Standing Offer: Provision of Scientific and Technical Advisory Services on Matters Related to Incidents and Effects from Stressors on Aquatic Species and Environments

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has a requirement to setup Standing Offer Agreements for the provision of scientific and technical advisory services on matters related to incidents and effects from stressors on aquatic species and environments.

When spills into aquatic environments occur (note: the terms “spills”, “incidents” and/or “environmental emergencies” are considered interchangeable in the context of this RFSO), or when stressors of concern are identified (related to a spill or otherwise), DFO uses science-based evidence to facilitate the effective and sustainable management of Canada’s fisheries, ensure that aquatic ecosystems are protected from negative impacts and supports an informed environmental emergencies response. While much of the re aDepartment’s efforts are focused on oil-based spills, ‘incidents’ may include any event with the potential to affect the health of marine or freshwater species or habitats. This could include examples such as: a ship-source oil spill, a rail-based spill of a hazardous substance, a landslide, or breach of a mine tailings pond into fish bearing waters. Outside of specific incidents, there are a number of stressors on our aquatic ecosystems, on which the Department requires technical expertise and advice. This could include examples such as the effects of anthropogenic contaminants of concern (such as hydrocarbons, metals, flame retardants, chlorinated, brominated, and perfluorinated contaminants, pharmaceuticals and personal care products etc.) or altered environmental conditions (such as suspended sediments, pH, dissolved oxygen or acoustic disturbance etc.) on aquatic species in either freshwater or marine environments. Such examples may or may not be associated with a specific spill or incident. 

This standing offer is designed to ensure effective access to external expertise that will provide the necessary support to DFO in the exercising of it’s mandate and authorities. This includes, but is not limited to the provision of the following service offerings: expert advice; scientific support; scientific reporting and communications; operationalization of scientific knowledge; as well as research, study and/or sampling program planning and support services.

The Department (DFO) is seeking companies with the experience, expertise and ability to provide the defined scientific and technical advisory services (detailed in Annex A). Proponents must be able to demonstrate their capabilities to delivery on all service offerings. The successful proponents are required to have significant technical experience and be able to support incident response-related needs, remotely, across the Country. Proponents should expect to support DFO staff (which can include the Canadian Coast Guard) prepare, respond to and address impacts to aquatic ecosystems resulting from specific incidents or other stressors, on an as needed basis.

A response to a call-up may be requested within a very short period (e.g., 24 hours for active incident support); however, no standby or 24/7 capacity is expected or required. Standard response timelines (i.e., 2 to 5 days) would be expected for all non-urgent requests. Proponents should also be aware that the scope of services included in this RFSO would not be expected to include field work or field study components. Overall, the efforts are expected to be completed from an office/home office setting, during regular business hours, unless a specific, regional time-zone consideration is required. 

These services are required at a National scale, on an “as and when” requests basis. It is expected that most call-ups will have a value of less than $50,000; however, on an annual basis there is likely to be a few larger call-ups and incident-specific call-ups may be higher. While it is expected that most call-ups will originate from DFO Headquarters (Ottawa, ON), the Standing Offer Agreements (SOA) will be open for use across the Department. The objective is to award up to six (6) SOAs to qualified suppliers who can provide the services to meet the specific needs outlined in the Statement of Work (Annex A). The SOAs will be valid from the time of issue until March 31, 2025.