Research Analysis, Research Services and Document Management Services to the Eastern Litigation Directorate (Individuals) - Request for Standing Officer Agreements -Solicitation # 20-13-6002

Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development

Research Analysis, Research Services and Document Management Services to the Eastern Litigation Directorate (Individuals) - Request for Standing Officer Agreements -Solicitation # 20-13-6002
There are two (2) categories of Resources associated with this RFP: 
1.	Research Analysis; and
2.	Research Services.
Bidders may propose against one (1) or two (2) of the following Service Streams:
Stream 1 – Research Analysis, Research Services and Document Management; OR
Stream 2 – Research Services and Document Management.
This requirement is set aside for Aboriginal suppliers in accordance with the government Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business.  The bidder must certify in its bid that he or she is an Aboriginal business or joint venture as defined within the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business.
For the bid to be considered compliant, the bidder must submit at the time of bid closing, the completed and duly signed “Certification Requirement” and “Owner/Employee Certification” form included herein as part of the tender document.
 DIAND intends to award up to four (4) Standing Offer Agreements (SOA) pursuant to this process.
Under companion solicitation 20-13-6001, DIAND intends to award twenty (20) competitive SOA.
In the event the required number of award is not attained as a result of solicitation 20-13-6001 DIAND reserves the right to award up to an additional twenty (20) SOA pursuant to this process, for a total of up to twenty four (24) SOAs. 
BACKGROUND

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 (DoJ) 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.

OBJECTIVES

To conduct all research analysis, research and writing required to ensure that a complete evidentiary record is compiled for use in litigation or litigation-related activities; to plan, manage and direct research projects and teams; and to 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.

SCOPE OF WORK
Service Streams
DIAND has determined that it will acquire Litigation Research Analysis, Litigation Research Services and Document Management Services through SOA(s) with qualified Individual Contractors capable of providing LMRB with services on an as-and-when-requested basis in one (1) of the following two (2) Service Streams:
SERVICE STREAM
1	Research Analysis, Research Services and Document Management
2	Research Services and Document Management

Tasks
The scope of work attached to each Call-up against the Standing Offer will identify the particular factual matters, issues, allegations, and other relevant areas of consideration that shall be researched, verified, documented, and reported upon in the Litigation Research Analysis, Litigation Research Services and Document Management Services to be conducted.  Under each Call-up, activities may consist of either/both Research Analysis or Research Services and/or Document Management activities.

All work is to be done in conformity with the instructions issued by the Departmental Representative.

