Seminar notes: Supplying professional services to the Government of Canada

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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)

Finding key government contacts

• Government Electronic Directory Services provides a directory of most federal public servants across Canada (except for the Department of National Defence, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service)
• PSPC Regional Offices
  • can provide information about selling opportunities in your specific area
  • you can contact Public Services and Procurement Canada Regional Offices

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)