For immediate release
GATINEAU, Quebec, June 17, 2009 – Today, the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Public Works and Government Services, underlined the posting of a Request for Standing Offer (RFSO) for Task and Solutions Professional Services (TSPS).
The RFSO has been posted on MERX™, the Government Electronic Tendering System, and will be open until July 27, 2009, while a Request for Supply Arrangement will be posted in the next few weeks. This is of particular interest to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as they account for almost 90 percent of Canada’s TSPS industry.
“Canada’s small and medium businesses are the backbone of our economy and this Government is ensuring they remain key providers to the Government of Canada,” said Minister Paradis. “SMEs are major players in the Task and Solutions Professional Services industry and this is yet another concrete step our government has taken to facilitate their access to federal procurement opportunities.”
The government plans to establish new Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements for three key classes of non-informatics professional services commonly used by the federal departments across Canada: Human Resource Management Services (e.g. Employee relations consultant), Project Management Services (e.g. Organization development consultant), and Business and/or Change Management Services (e.g. Quality assurance and management specialist). These procurement tools will use common and flexible category descriptions that will simplify the procurement process for federal departments. The intent of this initiative is to help departments better meet their operational and strategic requirements while providing them with immediate and direct access to the TSPS market.
The Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements will complement other procurement mechanisms already in place, such as those for Temporary Help Services recently awarded by the government.
Public Works and Government Services Canada held significant consultations over a nine-month period with the professional services industry and government procurement experts prior to developing this new procurement initiative. In addition to individual suppliers, 54 companies and 42 associations participated in the consultation process.
The Government of Canada is committed to giving SMEs access to compete for government business. The Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (OSME) supports SMEs by working to reduce barriers and by simplifying requirements for SMEs that want to do business with the Government of Canada. OSME maintains a network of six Regional Offices across the country to ensure support for smaller suppliers no matter where they are located.
For more information on OSME and its initiatives, please call the national toll free InfoLine at 1-800-811-1148 or visit http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/app-acq/pme-sme/index-eng.html.
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For further information, media may contact:
Mary-Ann Dewey-Plante
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Christian Paradis
Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada
613-218-6961
E-mail: Mary-Ann.Dewey-Plante@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca
Public Works and Government Services Canada
Media Relations
819-956-2315
PWGSC news releases are also available on our Internet site at: http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/medias-media/index-eng.html.
