Regional Media Advisor (RMA)

Request for Proposal (RFP) for Regional Media Advisors (RMA)

Trade Agreements: No
Tendering Procedures: All interested suppliers may submit a bid
Attachment: Yes (buyandsell.gc.ca)
Competitive Procurement Strategy: Best overall Proposal
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Nature of Requirement: Media Relations Services
Estimated Cost of proposed Contract, including the options, approximately $3,480,000.00 CDN (applicable taxes excluded)

Elections Canada File No:
ECST-RFP-13-0024

SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS ARE ONLY AVAILABLE THROUGH GETS.

The information contained in this notice is a brief description of the requirement and is for information purposes only. Bidders must refer to the complete Request for Proposal (RFP) document for a full description of the requirements and the full bid instructions.

Background:

The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada (“CEOC”), an agent of Parliament, exercises general direction and supervision over the conduct of elections and referendums at the federal level. The CEOC heads the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, commonly known as Elections Canada (“EC”).
During and between Electoral Events, EC provides media and public relations services nationally and regionally. On a day-to-day basis, this involves providing responses to media queries, supporting the communications objectives of EC and carrying out other media related tasks.

Description:

The statement of work attached as appendix A ("SOW”) to Part 6 - Resulting Contract outlines the services that is be required.
EC is seeking the services of fourteen (14) RMAs to provide it with media relations services and strategic communications advice during Electoral Events by providing media guidance and media support to EC Headquarters and/or to Field Liaison Officers and Returning Officers within the following Service Areas:  Ontario, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Halifax and Winnipeg or Saskatoon.  Services are to be provided in the language of work specified in Part 10 - Service Areas.

Period of the Contract:

The term of the contract will be from the effective date of the contract to March 31, 2017. In addition, EC has one (1) irrevocable option to extend the original term of the contract for a period of three (3) years period under the same terms and conditions.

Evaluation Methodology:

Bids will be evaluated in the following progressive stages: 
- Phase 1: Mandatory Technical Requirements; 
- Phase 2: Rated Technical Requirements;
- Phase 3: Rated Reference Checks;
- Phase 4: Rated Interviews;
- Phase 5: Financial Evaluation; and
- Phase 6: Determination of Highest Ranked Bidder.

Proposals which fail to achieve the requirements specified in the RFP for Phases 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 will be deemed non-responsive and given no further consideration.
Neither the responsive proposal obtaining the highest technical score nor the one with the lowest evaluated price will necessarily be accepted.  For each Service Area, the responsive proposal with the highest combined rating will be recommended for award of a contract.	

Trade Agreements:

This procurement is exempt from the provisions of:
-	the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA), the Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA), and the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CCOFTA) under exempt services category T – Communications, Photographic, Mapping, Printing and Publication Services; and

-	the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) under excluded services Annex 502.1B, Article 1.g – Advertising and Public Relations; and

-	the World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP) since it does not cover this type of service

Comprehensive Land Claim Agreements:

This procurement is not subject to any Comprehensive Land Claim Agreements.

Submission of Bids:

It is requested that bids be provided directly to the Contracting Authority. Bids must be delivered to the following address, sealed, on or before Friday, January 31st, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. (EST).

Mailing Address:

Elections Canada
30 Victoria Street -1st Floor (Business Centre)
Gatineau, QC 
K1A 0M6
Attn: Stéphanie Thomas, Procurement and Contracting Services
Elections Canada File No: ECST-RFP-13-0024

For sending packages by courier or for dropping off, please note that the Business Centre hours are Mondays to Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00p.m. (EST).
Bids received after the stipulated closing date and time will not be accepted and will be returned unopened to the bidder. If a late bid must be opened to determine the name and/or address of the bidder or the nature of the enclosure, a covering letter will be sent to explain the necessity of opening the bid. 

Faxed or bids sent via electronic mail will not be accepted.

All enquiries and other communication with Elections Canada officials are to be directed ONLY to the Contracting Authority. The Contracting Authority will be the bidder’s primary contact. All requests for information must be directed to this contact. Bidders who contact anyone other than the Contracting Authority may be disqualified.  All enquiries must be submitted in writing to proposal-proposition@elections.ca no later than fifteen (15) calendar days before the RFP closing date.  Enquiries received after that time may not be answered.

Interested parties wishing to order the solicitation documents for this RFP must do so through buyandsell.gc.ca/tenders.  The documents downloaded through this site take precedence over any copies that may also be made available.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.

Elections Canada retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement. 

Further information about Elections Canada may be obtained at www.elections.ca