Research Analysis (RA) 
Based on a per diem of 8.0 hours of work, the Contractor shall, on an as and when required basis, carry out the Research Analysis activities described below:
RA-1	Review and analyse the statements of claim, statements of defence and other court documents to identify all factual and policy issues relevant to the litigation; 
RA-2	Prepare a research plan for review and acceptance by the Departmental Representative.  The plan shall identify the key information repositories and sources, their expected relevance to the litigation, the expected time required to review the sources, and, where applicable, suggest additional or alternative sources or repositories that should be considered, along with the time required to review these additional sources;
RA-3	Prepare terms of reference for litigation research related projects, including work to be done by other members of the research team;
RA-4	Identify relevant primary and secondary sources, files/reels and specific materials to be reviewed for the purposes of the litigation;
RA-5	Prepare a paragraph by paragraph analysis of the Statement of Claim (factual response) setting out a factual analysis of each allegation raised, providing document citations supporting the facts and analysis relied upon;
RA-6	Conduct analysis on all relevant primary and secondary sources in the context of the litigation and the impact on the position of the Crown.  This shall be done in consultation with legal counsel and the Departmental Representative;
RA-7	Prepare analytical research reports and analysis of the facts, based on analyses of the collected documents, and any other criteria/methodologies required by the Departmental Representative;
RA-8	Conduct genealogical analysis and related research with respect to the issues in the litigation;
RA-9	Prepare briefing materials on issues related to the litigation for the Departmental Representative;
RA-10	Lead research teams in the planning, management and quality assurance of research, and coordinate activities of research teams;
RA-11	Assist legal counsel in the preparation of examination for discovery proceedings;
RA-12	Assist legal counsel in preparing questions, or drafting answers to questions, asked by way of interrogatories or as undertakings from examinations for discovery;
RA-13	Participate in meetings with the Departmental Representative and legal counsel to provide briefings and discuss research strategies;
RA-14	Prepare analytical status reports summarizing the effectiveness of the research approach adopted, problems encountered, unanticipated discoveries and/or the progress of the work of individuals or the team being managed.
RA-15	Be prepared to answer questions and suggest further sources and avenues for all research activities relevant to the litigation; 
RA-16	Assist in the management, maintenance and quality control of a computerized database related to a particular case under study, provide guidelines for the creation and administration of the database from a research perspective, and coordinate research activities related to the database system (see Annex D ); and
RA-17	Perform other Research Analysis functions, as requested by the Departmental Representative.
Research Services (RS)
	Based on a per diem of 8.0 hours of work, the Contractor shall, on an as and when required basis, carry out the Research Services activities described below:
RS-1	Review/read previously identified departmental files, archival files and/or other primary and secondary source materials to identify relevant documents and information;
RS-2	Review/read various DIAND and/or other federal government electronic files or computerized information systems to identify relevant documents and information. Systems include, but are not limited to, Community Profiles, Indian Registration System, Indian Lands Registry System, Departmental Library online systems and Land Sales System;
RS-3	Identify/flag and retrieve specific documents pertaining to particular issues or topics identified as being of relevance to specific litigation;
RS-4	Prepare a summary (records researched) of each file reviewed and, if required, enter the file summary and other data about the file into a database;
RS-5	Prepare summaries of each document identified as relevant and enter document summaries, research results, researchers’ remarks, and other data elements, including general coding, identified by the Departmental Representative into a database;
RS-6	Transcribe and produce legible copies of illegible documents;
RS-7	Assemble, collate and/or gather information into a written report/research product including, but not limited to, annotated lists, chronology of events, or summaries of facts and/or documents;
RS-8	Make recommendations on documents to be included / excluded in an affidavit of documents or affidavit of records;
RS-9	Review documents and assign established issue codes according to given scope notes, parameters, terms of reference and/or instructions by the Departmental Representative;
RS-10	Suggest or recommend individuals with key knowledge of the litigation issues who may be of assistance to the Departmental Representative or legal counsel;
RS-11	Attend meetings and prepare regular status reports on the progress of the work and milestones achieved in the work done to date; and 
RS-12	Perform other Research Services functions, as requested by the Departmental Representative.
Document Management (DM) 
	Based on a per diem of 8.0 hours of work, the Contractor shall, on an as and when required basis, carry out the Document Management activities described below:
DM-1	Photocopy, print, label, number, bind, and otherwise process documents to be organized into collections, either for court production or for general document collections;
DM-2		Organize, sort and otherwise compile document sets; 
DM-3		Perform Data Entry of specified tombstone data from the documents provided into the fields specified by the Departmental Representative to be imported/ loaded into Summation (see Tombstone Coding Protocol Guide in Annex B);
DM-4	Complete data entry of fields identified by Departmental Representative only if they appear in the   document (no assumptions are to be made);
DM-5	Flag documents requiring further interpretation in the Document Problems (or similar field as directed) and set aside for review by the Departmental Representative;
	DM-6	Perform quality control activities for databases, including review and editing of the data entered, to ensure accuracy and adherence to the protocols and standards;
	DM-7	Scan documents in a manner that is consistent with scanning protocol as provided by the Departmental Representative (see Annex F);
	DM-8		Load and attach scanned documents to relevant/related databases;
	DM-9		Perform quality control of scanned images; and
	DM-10 Perform other Document Management functions, as requested by the Departmental Representative.

DELIVERABLES

All written material shall be provided in hard and/or soft copy as requested by the Departmental Representative and prepared in accordance with the instructions provided by the Departmental Representative.  Unless otherwise specified, the soft copy shall be provided in the current version of DIAND’s approved desktop software (currently PC-based Microsoft Office [Microsoft Word]).  All databases shall also be provided in electronic copy in a format compatible (e.g. Excel) with the current version of DIAND’s approved desktop software (currently Summation LG Gold).

In accordance with the activities defined in SW6 ‘Scope of Work’ and the specific requirements of any Call-up drawn up under the Standing Offer, the Contractor shall submit the material described below to the Departmental Representative:

	6.1	a research plan, prepared in accordance with RA-2 and incorporating any information uncovered through RA-1;
	6.2	a statement of claim/reference analysis and an indexed compilation of documents relied upon to accompany such report prepared in accordance with RA-5; 
	6.3	a research report and an indexed compilation of documents relied upon to accompany such report, prepared in accordance with RA-7;
	6.4	background documentation, updates and briefing materials, in accordance with RA-9 and RA-15; 
	6.5	analytical status reports, in accordance with RA-14; 
	6.6	a compilation of all relevant documentation, which has been reviewed, annotated, and summarized, in accordance with RS-4, RS-5, and RS-6;
	6.7	file summaries (records researched), in accordance with RS-4; 
	6.8	transcribed copies of illegible documents, in accordance with RS-6; 
	6.9	status reports, in accordance with RS-11; 
	6.10	instructions and/or guidelines for the creation and administration of a database system, in accordance with RA-16;
	6.11	updated databases and/or completed input documents for the database, in accordance with RA-16 and DM-3;
	6.12	a list and/or index of documents in accordance with RA-16; 
	6.13	document set(s) which have been copied, organized, labelled and otherwise processed, in accordance with DM-1 and DM-2;
	6.14	document set(s) which have been scanned in accordance with DM-7.

CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES

7.1	The management by the Contractor of service delivery to DIAND in relation to the Standing Offer Agreement (SOA) shall be undertaken in accordance with all applicable Acts, Codes, Departmental and/or federal government regulations, policies and procedures.

7.2	It is the responsibility of the Contractor to, at all times, conduct itself and to ensure the performance of its Resources in accordance with the terms and conditions of the SOA and any resultant Call-up, and in accordance with the Code of Conduct for Procurement (see http://www.pwgsc.gc.ca/acquisitions/text/cndt-cndct/cca-ccp-e.html).

7.3	The Contractor shall ensure that all of its deployed personnel are properly trained and equipped to fulfil their responsibilities.  

7.4	The Contractor shall supply all of its own tools, facilities, equipment, and software required for completion of the work, unless otherwise directed by the Departmental Representative.  The Contractor shall provide for its own means of communication with the Department, as e-mail will not be provided by DIAND.

CONTRACTOR RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS

8.1	Deployed Resources shall have the stated minimum qualifications and required work experience for the Resource Categories applicable to the Service Stream in which the Contractor has qualified (see table below). 

8.2	Resource Categories and Qualifications 
		The following table defines the minimum qualifications for each of the required Resource Categories.
		Resource Category	Minimum Resource Qualifications
Research Analysis 		An undergraduate degree in the social sciences or humanities (in a relevant discipline, including, but not limited to, history, native studies, political science, anthropology and sociology) or law.
	Twelve (12) months of full-time* professional work experience (within the last 10 years) conducting Research Analysis related activities, as defined in the Statement of Work, in the area of Aboriginal relations with the Crown. This includes, but is not limited to, Aboriginal grievances, Aboriginal litigation, specific claims, comprehensive claims, treaty negotiations, and claims related to Indian residential schools.
*Experience gained on a part-time basis can be added together to arrive at a full-time equivalent in order to meet the minimum resource experience requirements.  For example, if a proposed resource has worked exactly half-time (1/2 time) for two (2) years on a project that meets LMRB’s requirements in other respects, that would count as one (1) year of full-time experience.
Note: Resource experience in database research alone will not be deemed sufficient evidence of research experience at the level of complexity LMRB requires.
Research Services		Two (2) years or four (4) complete semesters of full-time, post-secondary education in the social sciences or humanities (in a relevant discipline, including, but not limited to, history, native studies, political science, anthropology and sociology) or law.
	Four (4) months of full-time*professional work experience (within the last 5 years) conducting Research Services related activities, as defined in the Statement of Work, in the area of Aboriginal relations with the Crown. This includes, but is not limited to, Aboriginal grievances, Aboriginal litigation, specific claims, comprehensive claims, treaty negotiations, and claims related to Indian residential schools.
Under Service Stream 1 ‘Research Analysis, Research Services and Document Management’, the Individual resource named in the Contractor’s Proposal shall demonstrate the minimum qualification requirement of full-time professional work experience for each Resource Category consecutively, such that the Individual possesses a total of 16 months full-time experience (12 months in Research Analysis; 4 months in Research Services).
Note: Resource experience in database research alone will not be deemed sufficient evidence of research experience at the level of complexity LMRB requires.

