Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) Re-procurement

Trade Agreement: NONE
Tendering Procedures: 
Attachment: None
Competitive Procurement Strategy: Best Overall  Proposal
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Nature of Requirements: 
Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) Re-procurement

Introduction:

Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) and Human
Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) are working on
the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) contract re-procurement.
As part of its procurement strategy, PWGSC and HRSDC want to
engage industry early, and at certain stages in the
re-procurement process, in order to solicit industry feedback on
the CSLP business requirements, possible service delivery models
as well as the related procurement strategy. The overall
objective of collaborating with the industry is to obtain
valuable feedback to help shape CSLP business
requirements and possible alternative delivery solutions as well
as the procurement strategy to achieve an end-state business
solution meeting the needs of the Canada Student Loans Program.

This Notice is an update on the activities that have occurred to
date as well as the next steps of the CSLP re-procurement. 

Suppliers are encouraged to continue to monitor the Government
Electronic Tendering Services (GETS) for further information on
the CSLP re-procurement process.

Background:

The Canada Student Loans Program was created in 1964 to promote
access to post-secondary education.

The requirement for the program is legislated through the Canada
Student Loans Act R.S.C. 1985, c. S-28 and the Canada Student
Loans Regulations, which govern the provision of loans issued to
students up to August 1, 1995, and the Canada Student Financial
Assistance Act S.C. 1994, C.28 and the Canada Student Financial
Assistance Regulations, which govern the provision of financial
assistance issued to students as of August 1, 1995.

Direct lending, introduced by CSLP in 2000, entails the
financing of student loans directly with taxpayer funding
instead of bank financing. The loan administration of CSLP was
outsourced to Service Providers (Contractors) as part of this
change. Following a competitive procurement process, in December
2000, PWGSC awarded a contract to one Service Provider selected
to provide financial and related administrative services for
students attending Public Educational Institutions, and another
contract to a second Service Provider selected to provide the
services for students attending Private Educational
Institutions. These two contracts expired in March 2008.

A subsequent competitive solicitation was conducted and in
December 2006, PWGSC awarded a follow-on contract with a single
Service Provider to provide financial and related administrative
services for students attending both Public and Private
Educational Institutions. The current contract will potentially
expire in March 2018.

The provincial Governments of Saskatchewan, Ontario,
Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and British Columbia
have signed integration agreements with the Government of Canada
to incorporate their requirements for provincial loan
administration services into the current requirements.
 
Consultative Process:

Industry will be engaged in a multi-phased consultative process
as follows:


1.	Initial Contact with Industry - Complete
2.	Industry Day - Complete 
3.	One-On-One Industry Meetings - Complete
4.	Working Group Meetings as required- May, 2013 to October, 2013
5.	Review of Draft Request for Proposal - November, 2013

Companies are encouraged to participate in the engagement
process for this re-procurement, however it is not mandatory to
do so.  Not attending the Industry Engagement Session will not
preclude an interested participant from submitting a proposal. 
Companies may also join the consultative process at any point by
contacting the PWGSC Contracting Authority as listed at the
bottom of this notice.

Media cannot participate in the one-on-one meetings or any
working group sessions.

1. Initial Contact with Industry

Prior to holding the Industry Engagement Session Day, PWGSC and
HRSDC contacted Industry to collect information on the current
marketplace, available technology and supplier capabilities. 

2. Industry Day Session

The purpose of the Industry Engagement Session was to present
Industry and other interested parties with additional
information on the CSLP re-procurement project including an
overview of the procurement process, an overview of the current
business model, and the objectives for the future business
model/consultative process. Industry participants were also
provided the Rules of Engagement and had the opportunity to
comment on the consultative process.  

The Industry Engagement Session was held on November 28, 2012.

The Agenda for the Industry Day Session was: 

1.	Opening Remarks
2.	Procurement Process
3.	Current Business Model Overview
4.	Moving Forward
5.	Next Steps 

Material provided to Industry Day Session attendees:

1.	Industry Day Meeting Agenda
2.	Overview of Canada Student Loans Program
3.	CSLP Business Process Maps
4.	CSLP Acronyms and Glossary

3. One-On-One Industry Meetings:

One-On-One meetings took place in early 2013. Industry
participants were requested to provide written comments and
recommendations on the proposed topics for discussion, as well
as any additional topics Industry may wish to discuss. The
One-On-One Industry meetings were an opportunity for Canada and
Industry participants to meet individually to listen to
concerns, recommendations and solutions. One of the primary
goals of the One-On-One meetings was to discuss potential
business model(s) for CSLP. Following the meetings, Canada
reviewed and summarized industry input, identify topics that
need to be discussed at Working Group meetings, and revise
solicitation document(s), if applicable.  

4. Next Activity: Working Group Meetings (as required):

Following the One-On-One meetings, Industry is invited to
Working Group Meetings comprised of representatives from
Industry, CSLP and PWGSC to discuss specific issues, potential
solutions and to review and revise solicitation document(s), as
applicable. Canada will finalize the solicitation document(s)
following these meetings.

Working group sessions may include the following topics:

·	Review of questions and responses following One on One meetings
·	CSLP Business Model
·	Draft Statement of Work
·	Draft Basis of Payment
·	Draft evolution criteria for the RFP
·	The Draft RFP

As stated previously in this notice, companies may contact the
PWGSC Contracting Authority at any point to initiate
participation in the engagement process. All Industry
participants will be required to sign the Rules of Engagement
and Dispute Resolution Process. All Industry consultations will
be documented and this information is subject to the Access to
Information Act. Canada shall not reveal any designated
proprietary information to third parties.




Other:

Third Party Consultation

Third parties such as Industry Associations will be consulted on
an as and when required basis to discuss industry issues and
recommendations on industry standard practices.

Communication with Industry

Canada will document all industry issues, positions and actions.
 A draft-RFP will only be made available to all participants who
have signed and complied with the Rules of Engagement for a
final review before the official RFP is published on MERX.

During the consultation process, the PWGSC Contracting Authority
will communicate with registered Industry participants through
direct email rather than by posting additional notices on the
GETS.

PWGSC Contracting Authority:

Rob Crober
Public Works and Government Services Canada
Special Procurement Initiatives Directorate 
E-mail: Robert.crober@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca
Tel. No.: 613-956-1206

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.