Consultation and Engagement Platform

Trade Agreement: Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT)
Tendering Procedures: The bidder must supply Canadian goods and/or services
Non-Competitive Procurement Strategy: Exclusive Rights
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Vendor Name and Address: 
Vox Pop Labs Inc.
639 Queen St W
Suite 401
Toronto Ontario
Canada
M5V2B7
Nature of Requirements: 

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 
The Government of Canada has a requirement for the provision of an online digital consultation and engagement strategy and platform to gather the views of Canadians on the values that they want to see reflected in a complex area of public policy. This includes the provision of an educational experience and helping Canadians understand their own value preferences. The platform would integrates social media platforms and be launched in cooperation with a major media partner or partners (if a suitable media partner is identified) in approximately November 2016 and would maximize the opportunities for participation for a broader cross-section of the Canadian public, including groups such as youth.

The key tasks include:
• Provide a detailed timeline within two days of contract award, to be agreed upon between the Contractor and Project Authority;
• Secure a written commitment from an acceptable major media partner or partners (if a suitable media partner is identified) for launch and promotion of an online digital consultation and engagement platform that integrates social media platforms;
• Provide a proposal for the membership and role of the academic advisory group;
• Provide a proposal for the engagement and consultation strategy using the proposed platform;
• Provide a draft of questions for review by the Project Authority;
• Conduct a robust scientific survey in advance of the launch of the interactive online application in order to identify key themes and develop classifications based on responses;
• Conduct data analysis of the survey and provide a report of findings to the Government no later than approximately October 2016;
• Use multivariate data analysis to determine segments and develop narratives for each cluster based on the profiles that emerge from the survey; 
• Develop a robust model (e.g. using multinomial logistic regression, discriminant analysis, etc.) to instantaneously classify participants to the interactive online digital consultation platform into segments uncovered in the survey;
• Provide categories of customized user feedback and data visualization for review by the Project Authority;
• Develop anonline digital consultation and engagement platform that is consistent with this SOW;
• Have the system completed and available for User Acceptance Testing (UAT) by the PCO PA and TA at least two weeks prior to launch of the platform;
• Participate inregular phone calls with Project Authority as needed up until the launch of the platform in approximately November 2016;
• Provide users of the interactive online application immediate access to their results i.e. their profile and how it compares to other Canadians, using visual graphics such as charts or two-dimensional maps and a summary description of the cluster they more closely align with; 
• Providing weekly analytics reports on use of the online digital consultation and engagement platform and highlight any inconsistencies or irregularities with the data; 
• Maintain and support the operation of the platform for a minimum of 30 days; and
• Conduct data analysis with the information collected via the interactive online application and provide a report of findings to the Government no later than approximately December 2016; 
• The report should be peer reviewed by the academic advisory panel.
The objectives of this requirement are to deliver an online digital consultation and engagementplatform developed and run independently by a highly credible firm.
The platform will allow Canadians to identify their priorities through an interactive online application that would return to the user information based on their responses and the profiles and narratives developed based on the survey.

3. 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 all the following requirements:
• Has delivered at least five similar projects in the past five years that included the participation of at least 250,000 unique users;
• Has delivered a similar project on a national scale;
• Has the ability to process and analyzedata received (up to one million entries) and reliably identify the number of unique users and draw statistically significant and reliable conclusions; 
• Has the ability to provide an online digital consultation and engagement platform that can accommodate one million unique users; 
• Has the ability to deliver a comprehensive digital educational experience that includes customized feedback for each user and data visualization allowing each user to understand how their responses compare to other respondents; 
• Has the ability to establish a partnership with a major media organization(s) that is capable of hosting and promoting equivalent platforms and generating usership;
• Has an existing network and relationships with a number of academics whocanprovide academic input and peer review elements of this project; and
• Has the ability to launch a fully functional platform in approximately November 2016.

4. Applicability of the trade agreement(s) to the procurement 
This procurement is subject to the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT)

5. Set-aside under the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business 
This procurement is not subject to any set-aside for Aboriginal Supplier.

6. Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement(s) 
This procurement isnot subject to the Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement.

7. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier 
Vox Pop Labs is the only supplier that can provide the combination of: online digital consultation and engagement platform; ability to provide an educational experience and personal feedback to users; experience in delivering similar projects on a national scale; the academic network in the relevant field of expertise to provide both subject matter and statistical advice and input; and the ability to meet the implementation date of approximately November 2016. 

In particular, Vox Pop is unique in their use of large sample data sets, having undertaken the largest surveys of Canadian, Australian and New Zealand public opinion ever conducted.This enhances the quality of the data that results from their engagement platforms, allowing analysis to drive down to study smaller groups.  Given that one of the objectives of this initiative is to engage and understand the preference of under-represented and under-engaged groups, this is particularly valuable.  Additionally, it allows mass participation (e.g., more than a million users) while still maintaining reliable data.

Their different engagement platforms provide easy to understand and meaningful results that give users a customized feedback upon completing the survey questions.  This allows use of their platform for broad engagement rather than just surveying.  Vote Compass has been shown to boost political knowledge and drive participation.  Statistical analysis from the 2011 Canadian Election Study suggest that Vote Compass has a positive effect on political knowledge and demonstrate a statistically significant effect on its users’ propensity to participate (e.g., vote), including whencontrolling for conventional socio-demographics, political awareness, political interest, and partisanship.  The effect on turnout is even stronger when analyzed by age group.  The younger users are, the stronger the effect of using Vote Compass on their propensity to vote. Preliminary findings indicate that Vote Compass also had a meaningful and substantial effect on civic engagement in Canada in 2015.

While other vendors could potentially build their own capacity to develop an equivalent platform,the time required to do so would not meet the project timelines at the same level of confidence and for the same value.  It is also not clear that another firm could provide the unique media and academic partnerships that Vox Pop Labs already has.

Further Vox Pop Labs has proven capacity to deliver the requirement.  The Vendor has delivered an equivalent platform and service 18 times in the last five years, each time with a prominent media partner and academic advisors.  Tens of thousands of individuals have regularly participated in these online engagement platforms even when designed for elections in smaller jurisdictions (e.g., provincial elections). For the 2015 Canadian Federal election, more than 1.8 million individuals utilized the online digital engagement platform hosted by the CBC. 

8. Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s) 
The following exception(s) to the Government Contracts Regulations is (are) invoked for this procurement under subsection 6d: only one person is capable of performing the contract.

9. Exclusions and/or Limited Tendering Reasons 
The following exclusion(s) and/or limited tendering reasons are invoked under the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) - Article 506.12.b) where there is an absence of competition for technical reasons and the goods or services can be supplied only by a particular supplier and no alternative or substitute exists;

10. Ownership of Intellectual Property 
Ownership of any Foreground Intellectual Property arising out of the proposed contract will vest in the Contractor.

11. Period of the proposed contract or delivery date 
The period of the proposed contract is from approximately September 16, 2016 to February 1, 2017.

12. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier 
Vox Pop Labs
405-639 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON M5V 2B7

13. Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities 
Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the 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.

14. Closing date for a submission of a statement of capabilities 
The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is September 16, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. EST. 

15. Inquiries and submission of statements of capabilities 
Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed to: 
Myriam Sigouin
360 Albert, 12th Floor, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0S5
Telephone: 613-990-6696
Facsimile: 613-949-1281
E-mail: myriam.sigouin@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca

Delivery Date: Above-mentioned

You are hereby notified that the government intends to negotiate with one firm only as identified above. Should you have any questions concerning this requirement, contact the contracting officer identified above.

An Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) allows departments and agencies to post a notice, for no less than fifteen (15) calendar days, indicating to the supplier community that it intends to award a good, service or construction contract to a pre-identified contractor. If no other supplier submits, on or before the closing date, a Statement of Capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, the contracting authority may then proceed with the award.  However, should a Statement of Capabilities be found to meet the requirements set out in the ACAN, then the contracting authority will proceed to a full tendering process.

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the services/goods described herein, 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.

The PWGSC file number, the contracting officer's name and the closing date of the ACAN must appear on the outside of the envelope in block letters or, in the case of a facsimile transmission, on the covering page.

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

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.