7.40. Debriefing and feedback session to bidders/offerors/suppliers

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  1. Debriefing
    1. The purpose of a debriefing is to explain to unsuccessful bidders/offerors/suppliers why their bid/offer/arrangement was not accepted, allowing them to improve their future documents. A debriefing demonstrates the fairness, openness, and transparency of the federal government contracting process. Also, contracting officers can improve future solicitations by using the comments and suggestions provided by bidders/offerors/suppliers.
    2. Every solicitation must include a provision stating that bidders/offerors/suppliers may request a debriefing about the results of the solicitation. The departmental standard procurement templates include a provision to this effect.
    3. Following the award of a contract or issuance of a standing offer (SO)/supply arrangement (SA), a debriefing will be provided upon request. A written debriefing is usually done in the form of a regret letter that is sent out to each unsuccessful bidder/offeror/supplier. See samples of regret letters in Annex 7.1 Samples of Regret Letters.
    4. In the case of a complex procurement, when a solicitation is conducted in phases, the contracting officer will notify unsuccessful bidders/offerors/suppliers at the end of each phase and provide a debriefing upon request.
    5. Within the limits expressed at section 7.45 Disclosure of information, a debriefing will include the following, as applicable:
      1. the name(s) of the successful bidder(s)/offeror(s)/supplier(s);
      2. the total estimated cost of the contract(s);
      3. the total evaluated price of the successful bidder(s) and the total score, if applicable;
      4. very general information on the relative strengths of the successful bid(s)/offer(s)/arrangement(s), ensuring that confidential and commercial information is not divulged;
      5. an outline of the reasons the bid/offer/arrangement of the bidder/offeror/supplier being debriefed was not successful according to the evaluation criteria and selection methodology; and
      6. Scores achieved on all rated criteria of the bid/offer/arrangement, will be provided with sufficient detail for the bidder/offeror/supplier to understand why those scores were assigned.
  2. Feedback Session
    1. A feedback session is a form of debriefing. A feedback session will be provided, upon request, when a solicitation is to be cancelled and reissued. The purpose of a feedback session is to provide the bidder/offeror/supplier with information specific to their bid/offer/arrangement. As an example, a feedback session will provide the bidder/offeror/supplier with information on which mandatory criteria they passed or failed or their overall technical score or their score for each technical criterion. This information will allow the bidder/offeror/supplier to understand why their bid/offer/arrangement failed to meet the requirements. No information regarding other bids/offers/arrangements or the solicitation to be reissued must be divulged.
    2. In order to ensure the fairness, openness, and transparency of the solicitation process, all bidders/offerors/suppliers must have access to the same information on the solicitation to be reissued. Therefore, all information provided in a feedback session must be documented by the Contracting Authority. The information communicated during the feedback session, where pertinent, will be provided in a generic form in the solicitation to be reissued to maintain fairness to all potential bidders/offerors/suppliers. One or both of the following measures will be taken to provide bidders/offerors/suppliers with this information:
      1. The particular area of concern will be highlighted more prominently with additional instructions to bidders/offerors/suppliers in the solicitation to be reissued (for example, by adding text to inform or focus attention).
      2. A bidders' conference will be held for the solicitation to be reissued. For further information on bidders' conferences, see section 4.30.45.15 Bidders' Conferences and Site Visits.
    3. In determining which of these two measures, b. ii. A. and/or B., to use, contracting officers should consider the following factors:
      1. the complexity of the procurement or solicitation documents;
      2. the likelihood of an unsuccessful reissued solicitation, e.g. if no responsive bids/offers/arrangements had been received;
      3. the nature of the issues that created a need to cancel and reissue the solicitation;
      4. the sensitivity of the procurement; and
      5. the estimated dollar value of the procurement.
    4. Both measures listed in, b. ii. A. and B. above, must be undertaken when Treasury Board (TB) contract approval is required.
    5. In accordance with subsection f. of section 4.100 Cancelling and Reissuing a Solicitation , all solicitations to be reissued must include Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions (SACC) clause A9043T Reissue of Bid Solicitation, informing bidders/offerors/suppliers that the reissued solicitation cancels and supersedes the previous solicitation and that a debriefing or feedback session will be provided, upon request, to bidders/offerors/suppliers who bid on the previous solicitation.
  3. Cancelled Solicitations
    1. When a solicitation is cancelled prior to the bid solicitation closing date, the Contracting Authority must adhere to the procedures addressed in section 4.100 Cancelling and Reissuing a Solicitation.
