Purpose
The purpose of Policy Notification 72R2 (PN-72R2) is to notify Acquisitions Program (AP) contracting officers of changes to the processes involved in the creation, renewal and extension of Standing Offers (SOs) and Supply Arrangements (SAs), and the related roles and responsibilities of all associated stakeholders regarding posting information to the Standing Offer Index (SOI). The revisions to this PN will strengthen the Department’s management control framework for these procurement instruments.
For the purposes of this document, SOs include National Master Standing Offer (NMSO), National Individual Standing Offer (NISO), Regional Master Standing Offer (RMSO), Regional Individual Standing Offer (RISO) and Departmental Individual Standing Offer (DISO).
This PN must be read in conjunction with Commodity Management Policy Notification PN-92, which defines how National Goods and Services Procurement Strategies (NGSPS) will be developed. The latter takes precedence over PN-72R2 should such a strategy exist for a category for which a SO and/or SA is being considered.
Background
In July 2013, the Office of Audit and Evaluation (OAE) released a report (Audit of Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements: Creations, Renewals, and Extensions, 2011-712) on its examination of the Department’s management control framework for the creation, renewal, and extension of SOs and SAs. This report includes recommendations to strengthen this framework, mainly with respect to governance, process and controls. The Acquisitions Program is implementing a Management Action Plan that addresses these recommendations, an example of which is this PN.
Summary of Revisions to the Supply Manual
This section identifies the mandatory steps for the creation, renewal or extension of SOs and SAs, posting information to the SOI, using standard Departmental procurement templates, as well as associated SO and SA reporting requirements.
The Office of Primary Interest (OPI) for specific goods or services is referred to as the Category Management Team and each team has a Category Reviewer responsible for endorsing the creation, extension or renewal of all SOs and SAs.
Should a required product or service not appear under a specific category, the contracting officer must seek endorsement of the SO or SA from the:
- Supervisor or Manager in the National Capital Area (NCA), or
- Regional Category Reviewer outside the NCA
For details, consult the Decision Tree for Creation, Renewal and Extension of Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements (PDF 61 KB) - (Help on File Formats). To contact a Category Reviewer consult the Category Management List of Category Reviewers (PDF 73 KB).
- Review
Before creating, renewing or extending a SO or SA, contracting officers must submit a Category Management Request for Category Reviewer Endorsement (DOC 105 KB) form to the appropriate Category Reviewer who will evaluate the request and subsequently take one of the following actions:- Endorse it without comment or recommendations
- Endorse it with comments, recommendations, or conditions (conditional endorsement)
- Decline it and provide supporting rationale
- Posting Standing Offer and Supply Arrangement Information to the Standing Offer Index
Within five working days of the issuance of the SO/SA on the SOI, contracting officers of the SO/SA issuing office must submit information to the Standing Offer Coordination Office (SOCO) in one of the following format:- the original SO/SA document (in PDF format, with no digital signature), including, when applicable, all subsequent revisions;
- a document containing detailed information specific to the SO/SA, including PWGSC contact information and PWGSC intranet websites when applicable, or
- a PWGSC intranet website link that contains information specific to the SO/SA.
Contracting officers must also ensure that the following criteria are flagged by filling in, where applicable, the appropriate checkboxes in the SOI Information Posting Template (DOC 42 KB):- holder is an Aboriginal Business;
- products and services have a reduced environmental impact and/or the supplier has an environmental policy or environmental practices;
- products or services may be delivered within a Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement (CLCA) area;
- SO/SA involves the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business (PSAB) (must be indicated in the Notes section of the template).
- Use of Departmental Standard Procurement Documents
To issue a Request for Standing Offer or Request for Supply Arrangement, contracting officers must use the appropriate Standard Procurement Template. In addition, Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions (SACC) must be used when preparing procurement documents. Alternative clauses may be used under special circumstances, subject to approval by Legal Services. Should a non-standard clause become a repetitive requirement, a request to include it in the SACC Manual must be submitted to the Procurement Process Tools Division, Acquisition Policy and Process Directorate at the following address: Outilsd'approvisionnement.ProcurementTools@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca. - Reporting Usage Data
To ensure effective management and monitoring of SOs/SAs, contracting officers must give advanced consideration to the associated reporting requirements and how best to meet them. Data sources for SOs/SAs include, but are not limited to the following: SOI, client departments, in-house tracking systems, Category Management Teams, Business Analytics Services Directorate (BASD) at NCR.ACQBReporting@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca, and offerors or suppliers.
Summary of Revisions to the Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions (SACC)
There are no changes to the SACC.
Contact Information
Acquisitions Program Transformation (APT): DCBS-CCD@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca.