Transportation Safety and Technology Science Centre Architectural and Engineering Services

Attestation of assurance

The fairness monitor (FM) hereby provides the unqualified assurance statement below concerning the procurement process for the Transportation Safety and Technology Science (TSTS) Centre Architectural and Engineering Services project.

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

Original signed by:

Project requirement

Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Consulting Inc. (RCGT) was engaged on November 10, 2020 as a FM to observe the TSTS Centre Architectural and Engineering Services project procurement process, issued by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) on behalf of PWGSC’s Science and Parliamentary Infrastructure Branch (SPIB), as a result of bid solicitation EP938-212564/A. RCGT is an independent third party with respect to this activity.

This report covers the activity of the FM from August 25, 2021 continuing through the conclusion of the evaluation phase on April 26, 2022.

The SPIB of PWGSC is seeking the services of an architectural entity with engineering disciplines to develop the TSTS project hub. The TSTS project hub will advance the government’s vision for science and promote scientific excellence by creating a national Center of Excellence (COE) in TSTS. This COE will facilitate the development of the next generation of TSTS subject matter experts by enhancing collaboration through co-location of scientists, engineers and technologists from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the National Research Council of Canada’s Aerospace Research Centre Structures and Materials Performance Laboratory.

We reviewed all the information provided and observed all relevant activities.

This report includes:

• our attestation of assurance
• a summary of the scope and objectives of our assignment
• relevant observations from the activities undertaken

Fairness monitoring engagement and observations

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we:

• reviewed documents provided by the contracting authority (CA)
• monitored communications with proponents provided by the CA
• attended meetings that the CA requested our presence at
• identified any potential fairness-related matters to the CA
• ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate

Request for proposal phase

The following activities were performed by the FM during this phase:

• received the first draft of the request for proposal (RFP) on August 25, 2021
• reviewed the RFP and questions, comments and identified issues were discussed from August 25, 2021 to January 11, 2022
  • the RFP was posted on buyandsell.gc.ca on October 18, 2021.
  • 10 amendments to the RFP were issued, from October 28, 2021 to January 12, 2022, respectively
• reviewed all questions and answers and responses as well as the corresponding RFP amendments from October 26, 2021 to January 6, 2022

The RFP closed on January 17, 2022 at 14:00 Eastern standard time.

There are no unresolved matters related to the RFP phase, nor any observations to report which would impact our attestation.

Evaluation phase

The following activities were performed by the FM during this phase:

• attended evaluation consensus meetings held on March 23, 24, 28, 30 and 31, 2022 and April 4 and 6, 2022
  • observed the evaluation process including observing the consensus meetings of the evaluation team related to the technical evaluation criteria
  • reviewed documentation related to the evaluation results
• reviewed correspondence issued to proponents, including a compliance assessment report
• reviewed documentation related to the evaluation
  • technical evaluation criteria and grids
  • individual baseline and consensus scores
  • signed evaluation documents
  • calculations of final scores
  • final evaluation/selection document

The evaluators performed individual evaluations first and then conducted a series of meetings to come to a consensus score for the technical criteria. The meeting was mediated by the technical authority with support from the CA.

Seven bids were evaluated for phase 1 mandatory requirements. Six bids met the minimum score for rated requirements during phase 2. The consensus meetings concluded, and the evaluators reviewed and signed off on the consensus evaluation scores. The remaining 6 bids were subsequently evaluated for the financial criteria and were deemed financially compliant. Using the evaluation criteria, the successful bidder was identified.

There are no unresolved matters related to the bid evaluation phase, nor any observations to report which would impact our attestation.

Reference documents

The documents related to solicitation EP938-212564/A are available on CanadaBuys or through the project office.

Addendum to the final report

October 24, 2022

Addendum to the final report dated May 3, 2022 for the TSTS Centre Architectural and Engineering Services procurement process.

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

RCGT reviewed all the information provided and observed or monitored all relevant activities of the contract award and debriefing activity, as identified in this report. We hereby submit the FM’s addendum to the final report, which is based on information made available to us by the CA from April 26 to October 24, 2022.

The following activities were performed or monitored by the FM during this phase:

• reviewed a contract award letter and 6 regret letters on May 16, 2022 to be issued to bidders.
  • no fairness issues were identified
• reviewed 6 letters to request an extension to the bid validity period on May 30, 2022
  • no fairness issues were identified
• attended a total of 7 debriefing sessions on October 11, 12 and 21, 2022
  • no unresolved fairness issues were identified

RCGT reserves the right, but will be under no obligation, to review and/or revise the report if further information that may impact our observations becomes known to us after the date of this report.

Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the unqualified assurance statement below concerning the contract award and debriefing activities for the TSTS Centre Architectural and Engineering Services project.

It is our professional opinion that the contract award and debriefing activity that we observed or monitored was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.

Original signed by: