LEAP SCIENCE INSTRUMENT INVITATION TO QUALIFY (ITQ)

Trade Agreement: NONE
Tendering Procedures: All interested suppliers may submit a bid
Competitive Procurement Strategy: Best Overall  Proposal
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Nature of Requirements: 

TITLE: LUNAR EXPLORATION ACCELERATOR PROGRAM (LEAP) SCIENCE INSTRUMENT  PHASES A TO F INVITATION TO QUALIFY (ITQ)

1. SUMMARY

This Invitation to Qualify (ITQ) forms part of the Qualification Phase, which is the first  phase of a multi-phase procurement process  by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), on behalf of Canadian Space Agency (CSA), for Phases A through F of the Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program (LEAP) Science Instrument project.

The CSA has elected to participate in National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon (PRISM) ROSES-2021 F.10 PRISM call for potential lunar surface investigations in support of the science instrument project element of the LEAP portfolio. For more information on this program element, industry and academia can refer to the final text posted on the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES) page for ROSES-2021 F.10 PRISM.

https://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary.do?solId=%7bAD1DEAD1-7060-2C93-8CD1-780AF8FC9D54%7d&path=&method=init

The PRISM solicitation call, pertaining to this ITQ, will be led by NASA and was issued by NASA in September 2021 for launches in 2025 and early 2026. Under this PRISM solicitation call, NASA intends to select science instrument suites for two commercial lunar payload services (CLPS) deliveries, one expected to be at a South Polar location between Q4 2025 - early Q1 2026, and the other at the Gruithuisen Domes, a nearside silicic volcanic construct, between Q1-Q2 2025. Mobility capabilities are expected to be available for Gruithuisen Domes. 

The work related to the Canadian science instrument includes Phases A through F for a typical space mission relevant to PRISM. The objective of the Phase A work will be to demonstrate and confirm the feasibility, value and benefits of the instrument for a space mission to the Moon, and to demonstrate the validity of the mission requirements as well as the development of the system requirements.  Phases B, C, and D will be the preliminary, detailed and implementation phases respectively of the instrument project, whereas Phase E will be the operations phase and Phase F the closeout phase.

The purpose of this ITQ is to invite interested parties to submit a Response indicating their interest in, and qualifications for, the requirement. Based on these Responses, Canada intends to select, in accordance with the terms of this ITQ, a list of Qualified Respondents that will be provided with a conditional Letter of Support from CSA confirming available funding for the proposed work in support of their response to NASA’s ROSES-2021 F.10 PRISM call which is a condition and prerequisite to participate in the subsequent phase of the procurement process should the partnered U.S. team proposal be selected by NASA as further detailed in Section 2.1 of the ITQ. Canada intends to qualify Respondents based on the criteria detailed in Attachment 1 to Part 5 Mandatory Evaluation Criteria. Those Respondents who meet all of the mandatory requirements of the ITQ through a formal evaluation conducted during the ITQ process will be hereinafter referred to as "Qualified Respondents".

If a U.S. team proposal with a Canadian Qualified Respondent is selected as part of the PRISM call selection process for one delivery location (herein referred to as NASA-selected Qualified Respondent), PWGSC will invite only the NASA-selected Qualified Respondent to participate in the RFP for Phases A through F of the project in order to solicit a formal technical and financial bid from the NASA-selected Qualified Respondent based on the final Statement of Work (SOW) that would be developed subsequent to this ITQ and take into account any NASA PRISM call requirements. As the set terms and conditions of any potential future contract will be established through this ITQ process, this RFP will establish the final Statement of Work and any outstanding contractual elements, such as the period of the contract, work authorization points and the basis of payment for each phase of the project. The RFP is anticipated for release by PWGSC in Spring of 2022 and the resulting contract, if any, for the LEAP Science Instrument (LSI) for Phases A through F is anticipated for award in Spring/Summer 2022.  

2. TRADE AGREEMENTS

This procurement is not subject to any Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement (CLCA) nor has it been set-aside for Aboriginal Business under the federal government's Set-Aside Program for Aboriginal Business.

This requirement is not subject to the trade agreements. 

3. CANADIAN CONTENT

The requirement is limited to Canadian goods and Canadian services.

4. EPOST CONNECT SERVICE

This ITQ requires respondents to use the epost Connect service provided by Canada Post Corporation to transmit their response electronically.  Respondents must refer to Part 3 entitled Respondent Instructions, and Part 4 entitled Response Preparation Instructions, of the ITQ, for further information.

5. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

There are no security requirements for the ITQ.

6. MAXIMUM FUNDING

The anticipated maximum funding available for both missions is $16.9M Canadian Dollars (CAD), Applicable Taxes extra, with $5.6M CAD, Applicable Taxes extra, for the South Polar mission and $11.3M CAD, Applicable Taxes extra, for the Gruithuisen Domes mission. As a result of the anticipated maximum funding available for both missions, the total investigation costs will also be required to include an option(s) to descope the work for the South Polar delivery location of up to $2.8M CAD, Applicable Taxes extra, and for the Gruithuisen Domes delivery location of up to $5.5M CAD, Applicable Taxes extra.  Additional details are specified in the ITQ.  

Responses valued in excess of the maximum funding available (Applicable Taxes extra) will be considered non-responsive.  

This disclosure does not commit Canada to pay the maximum funding available.

7. THE FEDERAL CONTRACTORS PROGRAM (FCP)

The Federal Contractors Program (FCP) for employment equity applies to this procurement; refer to Part 6 - Certifications and Additional Information, Part 8 - Resulting Contract Clauses and the annex titled Federal Contractors Program for Employment Equity - Certification.

8. EVALUATION AND SELECTION METHODOLOGY

Responses will be evaluated against mandatory evaluation criteria.

A Response must comply with the requirements of the ITQ, meet all mandatory evaluation criteria as specified in this ITQ, to be declared responsive.

Respondents whose responses are deemed responsive will be deemed Qualified Respondents and be provided with a conditional Letter of Support from CSA.

9. PHASED RESPONSE COMPLIANCE PROCESS

The Phased Response Compliance Process (PRCP) applies to this requirement.

10. CONTRACTING AUTHORITY

The Contracting Authority (or delegated representative) is responsible for the management of the ITQ. To ensure the integrity of the competitive ITQ process, enquiries and other communications regarding the ITQ are to be directed ONLY to the Contracting Authority named below.

Sameer Ali Abbasi
Contracting Specialist
Public Works and Government Services Canada
Acquisitions Branch
Space Programs and Procurement Directorate

Telephone: 873-354-4921
E-mail: sameerali.abbasi@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca 

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.