addressed by treaty or through other legal means. These agreements are modern-day treaties between Aboriginal claimant groups, Canada and the relevant province or territory. While each one is unique, these agreements usually include such things as land ownership, money, wildlife harvesting rights, participation in land, resource, water, wildlife and environmental management as well as measures to promote economic development and protect Aboriginal culture. Many agreements also include provisions relating to Aboriginal self-government.
- CLCAs are law. The CLCA obligations are legally binding because they are contained in agreements signed by Canada and backed by legislation.