RESEARCH & INVESTIGATION SERVICES

Trade Agreement: NAFTA/AIT/Canada FTAs with Peru/Colombia/Panama Tendering Procedures: All interested suppliers may submit a bid Attachment: None Competitive Procurement Strategy: Lowest/Lower Bid Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No Nature of Requirements: PROJECT TITLE

Research and Investigation Services

OBJECTIVE

The Office of the Veterans Ombudsman requires qualified resources to:

· Conduct research, analysis and writing to identify and present systemic issues relevant to programs and services provided by or administered by Veterans Affairs; · Plan and conduct investigations, further investigations and case management activities for complaints by Canada's Veterans and their representatives to ensure that a complete factual situation is presented.

SCOPE

Types of Services

The Office of the Veterans Ombudsman must acquire the following Research and Investigation Services with qualified resources on an as and when requested basis:

· Research Analysis Services: compare and analyze complaints documents, policies and procedures, conduct research to support identification of systemic issues, and prepare analytical reports to assist in understanding the context, statutory framework, and development of systemic issues relevant to programs and services provided by or administered by Veterans Affairs; · Investigation Services: research specific topics and provide advice and/or conduct fact finding activities and examinations, determine fairness of process/policy, conduct interviews, manage files and prepare preliminary and final reports on specifically identified issues.

Within the provision of research and investigation services, the Contractor must take into consideration, the expertise provided by subject matter experts, in relation to any one (1) or more of the following areas:

· Business Practices - the review and analysis of existing work processes, organizational structure and business functional requirements; · Health Care Claims - the application of Department specific criteria and policy; · Mental Health - the assessment of treatment plans and health programs and services management; · Geriatric Care - the assessment of treatment plans and health programs and services management for geriatric or aged individuals; · Rehabilitation - the assessment of rehabilitation programs and therapies management; · Ergonomics - the assessment of adapting work processes and conditions in the work environment; · Legal and Regulatory Advice - the identification of legal and regulatory risks and opportunities in project and program objectives and priorities; · Pensions/Awards and Insurance - the review of plans or claims for entitlement or assessments awarded for pensioned conditions; · Aboriginal Veterans Affairs - the review and analysis of compensation and services within the cultural context; and · Industry Standard Practices - the identification and comparison of domestic and international standard practices within the private sector or other organizations in contrast to the range and level of services provided by VAC.

Tasks

While individual requirements will be specified in each task authorization, on an as when requested basis, the Contractor must carry out the work outlined below, and provide the required deliverable(s), in accordance with section 6 of the statement of work, to the satisfaction of the Project Authority.

All work is to be done in conformity with the instructions issued by the Project Authority.

Research and Analysis Services

The Contractor must, on an as and when requested basis, carry out the Research and Analysis activities described below:

· Review and analyze complaints documents, statistical data, policies and procedures to identify all factual and systemic issues relevant to programs and services provided by or administered by VAC; · Prepare a Research Design Plan for review and acceptance by the Project Authority. The Research Design Plan shall identify the methodology (tool and method) used to collect data, the key information repositories and the primary and secondary sources, their expected relevance to the requested item(s) of research, the expected time required to review and analyze the sources, and where applicable, suggest additional or alternative sources or repositories that should be considered, along with the time required to review and analyze these additional sources; · Prepare a Research Work Plan for research related projects, breaking down the research major activities, including work to be done by others (research analysts, etc.), and estimating the time (effort) spent to complete each activity; · Prepare a paragraph by paragraph analysis of the documents setting out a factual analysis of each issue raised, providing document citations supporting the facts and analysis relied upon; · Prepare analytical research reports and analysis of the facts, based on analysis of the collected documents, an any other criteria/methodologies required by the Project Authority; · Prepare briefing materials on issues related to the requested item(s) of research for the Project Authority; · Support others (research analysts, etc.) in the planning, management and quality assurance of research; · Prepare regular status/progress reports on resource work done to date, the progress and milestones of the work; · Answer questions and suggest further sources and avenues for all research activities; and, · Participate in regularly scheduled Review Boards; and, · Perform other Research Analysis functions, as requested by the Project Authority.

Investigation Services The Contractor must, on an as and when requested basis, carry out the Investigation activities described below, in support of the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman:

· Provide support and assistance in planning and conducting investigations for complaints by VAC applicants or clients and their representatives; · Interpret applicable legislation (for example, the Veterans Bill of Rights), case law, jurisprudence and precedents, and compare previous decisions of the Ombudsman and recent policy positions, announcements and statement by the Ombudsman for consistency; · Meet with and interview the complainant, any witnesses related to the complaint, and VAC officials up to the senior levels of involved programs/services; · Write Investigation Reports; · Participate in case review and strategy meeting with the Ombudsman Executive Committee; · Research and analyze the allegation and circumstances of the complaint(s); · Gather, analyze and store the data, information and evidence, in a confidential and protected manner; · Collaborate and consult with the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman to discuss and review legal issues, to advise them of developments or events with respect to investigations, to share expertise and experience, and to collaborate on shared tasks or ventures; and · Provide other related investigations functions, as requested by the Project Authority

PERIOD OF CONTRACT

The period of the Contract will be from date of Contract to November 15, 2017 and the date of commencement of services must be November 16, 2014 to November 15, 2017 with an irrevocable option to extend the contract period by up to three (3) additional one (1) year periods under the same terms and conditions.

