Requirement for Coastal Flooding – Risk Assessment for Adaptation and Disaster Mitigation

ACAN 21-58095

Requirement for Coastal Flooding – Risk Assessment for Adaptation and Disaster Mitigation

1. Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN)
   An ACAN is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services or construction to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier.
2. Definition of the requirement:

Under the Climate Resilient Built Environment Initiative funded by Infrastructure Canada, the National Research Council has a mandate to enable the incorporation of climate change considerations into regulatory instruments including Codes and Standards for buildings and infrastructure. CSA Group has secured the rights to develop standards addressing coastal and riverine flooding, via the Standards Council of Canada Notice of Intent process.

The work to be undertaken in this contract would involve key elements that serve to advance climate change adaptation for Coastal Flooding Risk Assessment for Adaptation and Disaster Mitigation in Canada through standards development, capacity building, and advocacy.

This contract seeks to enter into an agreement with the CSA to establish a committee to provide a collaborative platform for key stakeholders to help establish priorities, provide insights, facilitate referencing within regulations, and support referencing of the newly developed standards within regulations. A standard on Coastal Flooding Risk Assessment for Adaptation and Disaster Mitigation would aim to establish requirements for conducting a comprehensive flood risk assessment, with consistent requirements for data collection and analysis, conducting the hazard vulnerability and consequence assessments, and completing the risk assessment while taking into account future climate change projections, using reliable sources of future climate predictions. The work program will occur concurrently with the work underway at the NRC related to climate change adaptation.

NRC Requests under the deliverables of this contract that CSA

• Establish and manage a Technical committee on Coastal Flooding Risk Assessment;
• Commence development of a new standard on Coastal Flooding Risk Assessment for Adaptation and Disaster Mitigation, in accordance with the CSA accredited standards development process; delivered in English and French;
• Develop an online one on one-half hour course for the new standard, delivered in English and French;
• Develop a Coastal Flooding Risk Assessment outreach strategy;
• Hold meetings with key users and decision makers to raise awareness and discuss key benefits the new standard can offer;
• Develop pilot projects on the new standard to showcase the value, benefits, and implementation in the real world;
• Develop an implementation guide on the new standard, published in English and French;
• Develop infosheets and/or infographics to support the new standard;
• Develop social media announcements on the publication of the new standard; and
• Develop an impact summary for the new standard.

1. Criteria for assessment of the Statement of Capabilities (Minimum Essential Requirements)
   Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that it meets the following requirements:

• Association or Company must be a Standards Development Organization with Accreditation under the Standards Council of Canada
• Hold the rights to develop all deliverables
• Significant experience (minimum of 10 years) in the management and development of Codes and Standards by way of established balanced technical committees
• Demonstration of ability to engage with broad range of industry and regulatory bodies on technical matters related to climate change adaptation for Coastal Flooding Risk Assessment for Adaptation and Disaster Mitigation
• Demonstration of at least 5 years’ experience of code or standards development as it pertains to the climate change adaptation of infrastructure
• Demonstration of at least 10-year history working with the National Research Council’s Codes Canada on code or standard development

1. This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement(s)

• Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)
• World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP)

1. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier:

The Canadian Standards Association (operating as CSA Group), is an accredited Standards Development Organization (“SDO”) in Canada and the United States of America, providing services in accordance with its Policy governing standardization and Directives and guidelines governing standardization, where those documents apply to the services being performed, as well as other non-accredited services and products.

CSA Group has secured the rights to develop standards addressing climate change resiliency for coastal and riverine flooding, via the Standard Council of Canada Notice of Intent process.

CSA began as the Canadian Engineering Standards Association (CESA) in 1919, federally chartered to create standards. CSA is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada, a crown corporation which promotes efficient and effective standardization in Canada. This accreditation verifies that CSA is competent to carry out standards development and certification functions, and is based on internationally recognized criteria and procedures.

CSA Group has actively engaged stakeholders of the coastal flood mitigation sector to validate the need for standards to address climate change related risks. In 2021, CSA Group launched research focusing on Nature-Based Solutions for Coastal and Riverine Flood and Erosion Risk Management related to Climate Change Adaptation with a goal to validate the need for standards-based climate change adaptation solutions.

In addition to decades of work tackling issues related to climate change, CSA Group has delivered numerous standards specifically addressing climate change adaptation of Canadian buildings and infrastructure including the North, bridges, fenestration, flooding and durability.

CSA Group has worked with NRC in the past in developing standards that either compliment the NRC’s National Construction Codes or were supported by NRC research.

1. Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s)
   The following exception(s) to the Government Contracts Regulations is (are) invoked for this procurement under subsection:

6(d) - "only one person is capable of performing the work"

1. Ownership of Intellectual Property

No ownership of intellectual property on an accredited National Standard of Canada for this subject currently exists. CSA Group has secured the rights to develop standards addressing climate change resiliency for coastal and riverine flooding, via the Standards Council of Canada Notice of Intent process.

1. Period of the proposed contract or delivery date
   The contract period will be 2 years and 4 months with an expected start date of April 1, 2022. The anticipated completion date is May 31, 2024.
2. Cost estimate of the proposed contract

   The contract value will be to an upset limit of $354,000.00 CAD (HST not included).

1. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier
   CSA Group

155 Queen Street, Suite 1300

Ottawa ON K1P 6L1

1. Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities:
   Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods, services or construction services described in the ACAN may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this notice on or before the closing date of this notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.

1. Closing date and time for a submission of a statement of capabilities:
   March 11, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. EST.

1. Inquiries and submission of statements of capabilities are to be directed to:

Katie Homuth

Senior Contracting Officer

National Research Council Canada

1. Telephone: 343-549-4539
   E-mail: Katie.Homuth@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca