ACAN - Learning Modules for the Procurement of Professional Services in the Federal Government

Background:

Government-wide policy requires that procurement and contracting practices result in openness, fairness and transparency in the spending of public funds. Federal procurement and contracting activities are governed by a complex set of policies, regulations, legislation, reporting requirements and other authorities. The objective of these requirements per the Treasury Board Directive on the Management of Procurement is for government departments to acquire goods and services in a manner that enhances access, competition and fairness and results in best value or, if appropriate, the optimal balance of overall benefits to the Crown and the Canadian people while carrying out responsible stewardship of financial assets and reporting results to Canadians. Departments are required to ensure an effective framework of controls is in place to meet and implement these requirements.

The procurement team within our organization is responsible for preparing the necessary documents to enter into a contract, and is expected to provide timely advice and strategic guidance in all areas of contract administration.

Significant challenges currently exist that are impacting the ability to provide timely and effective customer service to stakeholders. Some of these challenges include:
STATEMENT OF WORK
• Increased workload
• Training (lack of)
• Inadequate tools, processes, and procurement resources
• Poor Planning
• New delegation of authority (June 2024)

Objective:

The Procurement Services unit is seeking a subscription-based service that would provide them access to a currently existing and available eLearning modules tailored for the procurement of professional services in a federal government context. The service would also provide access to a network of public sector procurement professionals, along with OnDemand federal government-related procurement samples, templates, and best practices, specifically tailored for the procurement of services.

In addition, through these subscriptions, the organization is seeking client-focused procurement advisory services tailored for the Canadian Federal Government to deepen our knowledge and strengthen our capabilities in order to increase efficiency and effectiveness within our departmental procurement practices. Advanced training, and knowledge transfer, are essential to help us develop in-house capability

Criteria for assessment of the Statement of Capabilities (Minimum Essential Requirements) :

Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that its service meets the following requirements:

The supplier must offer the procurement team secure and custom access profiles to an online portal for a period of 12 months with options to renew (up to 100 subscriptions).
Through the online portal, the contractor must offer a user centric virtual collaboration experience with the ability to access e-learning content and educational videos, samples, templates, all related to the procurement of services in a federal government context. The portal must allow communication capabilities with fellow procurement professionals from public sector organizations and members of the professional services community. The service provider must be able to offer a vulnerability assessment.
The service provider must offer Ad Hoc senior procurement and business advisory services via a single source of knowledge, one-to-one counsel and personalized service. The procurement advisory services must be provided in both official languages and the subject matter expert(s) must have at least 10 years’ experience providing procurement advisory services as part of Canadian federal government procurement processes for professional services.
Regarding the procurement advisory services, the service provider must offer operational and strategic assistance with procurement documents (ex: RFP, SOW, Evaluation Criteria, Standing Offer, Supply Arrangement, Annual Procurement Plan), provide training and mentoring, one-on-one coaching and in person and/or virtual procurement training sessions for groups up to 200 participants. Performing Vulnerability Assessments and providing experiential knowledge transfer based on the Government of Canada's procurement framework.

Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier:
After extensive market research of current suppliers, we have identified only one supplier that meets the essential service and bilingual proficiency requirements set out above: Procurement Alliance of Canada Inc. We were unable to identify any other supplier that meets these requirements. As a result, to the best of our knowledge, there is currently no other service provider who can meet the essential service and bilingual proficiency requirements set out above.

Government Contracts Regulations Exception:
The following exception to the Government Contracts Regulations is invoked for the procurement under subsection 6 (d) (only one firm is capable of performing the work) of the Government Contracts Regulations. Therefore, we invoke s. 6 (d) of the Government Contracts Regulations to set aside the requirement to solicit bids.

Period of the proposed contract or delivery date:
The proposed contract is for a period of one (1) year, plus four (4) optional one-year periods.

Name and address of the pre-identified supplier :
Procurement Alliance of Canada Inc, 1741 Albert Leroux, Casselman ON K0A 1M0