    2. When a solicitation is cancelled after the bid closing date but prior to completing the evaluation of mandatory or rated criteria, the Contracting Authority will inform bidders/offerors/suppliers of the cancellation and that the evaluation of the bids/offers/arrangements was not completed.
    3. When a solicitation is cancelled after the bid closing date, following the evaluation of mandatory or rated criteria, and a new solicitation is not planned or will not be issued, a debriefing will be provided upon request in accordance with section 7.40 Debriefing and Feedback Session to Unsuccessful Bidders/Offerors/Suppliers.
    4. When a solicitation is cancelled following the evaluation of mandatory or rated criteria and will be reissued, then a feedback session will be provided upon request.
      1. If the solicitation is cancelled because all bids/offers/arrangements are non-responsive or do not represent fair value and the Statement of Requirements of the solicitation to be reissued is significantly modified, bidders/offerors/suppliers will only be informed of which mandatory criteria(s) or rated criteria(s) requiring a minimum score were failed but no detail is to be provided as to why the bidders/offerors/suppliers failed each criteria. No information on other rated criteria(s) is to be provided.
      2. If the solicitation is cancelled because all bids/offers/arrangements are non-responsive or do not represent fair value and the Statement of Requirements of the solicitation to be reissued is not significantly modified, bidders/offerors/suppliers will be informed of which mandatory criteria(s) or rated criteria(s) requiring a minimum score were failed with sufficient detail for bidders/offerors/suppliers to understand why they failed each criteria. No information on other rated criteria(s) is to be provided.
      3. If the solicitation is cancelled for reasons other than those mentioned above, bidders/offerors/suppliers will only be informed of which mandatory criteria(s) or rated criteria(s) requiring a minimum score were failed but no detail is to be provided as to why the bidders/offerors/suppliers failed each criteria. No information on other rated criteria(s) is to be provided.
      Bidders/offerors/suppliers will be advised not to make any assumptions from the information received regarding the cancelled solicitation when bidding on the solicitation to be reissued as evaluation criteria(s) may change.
  4. Bidders/offerors/suppliers should request a debriefing or feedback session within fifteen (15) working days of receipt of the results of the solicitation process or cancellation of the solicitation process.
  5. A debriefing or a feedback session should be provided within ten (10) working days from the date a request was received.
  6. A debriefing or feedback session can be provided in writing, by telephone or in person. Contracting officers are to determine which method will be most effective in the context of a particular procurement. To the extent possible, any request for an in-person debriefing or feedback session, or for the information to be provided in a particular way, should be accommodated.
  7. Contracting officers should consult with management and, if required, legal services prior to providing a debriefing or feedback session for a requirement that is sensitive or high risk.
  8. If a fairness monitor was present during the evaluation process, then the contracting officer will advise the fairness monitor of the date and time of any telephone/in-person debriefing or feedback session or bidders' conference.
  9. If legal counsel is to accompany the bidder/offeror/supplier to any in-person debriefing or feedback session, or participate in any telephone debriefing or feedback session, the contracting officer will inform Legal Services and discuss their participation.
  10. Contracting officers must keep a record of the debriefing or feedback session information provided including, but not limited to, minutes or a record of any meeting and comments and suggestions from the bidders/offerors/suppliers.
  11. Upon request, contracting officers should provide to bidders/offerors/suppliers the following general information about the judicial and quasi-judicial bodies to which bid protests can be made. For any given procurement, one or more of the following avenues may be available to a bidder/offeror/supplier that wishes to make a claim regarding the conduct of the procurement:
    1. Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT): Whether or not the CITT has jurisdiction to conduct an inquiry regarding any particular procurement will depend on factors such as the government institution conducting the procurement, the estimated value of the procurement, and the nature of the goods, services, or construction services being procured. More information can be obtained by visiting the How to File a Complaint section on the CITT Web site.
    2. Office of the Procurement Ombudsman (OPO): If the value of the procurement is below the monetary thresholds established under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, the OPO may have jurisdiction to conduct a review. More information can be obtained by visiting the Make a Complaint section on the OPO Web site.
    3. An action in a Provincial/Territorial Superior Court or in Federal Court.
    Note: There are strict deadlines for bringing bid protests, and the time periods vary depending on where the bid protest is brought. Suppliers may wish to consult their own lawyers on the appropriate forum for bringing a bid protest.
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