East Block phase 2—Technical feasibility study

1. Introduction

P1 Consulting Inc. (P1 Consulting or Fairness Monitor) was engaged on April 8, 2019 as a Fairness Monitor (FM) to observe the procurement process for the East Block Phase 2 Technical Feasibility Study (East Block) issued by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) on behalf of Science and Parliamentary Infrastructure Branch as a result of Request for Proposal (RFP) Solicitation Number: EP924-192854.

P1 Consulting is an independent third party with respect to this activity. We reviewed all of the information provided and observed all relevant activities.

We hereby submit the Final Report, covering the activities of the FM, commencing from the start of our engagement on April 8, 2019 with the review of the draft RFP and continuing through to the end of the Financial Evaluation on August 21, 2019. This report includes our attestation of assurance, a summary of the scope and objectives of our assignment, and relevant observations from the activities undertaken.

2. Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the following unqualified assurance statement concerning the East Block Phase 2 Technical Feasibility Study Request for Proposal. It is our professional opinion that the procurement process which we observed was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.

3. Fairness monitoring engagement and observations

P1 Consulting was engaged as an FM to observe for the East Block Phase 2 Technical Feasibility Study procurement, and to attest to the fairness, openness and transparency of this monitored activity.

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we familiarized ourselves with the relevant documents, observed the RFP activities, identifying fairness-related matters to the contracting and technical authorities if/when applicable and ensuring that responses and actions were reasonable, appropriate and fair. We reviewed all of the information provided and observed all relevant activities from our engagement date onwards.

4. Request for proposals EP924-192854

To date, in our role as FM, P1 Consulting observed that the following was implemented:

• Clarity of the procurement documents and processes
• Avoidance of conflicts of interests through the implementation of mechanisms
• Proper processes related to the protection of the Bidders’ confidential information
• Application of diligence throughout the procurement and evaluation processes
• Adherence to the procurement documents

P1 Consulting observed the procurement process for East Block related to RFP EP924-192854 issued by PSPC.

As part of our engagement, we have undertaken the following:

Review of the RFP, and Addenda

P1 Consulting reviewed the RFP and addenda, as required, related to the procurement process during the period from April 8, 2019 to June 17, 2019

Review of Evaluation Criteria and Procedures

P1 Consulting reviewed the evaluation criteria and procedures for the RFP to ensure that the evaluation would be completed in a manner that was fair, open and transparent

Review of RFP closing

P1 Consulting received confirmation from PSPC that no late submissions were received following the closing deadline of July 8, 2019 at 2:00 pm EST

As part of our engagement, we have undertaken the following related to the evaluation process:

Monitor Evaluator Training

P1 Consulting monitored the evaluator training (“Evaluation Kick-Off Meeting”) provided by PSPC on July 17, 2019. Prior to the meeting P1 Consulting reviewed the Individual Evaluation Grids

Review of Phase I—Mandatory Requirements

Upon PSPCs review of the submissions received it was determined that all four submissions had been evaluated as compliant. P1 Consulting received notification from PSPC that all Bidders met the mandatory requirements. Only those submissions deemed responsive to the requirements would proceed to Phase II—Technical Bid

Review of Phase II—Rated Requirements (Technical)

Phase II began with each Evaluator undertaking their individual review prior to the consensus meetings. The Phase II evaluation of the Rated Requirements took place on August 15 and 16, 2019. The evaluation team meetings attendance included the evaluation team, a PSPC Contracting Authority representative and the FM. The consensus meetings followed the process outlined in the RFP for the evaluation. To be considered further, Proponents must achieve a minimum Technical Rating of 60.0% percent or a total of 60.0 points out of the possible 100 points available. Only those submissions deemed responsive to the requirements would proceed to Phase III—Financial Evaluation of the Bid

Review of Phase III—Financial Evaluation of the Bids (Price of Services)

Only those submissions deemed responsive to the requirements would proceed to Phase IV—Total Score. This phase was undertaken by the PSPC Contracting Authority and provided to the FM for review upon its completion

Review of Phase IV—Final Evaluation of the Bid (Total Score)

Phase IV requires the PSPC Contracting Authority to input the Technical Rating and the Pricing Rating into the evaluation record following the process outlined in the RFP

Basis of Selection

Only those submissions deemed responsive to the requirements of Phase I-IV that comply with all the requirements of the bid solicitation including the mandatory requirements and the technical rated threshold would be ranked based on their Total Score. The Proponent receiving the highest Total Score is the first entity that the Evaluation Board will recommend for the provision of the required services

Through our engagement, with respect to RFP EP924-192854, our activities related to identifying fairness matters to the contracting authority at PSPC and ensuring that the responses provided and any actions taken were fair, open and transparent. All comments provided by FM related to fairness were adequately addressed by PSPC.

5. Reference documents

Documents related to solicitation EP924-192854/A are available on CanadaBuys.

6. Addendum to final report, February 18, 2020

Addendum to the final report dated December 17, 2019 for the procurement process for the East Block Phase 2 Technical Feasibility Study (East Block)

This addendum to the final report covers the period following the conclusion of the evaluation phase including contract award and debriefings.

As part of our engagement, on December 12, 2019 we reviewed the draft notification of contract award letters. The FM reviewed the letters prior to their issuance and found no fairness issues with the letters.

All Bidders were provided the opportunity to attend a debriefing. The FM attended the requested debriefings meetings with the Bidders. The debriefings were carried out by the PSPC Contracting Authority and the Client Authority.  No issues or comments were made by any Bidder which impacted our attestation as the FM for this project that the procurement was conducted in an open fair and transparent manner.

Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the following unqualified assurance statement concerning the East Block Phase 2 Technical Feasibility Study procurement process. It is our professional opinion that the procurement process which we observed was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.