Research and Development Consultant

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 Consultant will provide guidance towards both problem definition and solution and help staff to solve difficult technical methodological problems.

Tasks/Activities Schedule During the time that the consultant is on site, he will provide assistance to the methodology group at Statistics Canada by: A. Providing expert research and development support related in three broad areas: 1. Small area estimation methods

• Application to ongoing surveys; • Methods to handle informative sampling; • Estimation of distributional measures (M- quantiles)

2. Integration of survey data • Combining information across independent surveys and administrative data.

3. Record linkage • Develop procedures that account for incomplete linkage when analysing data obtained via the linkage of several data sources

4. Ad hoc consultation with methodologists • solve problems that require advanced knowledge in survey methodology

Deliverables/Milestones A monthly status report sent to the Director General of the methodology branch.

Constraints Technical and computational support from Statistics Canada staff.

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 the following requirements: • Knowledge and understanding: Survey methodology, small area estimation • Education: PhD in Statistics with a concentration in survey sampling

4. Applicability of the trade agreement(s) to the procurement

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

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA), Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT), Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA), Canada-Columbia Free Trade Agreement (CColFTA), Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement (CPanFTA).

5. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier

Survey methodology is getting increasingly more complex technically. Professor Rao‘s expertise and deep knowledge base enables him to provide practical solutions to some of the more difficult problems currently faced by methodologists. One of Professor Rao’s domains of expertise is small area estimation: he has published a widely read text on the subject published by Wiley-Interscience under the title “Small Area Estimation”. Consultations with Professor Rao on the subject have been extremely useful in building a small area prototype. As the prototype is still being expanded, it is expected that future cooperation with Professor Rao will be very fruitful. Professor Rao also cooperates with methodologists who carry out methodological research. His cooperation is very useful, and has resulted in a number of articles jointly co-authored with methodologists that have been published in high class statistical journals.

Professor Rao’s has obtained a PhD in Statistics with a concentration in survey sampling. In addition to his education, he is credited with 250+ published papers which have made him one of the world’s leading experts in sampling. His published papers are heavily referenced in others’ works and the ideas generated in these papers are applied at Statistics Canada.

6. 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".

7. 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)

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

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA the Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA), the Canada-Columbia Free Trade Agreement (CColFTA), and the Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement (CPanFTA) – Article1016.2 (b)

Article 1016.2 (b) – where, for works of art, or for reasons connected with he protection of patents, copyrights or other exclusive rights, or proprietary information or where there is an absence of competition for technical reasons, the goods or services can be supplied only by a particular supplier and no reasonable alternative or substitute exists.

8. Ownership of Intellectual Property

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

9. Period of the proposed contract or delivery date

Initial Contract Period: Contract Award to March 31, 2015 Option Period 1: April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016 Option Period 2: April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017 Option Period 3: April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018 Option Period 4: April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019

10. Cost estimate of the proposed contract

Initial Contract Period: $ 34,513.00 Option Period 1: $ 34,927.00 Option Period 2: $ 35,346.50 Option Period 3: $ 35,770.50 Option Period 4: $ 36,199.50 Sub-Total: $176,756.50 Applicable Taxes: $ 22,978.35 Estimated Cost: $199,734.85

11. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier

Professor J.N.K. Rao Ottawa, ON

12. 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.

13. Closing date for a submission of a statement of capabilities

The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is June 17, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. EST

14. Inquiries and submission of statements of capabilities

Marie-Lyne Carr Senior Contracting Advisor Statistics Canada Materiel and Contracts Services 150 Tunney’s Pasture Driveway Main Building, Room 1405 Ottawa, ON K1A 0T6 Phone: 613-951-9798 Fax: 613-951-2073 E-mail: MACS-Bids@statcan.gc.ca