9.40.35. Sourcing of requirements under Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB) set-asides
Attention! As the transition to CanadaBuys is ongoing, Supply Manual references to ABE are to be interpreted as a generic system reference only. Users of the SAP Ariba environment should adapt their activities accordingly.
Buyers are advised to consult the tools available on CanadaBuys for guidance and procedures on completing procurement transactions in the SAP Ariba environment.
- Procurements set aside under PSIB may be competitive or non-competitive according to current established government sourcing policies (see details on competitive and non-competitive at 3.10 Competitive Contracting Process and 3.15 Non-competitive Contracting Process.) Indigenous businesses may be invited to submit a bid/offer/arrangement in accordance with Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) policies and procedures.
- Vendor Information Management (VIM) of PWGSC and "SELECT" systems allow for the identification of suppliers that have self-declared as being Indigenous. The information in VIM and "SELECT" collected from supplier registrations and contract awards is useful to identify potential Indigenous businesses for sourcing purposes, and establish source lists, regardless of commodity (goods, services, or construction), which would be subject to rotation regimes such as Automated Vendor Rotation System or "SELECT".
- When issuing a solicitation for a standing offer or a supply arrangement especially for a commodity falling under the mandatory commodities, the contracting officer should always, when feasible, solicit for a PSIB set-aside stream to allow client departments the possibility of contracting with Indigenous firms if they wish to do a set-aside procurement under PSIB.
- When creating a standing offer or supply arrangement which will include both a source list for Indigenous set-asides as well as a general source list, the solicitation should clearly indicate that Indigenous suppliers who qualify for the Indigenous source list, standing offer or supply arrangement will be automatically placed on the general source list, standing offer or supply arrangement if the procurement requirements are identical. Therefore, in the case of identical requirements, it is not necessary for Indigenous suppliers to submit two separate bids/offers/arrangements.
- Contracting officers may also access other sources, such as Indigenous Services Canada’s Indigenous Business Directory for more information on Indigenous suppliers and to identify potential Indigenous businesses which may be invited to submit a bid/offer/arrangement. Contracting officers may also contact the Business Development Directorate, ISC, directly by telephone at 1-800-400-7677, or by email at: indigenousprocurement@sac-isc.gc.ca.
- When bids/offers/arrangements are solicited via the Government Electronic Tendering Service, notices (Notice of Proposed Procurement [NPP] or Advanced Contract Award Notice [ACAN]) must contain one of the following statement, prominently positioned, i.e., one of the first statements in the notice:
"This procurement has been set aside under the federal government's Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB). In order to be considered, a supplier must certify that it qualifies as an Indigenous business as defined under PSIB and that it will comply with all requirements of PSIB." (NPP);
OR
"This procurement has been set-aside under the federal government's Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB). Only Indigenous businesses as defined under PSIB are eligible to challenge the proposed procurement strategy to award the contract to the named Indigenous business." (ACAN) - Contracting officers must ensure that for notices on GETS, the appropriate "Agreement Type" is selected for PSIB set-asides.