Provision of Ongoing Maintenance and Support of NewsLink

ADVANCE CONTRACT AWARD NOTICE

AGRICULTURE AND AGRI-FOOD CANADA – No. 01B68-18-0168

The Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has a requirement for the provision of a one (1) year contract with three (3) one (1) year option periods for technical support, system maintenance and on-going enhancements to NewsLink for five days a week. The purpose of this Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) is to signal the government's intention to award a contract for these services to:

Densan Consultants Ltd.

611-250 City Centre Avenue

Ottawa, ON

K1R 6K7

Before awarding the 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, the contract will be awarded to the pre-selected supplier, as referenced above.

Background:

Electronic media monitoring distribution is a critical function in support of AAFC’s efforts to identify and track current and emerging public issues and trends as reported in the media.

For several years, PAB media monitoring officers have had access to NewsLink to monitor Canadian and international media effectively and to produce daily documents such as daily clippings and "At a Glance" which are distributed to the offices of the Minister, Parliamentary Secretaries and Deputy Minister, as well as to senior officials in the department. Densan Consultants Ltd. Created NewsLink, a system designed for electronic media monitoring distribution widely used throughout the federal government in Ottawa.

While this is a new solicitation for services, Densan Consultants was previously contracted for this work as they are the only provider who can continue the maintenance since they developed/created NewsLink.

Objective:

For Densan Consultants to provide technical support, system maintenance and on-going enhancements to NewsLink five days a week (from Monday to Friday, 7:30 to 17:30). 

Scope of Work:

Agreement to include:

• Any new features that Densan develops (eg. improved search, email alerts, support for wireless devices, etc.) would be provided at no extra charge to AAFC as part of this maintenance contract.
• Free software upgrades during the maintenance period; (this one line is a copy paste from the previous SOW)
• The hosting of AAFC’s media monitoring system on a Densan server
• Unlimited telephone support between the hours of 07:30 and 17:00 Monday to Friday (holidays excluded)
• Unlimited on site & telephone support for all NewsLink Software Programs
• Web page redesign, custom features and server migration
• Free upgrades to all new versions of the NewsLink Software Programs that have been purchased by the Client;
• Free problem resolution modifications (bug fixes) to the NewsLink software modules;
• Discounts for purchase of new NewsLink products as and when they become available.
• Free participation in all NewsLink User Group activities for the designated Client contact(s);

Minimum Essential Qualifications:

To fulfill the requirements of the contract, any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that it has the capacity to provide the same information that is listed above.

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. The exception for related to this ACAN includes:

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

Justification for the Pre-Selected Supplier:

AAFC owns a perpetual licence for the Densan NewsLink product that powers their Newslink site. Densan Consultants is the only authorized provider of NewsLink support services.

Contract Period:

The resulting contract will be valid for one (1) year from January 1^st, 2019 to December 31^st, 2019. The contractor grants to Canada the option to extend the validity of the contract by up to three (3) one (1) year periods under the same terms and conditions.

Estimate of Costs:

The contract value for the first year will be $13,500.00 CAD plus applicable taxes. Each option period will have a maximum expenditure of $13,500.00 CAD plus applicable taxes if Canada chooses to exercise. Total if all the option periods are used is $54,000.00 plus applicable taxes.

Project Authority:

Patrick Girard

Acting Manager

Media Relations, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

1341 Baseline Road, Tower 7, Floor 1, Room 347,

Ottawa, ON K1A 0C5

Telephone: (613) 773-2789

Email: patrick.girard@canada.ca

Contracting Authority:

Rhonda DiMarco

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Professional Services Contracting Unit

1341 Baseline Road, Tower 5, Floor 2,

Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C5

Tel: (613) 773-0934

Email: rhonda.dimarco@canada.ca 

Suppliers Right to Submit a Statement of Capabilities:

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to meet the specified requirements, may submit a Statement of Capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this Notice on or before the closing date of this notice.

The Statement of Capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements. Statements of Capabilities must be delivered to and received by the Contracting Authority on or before the closing date.

The closing date and time for accepting Statements of Capabilities is: Friday November 9^th, 2018 at 12:00 P.M. (EST, Ottawa time) to the following address:

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Professional Services Contracting Unit

1341 Baseline Road, Tower 5, Floor 2,

Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C5

Rhonda DiMarco

Tel: (613) 773-0934

Email: rhonda.dimarco@canada.ca

Requisition Number: ACAN no. 01B68-18-0168

Statements of Capabilities must be sent on or before the closing date. 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 Solicitation Number (01B68-18-0168), 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.