Government of Canada increases the diversity of suppliers with inclusive procurement initiative

News release

September 26, 2023 – Ottawa, Ontario – Shared Services Canada

Diversity and inclusion in Government of Canada procurement processes helps build a more inclusive economy and stimulates competition and prosperity for Canadian businesses.

Today, Shared Services Canada (SSC) is making its ScaleUp social procurement initiative available to other government departments and agencies.

This program encourages small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), as well as businesses led by women, visible minorities and Indigenous Canadians, to respond to federal calls for tender. This will increase the diversity of suppliers that receive federal government contracts.

ScaleUp is part of SSC’s Agile Procurement Process 3.0 initiative, which simplifies IT procurement, making it easier for businesses of all sizes to compete for Government of Canada contracts.

Thanks to ScaleUp, SSC has awarded more than 15 contracts and prequalified an additional 8 companies through the ScaleUp initiative. Among those contractors:

80% are first-time contractors for the Government of Canada
32% are micro businesses (i.e., have 4 employees or less) and 68% are small businesses
68% are owned or led by visible minorities
52% are owned or led by women
8% are owned or led by persons with a disability
12% are Indigenous businesses

These contracts range from $10,000 to $238,000 and were, for many of these suppliers, their first contracts with the Government of Canada.

By encouraging suppliers from diverse communities to respond to federal calls for tender, SSC increases innovation and creativity in order to better respond to the needs of Canadians.

Quotes

“By simplifying our procurement process and encouraging suppliers from diverse communities to be part of the supply chain, we are improving services for Canadians and achieving our inclusivity goals. ScaleUp is now available to more departments and organizations, which is great news for all of us.”

The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos
Minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada and Shared Services Canada

“The ScaleUp social procurement initiative, leveraging Canada’s Digital Marketplace, is a model that should be adopted by all Canadian jurisdictions to increase contracts for our nation’s micro and small businesses from under-represented groups and Indigenous businesses. TECHNATION is committed to sustaining and replicating the True Collaboration approach developed with SSC that has helped the government bring innovative agile procurement programs like ScaleUp and APP3.0 to fruition and improve access to Canadian innovation.”

Angela Mondou
President and CEO, TECHNATION

“As a small company, working with the federal government can be quite daunting. Shared Services Canada’s ScaleUp initiative made the process smooth, which led to better outcomes for all stakeholders.”

Pascal Nataf
CEO, Studio Affordance Inc.

Quick facts

Shared Services Canada is working to increase supplier diversity and enhance economic and social opportunities for underrepresented communities. It does this by leveraging Public Services and Procurement Canada’s Policy on Social Procurement.
In 2019, Shared Services Canada established the Centre of Expertise in Agile and Innovative Procurement.
ScaleUp simplifies some IT procurement processes where appropriate, making them faster and easier for all parties. This has increased participation from identified classes of suppliers.
In fiscal year 2022-2023, 65% of SSC contracts, valued at approximately $1.2 billion, were awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). Of all contracts awarded to SMEs, 99.6% of the total value went to Canadian SMEs.
In fiscal year 2022-2023, SSC awarded 198 contracts and 37 contract amendments to Indigenous businesses. The approximate value of these contracts was $433 million.

Associated links

Contacts

Olivier Pilon
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos
613-323-6621
olivier.pilon@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca

Media Relations
Shared Services Canada
613-670-1626
media@ssc-spc.gc.ca

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Date modified:: 2023-09-26