Qualitative

Trade Agreement: Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) Tendering Procedures: All interested suppliers may submit a bid Competitive Procurement Strategy: Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No Nature of Requirements:

Qualitative

35035-165058/A Amaral, Paola Telephone No. - (613) 998-8588

NATURE OF REQUIREMENT

Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), on behalf of the Privy Council Office (PCO), has a requirement to conduct an on-going qualitative public opinion research data collection to ensure up-to-date and accurate representations of Canadian opinion on various issues, notable as they relate to Government of Canada priorities.

PERIOD OF THE CONTRACT

The period of the contract will be for one (1) year with the possibility of two (2) additional one (1) year option periods.

SOURCING

The requirement is subject to the provisions of the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT).

The Federal Contractors Program (FCP) for employment equity applies to this procurement; see Part 5 - Certifications, Part 7 - Resulting Contract Clauses and the annex titled Federal Contractors Program for Employment Equity - Certification.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

MANDATORY EVALUATION CRITERIA

M.1 CLIENT LIAISON

The Bidder must identify one (1) individual who they propose to act as a client liaison in English and one (1) individual to act as a client liaison on French. The Bidder must submit the language profile for each proposed individual. The individual identified for each language can be the same person. The Client Liaison does not need to be a senior researcher, but must have knowledge of POR.

M.2 SENIOR RESEARCHER

The Bidder must identify a minimum of one (1) senior researcher who they propose to design research, conduct fieldwork, analyze results, and write reports in English and a minimum of one (1) senior researcher who they propose to design research, conduct fieldwork, analyze results, and write reports in French. This individual identified for each language can be the same person. A Curriculum Vitae (CV) for each person identified must be submitted. The CV’s will be evaluated in the rated requirements under R.3.

M.3 SAMPLE PROJECTS - SENIOR RESEARCHER

To demonstrate each of the proposed Senior Researcher’s experience, the Bidder must submit two (2) qualitative POR projects for each official language for which the researcher is submitted. The same project can be submitted for both the English and the Frenchproject samples if the same proposed Senior Researcher conducted the fieldwork in both official languages.

Each project sample submitted must meet the following criteria

a) The senior researcher must have conducted at least two (2) group sessions (each group session involving 3 or more participants) in the language for which they are proposed; b) The fieldwork projects must have been completed in the last three (3) years preceding the bid closing date. c) At least one of the projects must be national* in scope

*National is defined as a project where focus groups were conducted in at least three (3) regions of Canada. The regions are:

• British Columbia; • Prairies (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba); • Ontario; • Quebec; • Atlantic (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador); and • The Territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut).

Note: Samples submitted with be evaluated in the Point Rated Technical Evaluation R4 - Senior Researcher - Sample Projects. Please use the sample project format in R.4 to submit samples.

M.4 FINANCIAL PROPOSAL / BASIS OF PAYMENT

The Bidder must provide a firm, all inclusive price, for the initial contract period and each of the option periods in accordance with Annex ?B2? - Pricing - Qualitative Surveys.

POINT RATED EVALUATION CRITERIA

R.1: UNDERSTANDING THE REQUIREMENT

The Bidder should provide a narrative summary which reflects their understanding of the Statement of Work. Simply repeating the Statement of Work, in whole or in part, does not indicate an understanding of the project’s aims and objectives or the ability to carry it out.

R.2: METHODOLOGY

The Bidder should provide a complete description of the methodology andresearch procedures, including a proposed approach that involves strategic choices in relation to the population that can be effectively covered, the type of techniques that are practical given the geographic location, the ease/difficulty of conducting research, and the suitability of the given techniques for the target population. Bidders should provide a rationale for these choices as part of their proposal, as well as address the rationale for the approach and a description of potential challenges/problems that could arise and how each will be addressed.

Section I: Methodology and Research Procedures The degree to which the Bidder describes the methodology, including a proposed approach that involves strategic choices in relation to the population that can be effectively covered, the type of techniques that are practical given the geographic location, the ease/difficulty of conducting research, and the suitability of the given techniques for the target population.

Section II: Recruitment Procedures The degree to which the Bidder describes the recruitment method(s) and sample source(s), and any techniques used to segment participants into specific demographic or attitudinal categories.

