Adaptive Technology Products and Services

Notice of Proposed Procurement

R000074693 /  Adaptive Technology RFI

Background: As expressed in the Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada entitled “Nothing without us” released 27 May 2019, the Government of Canada (GC) has committed to hiring 5,000 persons with disabilities by 2025. This will greatly increase the demand for purchasing adaptive technology (AT) products such as screen-reader software and ergonomic input devices, as well as AT services such as real-time transcription of speech to text.

Currently, the GC has a multitude of source lists for goods and services, held by numerous ministries including Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC). These may not clearly identify AT that is most commonly requested by GC employees, and may not contain the most current AT. The GC’s goal is that employees with disabilities receive their AT accommodations as quickly as possible, to ensure they can be productive and succeed at their jobs.

The challenges with Adaptive Technology (AT) that the GC faces include that AT:

1. are largely low dollar value items
2. are purchased to meet an employee’s needs
3. are not purchased in bulk
4. can be classified as a piece of “office equipment” vs. AT
5. is not listed on any single source list, if one exists.

Overview of the Project

1. Objective:

   Through this RFI, the GC would like to understand:

1. what AT products and services exist in the marketplace to meet the varied needs of GC employees and how they can be sourced; and
2. whether or not these AT products and services are already on existing GC source lists.

The results of this RFI will be analysed and evaluated to determine next steps including providing the information submitted through this RFI to clients find the best products to meet their needs and provide clients with a list of vendors who have responded to this RFI as to which products they can supply. Clients are responsible for purchasing their AT. It is unlikely that the RFI will result in a solicitation.

Scope of Anticipated Procurement:

Potential Client Users: This RFI is being issued by SSC. It is intended that the resulting information and any possible subsequent solicitation would be used by SSC to provide shared services to one or more of its clients. SSC’s clients include SSC itself, those government institutions for which SSC’s services are mandatory at any point during the life of any resulting instrument(s), and those other organizations for which SSC’s services are optional at any point during the life of any resulting instrument(s) and that choose to use those services from time to time. Any subsequent procurement process will not preclude.

SSC from using another method of supply for any of its clients with the same or similar needs, unless a subsequent solicitation for this Project expressly indicates otherwise.

SECURITY REQUIREMENT

There is no security associated to this requirement.

RESPONSE SUBMISSION

All Responders must submit their responses to the contracting authority.

LANGUAGE

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.

ENQUIRIES

Responders who wish to be certain of receiving a reply must submit all questions through to the Contracting Authority.