EVENT PLANNING

Trade Agreement: NONE
Tendering Procedures: All interested suppliers may submit a bid
Attachment: None
Competitive Procurement Strategy: N/A - P&A/LOI Only
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Nature of Requirements: 
EVENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES

EN578-133309/A
Buck, Daniel
Telephone No. - (613) 998-8588
Fax No. - (613) 993-2581


REQUEST FOR INDUSTRY COMMENTS (RFIC) ON  
THE PROCUREMENT STRATEGY FOR 
EVENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES 
FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF CANADA

Responses must be submitted by 2:00 pm Eastern Daylight Savings
on
Wednesday May 8, 2013


1.	NATURE OF REQUEST FOR INDUSTRY COMMENTS

This is not a bid solicitation. This RFIC will not result in the
award of any contract, therefore, potential suppliers of any
goods or services described in the attached project outline
should not earmark stock or facilities, nor allocate resources,
as a result of any information contained in this RFIC. Nor will
this RFIC result in the creation of any source list, therefore,
whether or not any potential supplier responds to this RFIC will
not preclude that supplier from participating in any future
procurement. Also, the procurement of any of the goods and
services described in this RFIC will not necessarily follow this
RFIC. This RFIC is simply intended to solicit feedback from
industry with respect to the matters described in this RFIC.

2. 	NATIONAL PROCUREMENT STRATEGY FOR COMMUNICATION SERVICES

Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) has
undertaken a review of how communication services are procured
for federal government departments with the objective of
developing a national procurement strategy. The review has
identified strengths in the current process; it has also
uncovered areas of opportunity that, if leveraged, should
benefit government departments, existing and portential
suppliers, and Canadians overall. More specifically,
standardized approaches to procurement should lead to enhanced
transparency, greater efficiency and more predictability.

This National Procurement Strategy for Communication Services
(the Strategy),  published on the Government Electronic
Tendering System (GETS) in February, 2013,  aims to provide a
Canada-wide approach. When implemented, this approach will
improve the ease and effectiveness of the procurement process
for all stakeholders. 

Event Management Services is a sub-category under the Strategy. 
In accordance with the strategic direction outlined in the
Strategy, PWGSC is seeking to improve the procurement process
for Event Management Services by increasing communications with
stakeholders through the establishment of supplier-based working
groups. 

Suppliers are invited to express their interest in participating
in a supplier-based working group for Event Management Services
by contacting Daniel Buck at: daniel.buck@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca.  It
is anticipated that a working group meeting will be held in
Ottawa, Ontario in May or June, 2013. Respondents who are
interested in meeting with the Contracting Authority and other
Industry members to discuss new ideas or avenues should identify
this in their response and advise how many individuals in your
firm would like to attend.

3.		CONTENT OF THIS RFIC

This RFIC contains a draft of the Statement of Work (SOW) and
the proposed Evaluation Criteria. This document remains a work
in progress and respondents should not assume that new clauses
or requirements will not be added to any future bid solicitation
that is ultimately published by Canada. Nor should respondents
assume that none of the clauses or requirements will be deleted
or revised. Comments regarding any aspect of the proposed
Evaluation Criteria are welcome.

4.		NATURE AND FORMAT OF RESPONSES REQUESTED

Respondents are requested to provide their comments, concerns,
and, where applicable, any recommendations that could improve
the procurement strategy. Respondents should explain any
assumptions they make in their responses.

5.		ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR RESPONDENTS

		To assist suppliers in formulating recommendations related to
the development of the new procurement vehicle(s), the following
is the total rounded annual business volume of procurements
conducted by PWGSC (Communication Procurement Directorate) using
the Standing Offer, and Supply Arrangement, for Event Management
Services since April 1, 2009.

FISCAL YEAR	TOTAL ROUNDED ANNUAL BUSINESS VOLUME
2009-2010	$2,100,000.00
2010-2011	$1,635,000.00
2011-2012	$536,000.00
2012-2013	$62,000.00


6.		RESPONSE COSTS

Canada will not reimburse any respondent for expenses incurred
in responding to this RFIC.

7.			TREATMENT OF RESPONSES

Use of Responses:  Responses will not be formally evaluated.
However, the responses received may be used by Canada to modify
procurement strategies or any documents contained in this RFIC.
Canada will review all responses received by the RFIC closing
date. Canada may, in its discretion, review responses received
after the RFIC closing date.

Review Team:  A review team composed of representatives from
PWGSC and, possibly, other government departments, will review
the responses on behalf of Canada. Canada reserves the right to
hire any independent consultant, or use any Government
resources, which it deems necessary to review any response. Not
all members of the review team will necessarily review all
responses.

Confidentiality:  Respondents should mark any portions of their
response that they consider proprietary or confidential. Canada
will treat those portions of the responses as confidential to
the extent permitted by the Access to Information Act.

Follow-up Activity:  Canada may, in its discretion, contact any
respondents to follow up with additional questions or for
clarification of any aspect of a response.

8.		ENQUIRIES

Because this is not a bid solicitation, Canada will not
necessarily respond to enquiries in writing or by circulating
answers to all potential suppliers. However, respondents with
questions regarding this RFIC may direct their enquiries to:

Daniel Buck at 613-998-8588
or by email at: daniel.buck@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca

9.			SUBMISSION OF RESPONSES

Time and Place for Submission of Responses:  Suppliers
interested in providing a response should deliver it directly to
the Contracting Authority by the time and date indicated on page
1 of this solicitation document. The preferred method of
response is by email at: 

daniel.buck@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca
 
Responsibility for Timely Delivery: Timely delivery and correct
direction of responses is the sole responsibility of the
respondent. PWGSC will not assume or have transferred to it
those responsibilities.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the
Contracting Officer named above.

10.			SOME SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
			
Procurement Strategy
In your opinion, is a Standing Offer, a Supply Arrangements or a
combination of these vehicles, or neither of these vehicles, the
appropriate procurement approach for the type of work described
herein?
Considering the reduction in the expenditures for this
commodity, would it be more cost effective for PWGSC to consider
issuing a ''winner take all'' approach for this procurement? For
example, one Standing Offer (SO) (or one SO per region) with a
high call-up limit?
In your opinion, is the proposed Evaluation Criteria appropriate
for the requirements described in the Statement of Work? If not,
why?
In your opinion, are there any requirements and/or items,
described in the Statement of Work (SOW) or Evaluation Criteria,
that are unclear or that would unduly limit a qualified vendor's
ability to submit a response? 
Are there related services, not listed in the Statement of Work,
that Canada should consider for inclusion in this procurement?
If so, please provide details. 
Respondents who are interested in meeting with the Contracting
Authority and other Industry members to discuss new ideas or
avenues should identify this in their response. Please provide a
list of individuals from your firm that would like to attend
including the e-mail address for each person.

Green Procurement
Which environmental initiatives have been implemented by your
organization, and which ones are you planning to implement in
the near future (recycling/reusing initiatives, green travel,
etc)? Please explain and specify. 

11.		STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW) AND THE PROPOSED EVALUATION CRITERIA

Please see attached.
Delivery Date: Above-mentioned

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any
procurement.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.