Section III: Data Collection Capability and Quality Control The degree to which the Bidder describes the data collection capability and all quality control mechanisms that will be in place to ensure the reliability and validity of the results.

Section IV: Addressing Issues and Challenges The degree to which the Bidder describes the rationale for the approach and a description of potential challenges/problems that could arise and how each will be addressed.

R.3: QUALIFICATIONS - SENIOR RESEARCHER

The CV of each senior researcher proposed in M.2 will be evaluated as follows

a) Academic qualifications / training / certifications / publications / awards and memberships relevant to design, conduct and reporting of public opinion research.

*Relevant = specialization/major in disciplines such as: social sciences, economics, and statistics.

a) Work experience - for each Senior Researcher proposed, the Bidder should provide the total number of years of relevant experience for each SR.

If more than one (1) senior researcher is included, the points will be averaged across all of them. However, the proposed resources that do not meet the minimum points will not be named in the contract.

R.4: SAMPLE PROJECTS - SENIOR RESEARCHER

The projects submitted under Mandatory requirement M.3, will be evaluated under this point rated evaluation.

Bidders are requested to use the following PROJECT SAMPLE FORMAT for each project submitted:

PROJECT SAMPLE FORMAT

SECTION I: BACKGROUND INFORMATION Project Title: Client Name: Fieldwork start and end dates (month/year): Fieldwork Location: Sample Size per wave:

Attestation: The bidder should submit a brief attestation of performance signed by the client for each project submitted. The attestations should clearly reference the specific project and state that the work was conducted to the satisfaction of the client. A client attestation template is included as Appendix ?G?.

SECTION II: PROJECT BACKGROUND Describe your client's subject matter of the project. Includea description of the product/service/social issue and the target audience(s).

SECTION III: METHODOLOGY Provide a summary of the methodology and describe how it responded to your client's objectives.

Project experience will be evaluated based onthe following criteria

a) The target audience of the project was with the Canadian adult general public or sub-groups of the Canadian adult population.

b) The fieldwork was completed in the last three (3) years of the bid closing date.

c) The subject matter of the projects should be related to quality of service, communication, advertising, Web sites or policy and programs.

d) The senior researcher conducted at least two group sessions (each involving 3 or more participants) or six individual interviews.

e) The senior researcher’s relevant expertise in the 1) design and 2) analysis or reporting for the component of the study, is demonstrated through their role and contribution to the successful outcome of the two (2) sample projects submitted under Mandatory requirement M.3.

If more than one (1) senior researcher is included, the points will be averaged across all of them. However, the proposed resources that do not meet the minimum points will not be named in the contract.

BASIS OF SELECTION

Highest Combined Rating of Technical Merit and Price

1. To be declared responsive, a bid must

a. comply with all the requirements of the bid solicitation; and

b. meet all mandatory criteria; and

c. obtain the required minimum points specified for each criterion for the technical evaluation, and

d. obtain the required minimum of 1050 points overall for the technical evaluation criteria which are subject to point rating. The rating is performed on a scale of 1500 points.

2. Bids not meeting (a) or (b) or (c) and (d) will be declared non-responsive.

3. The selection will be based on the highest responsive combined rating of technical merit and price. The ratio will be 60% for the technical merit and 40% for the price.

4. To establish the technical merit score, the overall technical score for each responsive bid will be determined as follows: total number of points obtained / maximum number of points available multiplied by the ratio of 60%.

5. To establish the pricing score, each firm price or rate will be prorated against the lowest firm price or rate for each individual category of service. The ratio of 40% will be calculated as follows: Lowest Average Firm Contract Price multiplied by 40 points divided by Bidder’s Average Firm Contract Price = Weighted Financial Score for Firm Contract Price for Initial and Optional Contract Periods.

6. For each responsive bid, the technical merit score and the pricing score will be added to determine its combined rating.

7. Neither the responsive bid obtaining the highest technical score nor the one with the lowest evaluated price will necessarily be accepted. The responsive bid with the highest combined rating of technical merit and price will be recommended for award of a contract.

All inquiries regarding aspects of this request for proposal should be e-mailed to: Paola.Amaral@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca

All solicitation documents must be obtained through http://buyandsell.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.