Administration & Support of the Legal Services Unit’s Electronic Filing and Document Management System

ADVANCE CONTRACT AWARD NOTICE: (ACAN) # 01B68-14-0105

The Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has a requirement for the provision of a one (1) year contract plus one (1) one (1) year option period for administration and support of the Legal Services Unit’s Electronic Filing and Document Management System.  
The purpose of this Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) is to signal the government's intention to award a contract for these services to the pre-selected supplier:
InnerQuest Communications
Island Pearl, PO Box 116
Coxen Hole, Roatan
Honduras, HN 34109
Before awarding a contract, however, the government would like to provide other suppliers with the opportunity to demonstrate that they are capable of satisfying the requirements set out in this Notice, by submitting a statement of capabilities during the 15 calendar day posting period.
If other potential suppliers submit a statement of capabilities during the 15 calendar day posting period that meet the requirements set out in the ACAN, the government will proceed to a full tendering process on either the government's electronic tendering service or through traditional means, in order to award the contract.
If no other supplier submits, on or before the closing date, a statement of capabilities meeting the requirements set out in the ACAN, a contract will be awarded to the pre-selected supplier, as referenced above. 
BACKGROUND 
The document management system was developed in 1998 by Inner Quest for AAFC Legal Services which is a satellite office of the Department of Justice. Inner Quest has been doing real document management for AAFC LSU since that time.  The software and service has been vetted by the Department of Justice. The application continues to be enhanced to suit the practices and policies of the Legal Services office. The system meets and in most cases exceeds government document management standards.
CURRENT REQUIREMENTS
AAFC legal services has a requirement for the provision of a one (1) year contract plus one (1) one (1) year option period for administration and support of the Legal Services Unit’s Electronic Filing and Document Management System.  

The contractor will provide administration and support of the Legal Services Unit’s Electronic Filing and Document Management System.  This will include the following:

•	Software upgrades
•	Server upgrades
•	Server Configuration
•	Firewall/proxy/security management
•	Access control list management
•	Doc management administration training
•	System enhancements and updates
•	Authenticating new users
•	Data extracts/spawning database
•	data migrations
•	troubleshooting
•	training
•	telephone/online/onsite support
•	search engine development and administration
•	Web-browser front-end
•	Integration with MS Mail

CONTRACT PERIOD
The resulting contract will be valid for one (1) year from date of contract award. The contractor grants to Canada the option to extend the validity of the contract by up to one (1) one (1) year period under the same terms and conditions. 

QUALIFICATIONS
To fulfill the requirements of the contract the person or firm must be able to provide administrative and support services for the Legal Services Unit’s Electronic Filing and Document Management System.

GOVERNMENT OF CANADA REGULATIONS EXCEPTION
The Treasury Board’s Government Contract Regulations, Part 10.2.1 Section 6 states there are four exceptions that permit the contracting authority to set aside the requirement to solicit bids. This includes:

	d. “only one supplier person or firm is capable of performing the contract.”

Pursuant to a competitive process, InnerQuest Communications developed the system and have retained the intellectual property rights to it. InnerQuest Communications is therefore the sole contractor capable to perform the administration and support services required. 

ESTIMATE OF COSTS
The contract value will be $14,000.00 USD plus applicable taxes. The option period will have a maximum expenditure of $14,000.00 USD plus applicable taxes if Canada chooses to exercise.

SUPPLIER NAME AND ADDRESS
InnerQuest Communications
Island Pearl, PO Box 116
Coxen Hole, Roatan
Honduras, HN 34109

CONTRACTING AUTHORITY
Lyndsay Rajaram, Senior Contracting Advisor
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)
Central Material Management Centre (CMMC)
Professional Services Contracting Unit
1285 Baseline Road, T3-5-352
Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0C5
Tel: 613-773-0933
Email: lyndsay.rajaram@agr.gc.ca  		

SUPPLIERS RIGHT TO SUBMIT A STATEMENT OF CAPABILITIES
Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the services/goods described herein, may submit a Statement of Capabilities in writing to the address identified below.

Statements of Capabilities must be delivered to and received by the Contracting Authority on or before the closing date of November 12, 2014 at 12:00 (noon Ottawa time) to the following address 

		Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)
		Central Material Management Centre (CMMC)
		Professional Services Contracting Unit
		1285 Baseline Road, T3-5-352
		Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0C5
		Attention: Lyndsay Rajaram, Senior Contracting Officer
		Solicitation Number: ACAN: 01B68-14-0105

The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.

Statements of capabilities must be mailed or faxed on or before the closing date/time. Statement of capabilities received on or before the closing date will be considered solely for the purpose of deciding whether or not to conduct a more extensive tendering process. Information provided will be used by the Crown for technical evaluation purposes only with respect to a decision to proceed to a further competitive process.

Suppliers that have submitted a statement of capabilities will be notified in writing of AAFC's decision to proceed to award the contract without a further additional tendering process.

Should you have any questions concerning this requirement, contact the contracting officer identified above. The AAFC file number, the contracting officer's name and the closing date of the ACAN must appear on the outside of the envelope in block letters or, in the case of facsimile transmission, on the covering page.
									
The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement. Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.