8.2.1	The Contractor shall provide the services of the Individual resource named in its Proposal to perform the work.

8.3	Subcontracting
		Following SOA Award, the Contractor may subcontract upon LMRB’s prior authorization, and review and approval of the qualifications of the proposed subcontracted resource.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

9.1	The Contractor shall be responsible for facilitating and maintaining communication with the Departmental Representative regarding the progress of work completed under any Call-up(s) under the SOA.

9.2	Upon request from the DIAND Departmental Representative, the Contractor shall provide ad hoc written or oral status updates relating to any work in progress under any Call-up.

9.3	In addition, the Contractor shall immediately notify the Departmental Representative of any issues, problems, or areas of concern that could adversely affect the ability of the Contractor to complete the work specified under any Call-up.

MANDATORY EVALUATION CRITERIA
M1  Proposed Resource (Stream 1- Research Analysis, Research Services and Document Management)

The Bidder MUST name within its Proposal one (1) Resource, who MUST meet all of DIAND’s minimum qualification requirements for the Research Analysis and Research Services Resource Categories, as described in section 8.2 ‘Resource Categories and Qualifications’ of Appendix ‘D’, Statement of Work.
The Individual resource named in the Bidder’s Proposal MUST demonstrate the minimum qualification requirement of full-time professional work experience for each Resource Category consecutively, such that the Individual possesses a total of 16 months full-time experience (12 months in Research Analysis; 4 months in Research Services).

The Bidder MUST include within its Proposal a current detailed curriculum vitae (CV) for the proposed Resource named in its Proposal. 

•	The CV MUST include: 
a)	Relevant work experience (chronologically indicated in years/months, e.g. May 2005 to March 2006), including a brief description of the services provided and for whom; 
b)	Language capabilities (English and French) and degree of fluency (written, oral, and reading comprehension); and
c)	Relevant academic and professional attainments of the proposed Resource in relation to DIAND’s requirements as defined within the RFP.  All formal training should be listed chronologically; the title of the course or program and duration in days or months should be included.
M2  Resource Project Summaries

At the Resource level, the Bidder MUST provide two (2) different written project summaries: one (1) describing in detail a Resource’s previous/current experience in successfully providing similar Research Analysis as described in Appendix D, Statement of Work, during the past five (5) years; and one (1) in Research Services, as described in Appendix D, Statement of Work, during the past five (5) years (dates calculated on the closing date of the RFP).
A different project summary MUST be provided for each category of service/resource.  Only one (1) project summary per category, presented first in order within the Bidder’s Proposal, will be evaluated.

Within each project summary provided, the Bidder MUST indicate (a-h):
a)	the name and a brief description of the client organization;
b)	a brief description of the scope and complexity of the project;
c)	the dates/duration (in years/months) of the project;
d)	the total Resource level of effort (in days) for the duration of the project;
e)	a description of the services provided by the Resource during the project;
f)	a summary of the project objectives, needs, and issues which necessitated the contribution of the Resource;
g)	the outcome and results of the Resource’s contribution, together with the extent to which the project finished on-time, on-budget and in accordance with the established project goals; and
h)	the name, title, e-mail address and telephone number of the client project authority to whom the Resource reported.
M3  Understanding and Proposed Approach and Methodology

