Old Age Security Service Improvement Strategy (OASSIS) Project

Task and Solutions Professional Services (TSPS) Requirement


This requirement is for the department of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).

This requirement is open only to those Supply Arrangement – Solutions (SAS) holders who qualified under (Tier 1) for requirement up to and including $2M for the following qualified streams:  

Business Consulting/Change Management Services Stream

The following TSPS-SAS Holders have been invited to submit a proposal.

1.	Accenture Inc.
2.	Altruistic Informatics Consulting Inc. 
3.	Deloitte Inc.
4.	Ernst & Young LLP 
5.	Human Resource Systems Group Ltd
6.	IBM Canada Ltd.
7.	Interis Consulting Inc.
8.	Kelly Sears Consulting Group
9.	Le Groupe Conseil Bronson Consulting Group
10.	MHPM Project Managers Inc. 
11.	Modis Canada Inc.
12.	Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP
13.	QMR Staffing Solutions Incorporated
14.	Samson & Associés CPA/Consultation Inc.
15.	Y2 Consulting Psychologists Inc.

Description of the requirement:

Title: Old Age Security Service Improvement Strategy (OASSIS) Project 

Project Background:
The effects of population ageing and rising life expectancy have already begun to affect the administration of Canada’s Old Age Security (OAS) Program.  Between 2000 and 2011 the number of OAS beneficiaries rose by over 24% and increased the work of processing applications and ongoing payments to clients.  This workload will continue to increase over the next ten years as more Canadians reach the age of eligibility for OAS benefits.  

The OAS program must also respond to changing service expectations of Canadians.  Canadians increasingly expect internet-based interaction with the Government of Canada to apply and receive benefits; to change personal information that may affect ongoing entitlements; or seek information regarding OAS benefits. 

The OASIS Project proposes to significantly transform the program’s current business processes, many of which are manual and paper-based. Processes will be streamlined and optimized through increased automation and the introduction of additional electronic services. 

There are three major elements of the OASIS Project:

I.	Automation of intake and processing
II.	Business Process Re-engineering 
III.	Migration of OAS processing capabilities to a modern IT platform
Over the last ten years, ESDC has been on a journey to improve the efficiency of benefit program service delivery.  This included the implementation of a modern technology system to support the delivery of CPP, OAS, and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) benefits.  CPP was the first program to migrate to the new common system (ITRDS), and the department is now planning to migrate the OAS and GIS programs to this platform.  The department will leverage the similarities between client populations to streamline processes and service delivery and move toward a more citizen-centric service delivery and business model.

The OASIS Project will significantly transform the program’s largely manual, paper-based service delivery.  To realize the benefits of this modernization program, the department will streamline processes to take advantage of the system automation capabilities.  The department is moving toward a client-centric approach to delivery through streamlined, consolidated, and optimized program administration processes and operations.

The OASIS Project was initially approved in the summer of 2012.  In the spring of 2013, the Project successfully launched the OAS Automatic Enrolment initiative, through which over 120,000 Canadians (or 37% of those eligible) have been enrolled into OAS without having to apply.  Automatic enrolment represents a step-change in the type of service offered to Canadians and has reduced the number of new paper-based applications by 37%.

In the Fall of 2013 the Project successfully delivered a service level agreement with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) which enables Service Canada to serve as a single service window to Canadians born abroad applying for OAS benefits.  Previous to this agreement, Canadians born abroad who needed copies of their landing paperwork were required to go directly to CIC to request the information at a cost of $30.  Through this new agreement, Service Canada is providing the service free of charge to Canadians and has enhanced the level of service.

As the department now looks toward the next phase of OASIS, it is seeking a partner to help develop and validate the next phase of the program.
Scope:
The OASIS Project is part of ESDCs ongoing efforts to adapt to business changes and to improve service delivery while reducing ongoing operational costs. 

The Contractor will support the OASIS Project in all aspects of the planning phase, and validate the resulting plans and artifacts.

The winning bidder for this Planning Phase Validation and Support Contract will not be excluded from working on future phases of this project.


Proposed period of contract:

The proposed period of contract shall be from date of  Contract Award to December 31, 2014, plus three (3) option periods of one-year in duration.

File Number: 100001722
Contracting Authority: Danny Tsui
E-mail: nc-solicitations-gd@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

NOTE: Task and Solutions Professional Services (TSPS) Method of Supply is refreshed on an annual basis.  If you wish to find out how you can be a “Qualified SA Holder”, please contact spts.tsps@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca