Third Party Expert Witness Recruiter

Disclaimer
Responding to this Request for Information (RFI) is not a prerequisite to being eligible to bid on any subsequent solicitation. Any subsequent solicitation will be advertised on the Government Electronic Tendering Service commonly referred to as CanadaBuys.

This RFI is not to be construed as a solicitation for tenders or proposals. No contract or other form of commitment will be entered into based on responses to this RFI. This RFI is not authorization by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to undertake any work that would result in costs to the CRA.

The CRA may use non-proprietary information provided in its review and in the preparation of any subsequent solicitation. All responses will be held by the CRA on a confidential basis (subject to applicable federal legislation) and remain in the property of the CRA once they have been received.
The CRA may reproduce, photocopy, or transcribe the response and any non-proprietary supporting documentation for the purpose of its review and inclusion in any resulting solicitation. Suppliers responding to this RFI are advised to clearly identify which (if any) portions of their responses are proprietary.

Responses and Enquiries
The CRA requests that responses to questions be submitted complete and in writing in the order shown. The CRA requests that all sections of this document be answered as concisely as possible while providing all information necessary to understand the proposed solution or product. The CRA requests that any response that deviates from the question or requirements that cannot be satisfied by the supplier be clearly identified.

Any information of a confidential or proprietary nature contained in a supplier’s response should be clearly marked ‘Proprietary’ or ‘Confidential’ by item or at the top of each page.

Responses to this RFI will not be used to pre-qualify or otherwise restrict participation in any future procurement process (for example, a Request for Proposal).

The CRA will not reimburse the respondent for any costs incurred in preparing responses and participating in the presentation sessions related to this RFI.
The supplier is requested to provide a contact name, email address, and telephone number when submitting their response.

Suppliers are requested to submit responses by the closing date specified in the CanadaBuys posting.

Only electronic submissions are accepted.

Suppliers are requested to submit enquiries and responses to this RFI to the contact's name and email address specified in the CanadaBuys posting.

Context
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is exploring the market for third-party expert witness recruitment services to support litigation, regulatory matters, and administrative proceedings around the world. The intent is to identify capable Canadian suppliers with proven experience in sourcing, vetting, and onboarding expert witnesses in various fields such as, but not limited to, accounting, valuation, derivatives, transfer pricing, the resource industry, foreign law and scientific research and exploratory discover etc. and jurisdictions, with sensitivity to Canadian legal, regulatory, and privacy requirements.

This RFI is for information gathering only and does not constitute a solicitation or a commitment to issue a procurement.

Introduction
CRA seeks information from qualified suppliers on the availability, capacity, and operating models for expert witness recruitment services around the world, as detailed in Annex A – Statement of Work (SOW). The CRA is seeking for a supplier who can rapidly source niche expert witness, conduct conflict checks, validate credentials, readiness, and ensure compliance with applicable Canadian laws and policies.

Respondents are invited to provide responses supported by evidence of experience, coverage capability, compliance posture, and service delivery approach. Where appropriate, respondents may propose modifications or options to the SOW that would improve feasibility, performance, or value-for-money.
The average volume of expert witness search requests per year is approximately four (4).

Security Required: The Contractor and each expert witness require access to Protected B information, assets, and must each hold a valid security screening at the ‘Reliability status’ level (at a minimum), granted or validated by the Security Branch of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Key Objectives:
This RFI seeks to determine the availability and capacity for third party expert witness recruiter leveraging Canadian industry; and to understand the depth and breadth of supplier capabilities to recruit and evaluate expert witnesses around the world.