Seminar notes: Supplying professional services to the Government of Canada
Opportunities for smaller and diverse businesses
- Government of Canada is one of the largest buyers of goods and services in Canada
- Buys a wide range of goods and services each year, with contract values ranging from hundreds to billions of dollars
- On average, smaller businesses in Canada win the majority of the total value of contracts awarded each year
Contracting with the Government of Canada
- Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) is the main procurement arm of the federal government
- It is important that all procurement activities be conducted in an open, fair and transparent manner, and that all suppliers have an equal chance at doing business with us
- Federal laws and regulations as well as Treasury Board of Canada policies guide the Government of Canada’s procurement process
Standing Offers
- Standing Offers are used to meet recurring needs when departments or agencies repeatedly order the same goods or services
- A Request for Standing Offer (RFSO) is used to solicit standing offers. Suppliers who meet the evaluation criteria stated in the RFSO become pre-qualified suppliers and holders of standing offers
- A Standing Offer is an offer from a potential supplier to provide goods and/or services at pre-arranged prices, under set terms and conditions, when and if required
- It is not a contract until the government issues a “call-up” against the standing offer. The government is under no actual obligation to purchase until that time
Supply Arrangements
- Supply Arrangements are used when goods or services are bought on a regular basis but when a standing offer is not suitable because of variables in the resulting call-ups
- A Request for Supply Arrangement (RFSA) is used to solicit supply arrangements. Suppliers who meet the evaluation criteria stated in the RFSA become pre-qualified suppliers and holders of supply arrangements
- Like standing offers, it is not a contract and neither party is legally bound as a result of signing a supply arrangement alone
- They allow client departments to solicit bids from a pool of pre-qualified suppliers for specific requirements (this differs from standing offers that only allow client departments to accept a portion of a requirement already defined and priced)
Registering as a supplier
Register on the procurement platform(s) that apply to your goods/services:
- register in SAP Ariba
- complete your business profile
- view and respond to opportunities posted to the electronic procurement solution
- register in Supplier Registration Information
- obtain your procurement business number
- this number is currently required for bids that are not processed through SAP Ariba
- learn about registering in sourcing tools for professional services, including the Centralized Professional Services System (CPSS) e-Portal and SELECT
- learn more about registering as a supplier
Registering to provide professional services
Buyers use a variety of purchasing methods, tools, categories and streams to issue service contracts. For more information to help you identify which one(s) may be suitable for your services, contact Professional services:
- for most services, register in Centralized Professional Services System
- ProServices: A wide range of services including information technology (IT), business and project management, human resources (HR), technical, dispute resolution, health and other following services $100,000
- Task-Based Informatics Professional Services: Specific IT services with set deliverables
- Solutions-Based Informatics Professional Services: IT solutions including business transformation, electronic services delivery, business intelligence and network services
- Task and Solutions Professional Services: Non-IT services including HR, business consulting, change and project management, and learning services
- Temporary help services, up to 48 weeks in the National Capital Region (NCR)—opportunities outside the NCR are listed separately
- Professional audit support services: Services to support internal audits, funding compliance and financial accounting
- for construction, architectural and engineering services, register in SELECT
- for linguistic services such as translation, interpretation, terminology and word processing, learn more about offering linguistic services to the Translation Bureau
Finding a suitable opportunity
- Learn about low dollar value opportunities
- Learn about searching for tender opportunities on CanadaBuys
- Consult the CPSS solicitation Dashboard Snapshot and find the corresponding solicitations on CanadaBuys
Security requirements
- A security clearance is necessary when a GC contract requires your personnel to access classified or protected information, assets or sensitive sites
- Security requirements are identified in the tender opportunity
- For questions about clearance processes and requirements, contact the Contract Security Program
- For questions about the security requirements of a specific opportunity, contact the contracting authority listed in the solicitation document
- For more information: Security requirements for contracting with the Government of Canada
CanadaBuys: the official source for federal procurement
- CanadaBuys is the official source for Government of Canada tender and award notices
- Visit CanadaBuys to
- search for public sector tenders and contract history
- register as a supplier for the federal government
- complete your business profile
- access the electronic procurement solution to view and bid on opportunities
Open procurement data
- Knowing what buyers have bought in the past and which companies have been successful selling to them can be useful as you develop your business strategy
- Data on contracts awarded since 2009 are available on the Open Government Portal
- download contract history data for the entire federal government through Proactive Publication (Contracts)
- download contract history data for PSPC-managed contracts by searching for CanadaBuys on the portal
- Contract history and award notices are available through the tenders search on CanadaBuys (for instructions, refer to Searching for award notices and contract history on CanadaBuys)
Procurement Assistance Canada
- Supports smaller and diverse businesses through the federal procurement process
- Engages, assists and informs businesses on how to sell goods and services to the Government of Canada
- Works to reduce barriers to ensure fairness and inclusion in the process
- Looks for opportunities to advance supplier diversity through targeted outreach and advocacy
Next steps
- Learn more about registering as a supplier
- Consult the Preparing to bid on an opportunity reference sheet
- Register for your next session
- Bidding on opportunities
- Ask us anything
- Info café
Get assistance
If you need help understanding the federal procurement process or registering for a procurement business number:
- contact the national InfoLine 1-800-811-1148 (Monday to Friday 8 am to 5 pm Eastern time)
- request a callback from Procurement Assistance Canada
- find a regional office near you (we have a network of offices across Canada)