Satellite Flight Operations and Data Management services

1. Introduction

Samson & Associates was engaged as a Fairness Monitor (FM) on March 12,  2020 to observe the competitive acquisition process for the Satellite Flight Operations and Data Management services, undertaken by Public works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), on behalf of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) as a result of solicitation number 9F044-190433/A. Samson & Associates is an independent third party with respect to this activity.

We reviewed all of the information provided and observed all relevant activities. We had full access to all aspects of the procurement process and co-operation from all stakeholders.

We hereby submit the Final Report covering the activities of the FM, commencing with the Request for Proposal (RFP) publication, and continuing through to the close of its evaluation phase.

This report includes our attestation of assurance, a summary of the scope and objectives of our assignment, the methodologies applied and relevant observations from the activities undertaken.

2. Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the following unqualified assurance statement concerning the competitive selection process for the Satellite Flight Operations and Data Management services, commencing with the Request for Proposals publication, and continuing through to the close of its evaluation phase.

It is our professional opinion that the activities we observed were carried out in a fair, open, and transparent manner.

3. Requirements

CSA located in St-Hubert (Quebec) is looking to put in place a contract for the provision of satellite Flight Operations and Data Management Services, including spacecraft health monitoring and control, operational analysis, basic system maintenance, data order handing, image quality control and data processing and archiving for the satellite missions under its responsibility and operated at the Multi-Mission Control Center (MCC) of the CSA.

Several missions (at least 5) will be addressed in the work if they are operating at the start of the Contract.

16 performance indicators have been identified, of which a few are considered important. These will be reviewed and mutually agreed upon every year at the Operational Services Reviews by both parties based on lessons learned and need to make necessary adjustments for mutual benefit.

4. Methodology

Samson & Associates was engaged as a FM to observe the competitive acquisition process for the Satellite Flight Operations and Data Management services, 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 and observed the activities related to this procurement (RFP and its amendments, related questions and answers process and bid evaluation). We identified fairness-related matters to the contracting and technical authorities and ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate.

4.1 Activities and observations: request for proposal

The RFP was published on buyandsell.gc.ca on March 31, 2020 and closed on June 4, 2020.

At the close of the RFP, 6 amendments had been issued. Questions from potential bidders were accepted and responses provided on buyandsell.gc.ca prior to the closing of the RFP. The FM reviewed the RFP documents as well as all the questions and answers provided during the RFP solicitation period, ensuring that fairness related concerns were satisfactory addressed

No fairness related issues were noted.

4.2 Activities and observations: evaluation of the request for proposal

The FM reviewed the evaluation plan and framework, and the score file. The evaluation of bids at the evaluation stage consisted of a review of the documentation submitted by the bidders as indicated in the RFP.

An information session for the technical evaluation team was held on June 8, 2020, the contracting authority and the FM attended. The evaluation team consisted of 16 evaluators.

1 bid was received as part of this procurement process. Technical evaluation of the bid started on June 9, 2020. The contracting authority and FM assisted to the consensus meetings with the evaluation team. The consensus meetings were held on June 12 and June 18, 2020.

The financial evaluation was initiated by the contracting authority following the results of the technical evaluation. The financial bid was deemed compliant. The FM reviewed the results of the financial evaluation. The summary report regarding the evaluation process was produced by PWGSC on June 26, 2020 and was reviewed by the FM.

No fairness related issues were noted.

5. Reference documents

The following documents are referenced by number in this report and unless otherwise indicated, are all available through PWGSC and on buyandsell.gc.ca.

6. Addendum to final report, February 1st, 2021

This Addendum to the FM final report covers the period following the conclusion of the evaluation phase.

Fairness monitoring activities related to contract award and debriefings

1 bid was submitted in response to the Request for Proposal. The bid received was deemed responsive.

The bidder was informed of the evaluation results in writing on September 11, 2020. Clarifications on the financial proposal were subsequently requested to assess the competitiveness of the proposed price. Following a meeting, the clarifications requested resulted in a price adjustment which was deemed satisfactory by CSA and PWGSC. The contract award was then was communicated on January 20, 2021. The FM reviewed the correspondence and observed the meetings with the bidder.

Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the following unqualified assurance statement concerning the competitive selection process for the Satellite Flight Operations and Data Management services.

It is our professional opinion that the competitive selection process that we observed or monitored was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.