Research analysis, research services and document management services

RFP NUMBER:		1000169207
PROJECT TITLE:	Research analysis, research services and document management services.

This procurement is set aside under the federal government's Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business.

The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) invites you to submit a proposal for the following work:

DIAND seeks to award up to a total of three (3) Standing Offer Agreements (SOAs) to qualified Firms in three (3) Regions, as follows:
National Capital Region (NCR): up to one (1) Firm;
Québec Region (including both Quebec City and Montreal): up to one (1) Firm;
Calgary Region (including the Calgary Census Metropolitan Area): up to one (1) Firm.
BACKGROUND
The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) has the primary, but not the exclusive responsibility for meeting the federal government’s constitutional, treaty, political, and legal responsibilities to First Nations (FNs), Inuit, Métis, and Northerners. Under this mandate, DIAND is responsible for the planning, design, implementation, and assessment of policies and their results in the delivery of a variety of programs and services for FNs, Inuit, Métis and Northern peoples and communities.
The Litigation Management and Resolution Branch (LMRB) develops and coordinates, in conjunction with the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) programs, the Department of Justice (JUS) and other government departments, DIAND’s positions on policy, technical issues and legal positions related to all litigation against the Crown where DIAND is the Department responsible for the impugned actions, as well as all litigation that the Crown brings against others on behalf of DIAND.
Litigation cases are broad-ranging and involve all sectors of the Department.  In the delivery of its responsibilities, the Branch has an ongoing need for the determination and planning of research requirements arising in litigation and the analysis and written presentation of documentary evidence from historical sources, government records, past and present DIAND Program personnel and various professionals within the field.
Contractor services will support LMRB’s determination, planning and implementation of research requirements arising in litigation and the analysis of written presentation of documentary evidence from historical sources, government records, past and present DIAND program personnel, and various professionals within the field.
OBJECTIVE
DIAND seeks Firms capable of:
Providing research analysis and writing required to ensure that a complete evidentiary record is compiled for use in litigation or litigation-related activities;
Planning, managing and directing research projects and teams; and
Conduct primary and secondary research to identify, collect, summarize and extract information from documents related to DIAND litigation and to create document collections, document databases, bibliographies, reports, file summaries, map/survey collections, and provide other related research services.
The above services are required in the following three (3) Service Areas:
Research Analysis;
Research Services; and
Document Management Services.
Firms shall be capable of providing services in all three (3) Service Areas.

MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS:
M1 - Firm-Level Project Summaries
1.1	The Bidder MUST include three (3) Firm-level Project Summaries within the past five (5) years.
1.2	Each Project Summary MUST include provision of one (1) or more of the following:
•	Research Analysis (RA) (as described in the SOW, section 6.3);
•	Research Services (RS) (as described in the SOW, section 6.4);
•	Document Management (DM) (as described in the SOW, section 6.5).
1.3	Each service area (i.e. RA, RS and DM) MUST be included in at least one (1) of the three (3) project summaries submitted.
1.4	Each of the Proposed Research Analysis Principal (RA-P), Research Analysis (RA) and Research Services (RS) Resources MUST be included in at least one (1) of the Project Summaries.
Within each project summary provided, in order to demonstrate the above, and allow for a thorough point-rating, the Bidder must indicate (a-i):
a)	the Service Area(s) (Research Analysis, Research Services, or Document Management) for which the Project applies (to demonstrate 1.2 and 1.3 above);
b)	the name and a brief description of the client organization;
c)	a brief description of the scope and complexity of the project (to demonstrate 1.2 above);
d)	the dates and duration (in years/months) of the project (for example, November 2012 to June 2013, 8 months) (to demonstrate 1.1 above);
e)	the names and categories of the Resources involved, as well as the total Resource level of effort (in days) for the duration of the project (to demonstrate 1.4 above);
f)	a description of the services provided during the project (to demonstrate 1.2 and 1.3 above);
g)	a summary of the project objectives, needs, and issues which necessitated the contribution of the Bidder (to demonstrate 1.2 and 1.3 above);
h)	the outcome and results of the Bidder’s contribution, together with the extent to which the project finished on-time, on-budget and in accordance with the established project goals (to demonstrate 1.2 and 1.3 above and for point-rating); and
i)	the name, title, e-mail address and telephone number of the client project authority to whom the Resource reported.
The Bidder should use Table M1 – Resource Project Summary Form – for each Project Summary submitted. The Bidder is encouraged to provide detailed responses for each of the requirements set out in the Table. The Bidder should copy Table M2 as required.
DIAND reserves the right to contact the named client project authorities to verify the accuracy and veracity of the information provided in the Bidder’s Offer, by means of a series of standardized questions posed to the authority. Should DIAND choose to contact the project authorities and should one (1) or more named client project authority provide a negative reference regarding the accuracy or veracity of the Bidder’s Offer, the Offer will be deemed non-compliant and given no further consideration.
M2 - Proposed Resources
2.1	The Bidder MUST propose at least one (1) Resource in each of the four (4) Resource Categories, as follows:
1.	Research Analysis (Principal)
2.	Research Analysis;
3.	Research Services;
4.	Document Management.
2.2	The proposed Resources MUST meet the minimum qualifications for the category in which they are proposed, as stated in the Statement of Work, section 8.1.  The Bidder MUST have at least one (1) Qualified Resource in each Category in order to be compliant.
The Bidder MUST clearly indicate duration of projects / experience, educational attainments, and other evidence each Proposed Resource has in order to meet the requirements. The Bidder must include a detailed CV for each resource proposed. Failure to clearly indicate the required evidence will result in the Bidder’s Proposal being deemed non-compliant.
2.3	One (1) Resource may qualify in more than one (1) Category above; however, the Bidder MUST include a minimum of three (3) separate individuals to provide Services in the Region(s) in which it is submitting an Offer.
2.4	Bidders in the NCR or Calgary Regions MUST provide evidence that each Resource is capable of providing services in English or Bilingually (English/French).
	Bidders in the Quebec Region MUST provide evidence that each Resource is capable of providing services in French or Bilingually (English/French). Note that overall Quebec Bidders MUST have at least one (1) bilingual resource.
Acceptable evidence of Language Capability include, but are not necessarily limited to:
•	Completion of a project in the language being demonstrated;
•	Completion of education in the language being demonstrated;
•	Sample reports in the language being demonstrated.
•	Language certification (The Bidder must sign and submit with their bid or prior to SOA award, the Language Certification attached hereto as Annex F).
Table M2 has been provided to assist Bidders in providing clear information. Notwithstanding, it is the Bidder’s responsibility to ensure that there is enough information in the Bidder’s Proposal for the Evaluation Committee to fully assess the qualifications of the Proposed Resources.
M3 - Scenario Analysis
3.0	The Bidder must complete both a research plan (3.1 Appendix A) and the database tasks (3.2 Appendix A).
3.1	Scenario Response: Research Plan
Bidders submitting a proposal in the NCR or Calgary Regions must submit a response against either the“Historical Land Transactions Case” (Option 1)  or the “Modern Operations” Case (Option 2),, at the Bidder’s discretion. The Bidders choice of scenario will have no bearing on the Bidder’s score or any resultant call-up in any resultant Standing Offer Agreement.
Bidders submitting a proposal in the Quebec Region must submit a response against the French Scenario, “Transaction historique de terres de reserve.” In order to demonstrate professional capabilities in the language of work required, Bidders submitting a Proposal against the Quebec Region MUST provide their response to this criterion in French.
3.2	Scenario Response: Database Tasks
a)	In Appendix “A,” there are ten (10) English public record documents.
Bidders submitting a proposal in any Region(s) MUST submit a response to the “Research Services and Document Management Capabilities” scenario (which includes some RA work).
b)	Bidders MUST use the attached Appendix B, “Tombstone Coding Protocol” as a basis for coding the ten (10) provided documents. In addition, Bidders MUST include an additional field called “Summary” in the database and/or dataset provided. The “Summary” field MUST summarize the key content of the documents in no more than 1-2 short, clear sentences (RS Task).
c)	Completed datasets MUST be provided in a Summation compatible format, which includes Excel, as long as the excluded characters and other restrictions outlined in Appendix B are adhered to. If  AANDC is unable to load the file into Summation the Bidder will not meet this requirement, and the Bidder’s Proposal will be given no further consideration.
	Note that Bidders may respond in either English or French, regardless of the language of the 	source material. This includes the ability to provide a French Summary and French dataset in 	response to item b) above.
	Note the scenarios presented are entirely fictitious and are meant to provide a measure of the Bidder’s ability as a firm to complete a Research Plan and Document Management techniques. Any resemblance of the scenarios to actual events, names, or places is entirely unintentional.
M4 - Corporate Profile
4.0 The Bidder should provide a company profile and resume demonstrating its knowledge and experience in the provision of Litigation Research Analysis, Litigation Research Services and Document Management Services relevant and similar to DIAND's requirement as defined in the SOW.
4.1 The Bidder should include:
•	The full legal name of the entity submitting the Offer;
•	Identification of the Bidder's proposed Team (i.e. parties to the Offer). This should include, as applicable, all joint venturemembers, partners and any major subcontractors with which the Bidder will foreseeably work.
•	The Region in which it is proposing to provide services.
o	This should include a description of the capacity of the Bidder in the Region in which it is proposing to provide services. This should include the names of the proposed Resources that will be available for work from the proposed Region.
The Bidder should provide the full postal address for its Headquarters, and any Regional Office Locations (if applicable) from which it is proposing to provide Services.
Note: P.O. Boxes will not be considered as postal addresses from which Bidders are able and willing to provide Services.

The SOAs will be awarded based on a determination of Best Value taking into account both the technical merit of the Proposals and the Financial Evaluation. 
The Bidder(s) will be selected on the basis of the highest combined rating of technical merit and price:

Security:  Pursuant to the Government of Canada Security Policy, the nature of the services to be provided under the Standing Offer Agreement requires a Government of Canada Security Clearance.

This procurement is set aside under the federal government's Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business.