OGGO – Annex - Ombudsman recommendations – February 15, 2023

Background:

On September 4, 2020, OPO advised IRCC that it was selected as part of a review regarding procurement practices pertaining to evaluation criteria and selection plans, the solicitation process, evaluation of bids and contract award. Selections were based on value and volume of annual procurement activity and the time elapsed since contracting activities were last subject to a review.
In October 2020, OPO reviewers selected 40 competitive contract files processed within IRCC’s contracting delegation from August 1, 2018, to July 31, 2020, for the review. On April 30, 2021, OPO provided preliminary observations to which IRCC responded and provided additional information.
On July 8, 2021, OPO delivered its initial draft report. IRCC procurement staff reviewed the report and responded with comments on August 4, 2021.
On August 11, 2021, IRCC’s Deputy Minister’s Office received OPO’s final draft report on the review of IRCC practices regarding the solicitation to contract award process along with a disposition table illustrating how IRCC’s comments have been addressed.

The report notes that IRCC has many positive, robust processes and tools in place to ensure that procurement files comply with the procurement regulatory framework in addition to adequate records of decisions that document management oversight and audit trails.
The report contains a number of observations which are mostly attributable to errors by individuals (such as lack of experience of new officers) as opposed to weaknesses in the systems or processes. These observations are typical of those found by OPO reviews in other departments.
The report concludes the following three key recommendations:
- IRCC should establish a quality control process to ensure mandatory criteria are adequately defined and communicated in a clear, precise and measurable manner, and that mandatory criteria are limited to the essential qualifications necessary to fulfill the requirement;
- IRCC should ensure that the information that is communicated to suppliers both during and after the solicitation process is accurate and that adequate documentation of these communications is retained to facilitate management oversight; and
- IRCC should ensure that evaluations adhere strictly to the evaluation criteria and are carried out in accordance with the planned approach.

IRCC has adopted a peer review quality control process for services over 100K and goods over 25K that include evaluation criteria. Officers have been offered increased training opportunities and documentation from subject matter experts on the subject to develop their knowledge and skills in this area.
IRCC has provided education tools to officers and standardized its communication and record keeping tools in order to better document interactions with suppliers.
IRCC has updated its bid evaluation guidelines to further strengthen the roles and responsibilities of the evaluation committee to ensure that the planned approach identified in the tendering process is adhered to. IRCC has developed and has consistently implemented several tools to ensure that procurement files contain adequate records of decisions to facilitate management oversight and maintain an adequate audit trail (such as: Contract Planning and Advanced Approval, Risk Assessment Tool, Evaluation Summary Report, Procurement File Checklist, etc.).