a)	The Bidder MUST indicate, through a written description of approximately 1,000 words, its understanding of the role and purpose of the provision of Litigation Research Analysis and Litigation Research Services within DIAND as stated in the RFP, together with the Bidder’s proposed approach and methodology to be utilized in the provision of said services to DIAND under any resulting Standing Offer Agreement.
b)	
c)	The Bidder’s description MUST be sufficiently detailed to enable DIAND to assess it against the evaluation factors outlined in Point-Rated Criterion R3 below.
d)	The Bidder may draw on all of its experience in the development of this description, not just the experience gained in the last 5 or 10 years.
e)	Repetition of text from the Statement of Work will not be accepted as a demonstration of the Bidder's understanding of the requirements.
M1  Proposed Resource (Stream 2 – Research Services and Document Management)

The Bidder MUST name within its Proposal one (1) Resource, who MUST meet all of DIAND’s minimum qualification requirements for the Research Services Resource Category, as described in section 8.2 ‘Resource Categories and Qualifications’ of Appendix ‘D’, Statement of Work.
The Bidder MUST include within its Proposal a current detailed curriculum vitae (CV) for the proposed Resource named in its Proposal. 

•	The CV MUST include: 
a)	Relevant work experience (chronologically indicated in years/months, e.g. May 2005 to March 2006), including a brief description of the services provided and for whom; 
b)	Language capabilities (English and French) and degree of fluency (written, oral, and reading comprehension); and
c)	Relevant academic and professional attainments of the proposed Resource in relation to DIAND’s requirements as defined within the RFP.  All formal training should be listed chronologically; the title of the course or program and duration in days or months should be included.

M2  Resource Project Summary

At the Resource level, the Bidder MUST provide one (1) written project summary describing in detail a Resource’s previous/current experience in successfully providing similar Research Services, as described in Appendix D, Statement of Work, during the past five (5) years (calculated on the closing date of the RFP).
Only one (1) project summary, presented first in order within the Bidder’s Proposal, will be evaluated.

Within the project summary provided, the Bidder MUST indicate (a-h):
a)	the name and a brief description of the client organization;
b)	a brief description of the scope and complexity of the project;
c)	the dates/duration (in years/months) of the project;
d)	the total Resource level of effort (in days) for the duration of the project;
e)	a description of the services provided by the Resource during the project;
f)	a summary of the project objectives, needs, and issues which necessitated the contribution of the Resource;
g)	the outcome and results of the Resource’s contribution, together with the extent to which the project finished on-time, on-budget and in accordance with the established project goals; and
h)	the name, title, e-mail address and telephone number of the client project authority to whom the Resource reported.

M3  Understanding and Proposed Approach and Methodology

a)	The Bidder MUST indicate, through a written description of approximately 750 words, its understanding of the role and purpose of the provision of Litigation Research Services within DIAND as stated in the RFP, together with the Bidder’s proposed approach and methodology to be utilized in the provision of said services to DIAND under any resulting Standing Offer Agreement.
b)	
c)	The Bidder’s description MUST be sufficiently detailed to enable DIAND to assess it against the evaluation factors outlined in Point-Rated Criterion R3 below.
d)	The Bidder may draw on all of its experience in the development of this description, not just the experience gained in the last five (5) years.
e)	Repetition of text from the Statement of Work will not be accepted as a demonstration of the Bidder's understanding of the requirements.
BASIS OF SELECTION

Only compliant Proposals will be considered.

Only Proposals that have met all Mandatory Requirements, and have achieved or exceeded the required minimum score for the Point-Rated Criteria will be considered.  All Proposals will be rated on technical acceptability before price is considered.
Standing Offer Agreements will be awarded based on a determination of Best Value taking into account both the technical merit of the Proposals and the Financial Evaluation. To arrive at an overall score achieved by a Bidder, technical merit will be valued at 70% of the Proposal and price will be valued at 30% of the Proposal.
The Bidder(s) will be selected on the basis of the highest combined rating of technical merit and price.
This procurement is set-side subject to the provisions of the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business (PSAB).