SECURITY REQUIREMENT

1. The Contractor must, at all times during the performance of the Contract/Standing Offer, hold a valid Designated Organization Screening (DOS) with approved Document Safeguarding at the level of PROTECTED B, issued by the Canadian Industrial Security Directorate, Public Works and Government Services Canada.

2. The Contractor personnel requiring access to PROTECTED information, assets or work site(s) must EACH hold a valid RELIABILITY STATUS, granted or approved by the Canadian Industrial Security Directorate (CISD), Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC).

3. The Contractor MUST NOT utilize its Information Technology systems to electronically process, produce or store PROTECTED information until the CISD/PWGSC has issued written approval. After approval has been granted or approved, these tasks may be performed at the level of PROTECTED B.

4. Subcontracts which contain security requirements are NOT to be awarded without the prior written permission of CISD/PWGSC.

5. The Contractor must comply with the provisions of the

(a) Security Requirements Check List and security guide (if applicable), attached at Annex C; (b) Industrial Security Manual (Latest Edition)

MANDATORY CRITERIA

Experience of the Bidder

MT1: At bid closing, the Bidder must have acquired, within the last 3 years, experience in providing resources, to clients exterior to the Bidder's own organization, that have experience in conducting: -Research Analysis related activities, as defined in the Statement of Work, in the area of legislation, policy/procedure or program/service review and analysis, as well as one or more of the following :

-Investigation related activities, as defined in the Statement of Work, in the practice of law or counseling or investigation prosecution of cases or hearings of administrative/ criminal cases or legal research.

Proposed Resources

For the purpose of resource qualifications, experience gained during formal education will not be considered work experience. All requirements for work experience must be obtained in a legitimate work environment as opposed to an educational setting. Co-op terms are considered work experience provided that they are related to the required services. Listing experience without providing any supporting information describing where, when and how such experience was obtained will result in the experience not being included for evaluation purposes.

For evaluation purposes

-Where means the name of the employer as well as the position/title held by the individual; -When means the start date and end date (e.g. from January 2010 to March 2012) of the period during which the individual acquired the qualification/experience; and -How means a clear description of the activities performed and the responsibilities assigned to the individual under this position and during this period.

Bidders are advised that the month(s) of experience listed for a project in which the time frame overlaps that of another referenced project for the same named Resource will only be counted once.

For example: Project #1 time frame is July 2013 to December 2013; Project #2 time frame is October 2013 to January 2014; the total months of experience for these two project references is seven (7) months.

MT2: The Bidder must provide two Research Analysts. MT3: At bid closing, each proposed Research Analyst must have acquired three (3) years of full-time professional work experience, within the last 10 years, conducting Research Analysis related activities, as defined in the Statement of Work, in the area of legislation, policy/procedure or program/service review and analysis, precedent cases, or statistical research, or Ombudsman related research activities. MT4: Each proposed Research Analyst must have completed a bachelor's degree in the field of Administration, Social Sciences, Criminology, Law or equivalent. Or

If the proposed Research Analysts did not complete a bachelor's degree, they must have two additional years of experience (total 5 years) as described above. MT5: The Bidder must provide two Investigators. MT6: At bid closing, each proposed Investigators must have acquired five (5) years of full-time professional work experience, within the last 10 years, conducting Investigation related activities, as defined in the Statement of Work, in the practice of law, counseling, investigation/ prosecution of cases, hearings of administrative/ criminal cases, legal research or Ombudsman or related operational activities. MT7: At bid closing, the proposed Investigator must have completed a bachelor's degree in the field of Administration, Social Sciences, Criminology, Law or equivalent. Or

If the proposed Investigators did not complete a bachelor's degree, they must have two additional years of experience (total 7 years) as described above. BASIS OF SELECTION

Lowest Evaluated Price

A bid must comply with the requirements of the bid solicitation and meet all mandatory evaluation criteria to be declared responsive.

The responsive bid with the lowest evaluated price will be recommended for award of a contract.

CONTRACTING AUTHORITY

Name: Jocelyne C Gagnon Title: Supply Specialist Public Works and Government Services Canada Acquisitions Branch Directorate: Business Management and Consulting Services Division Address:11 Laurier Street, Portage III, 10C1, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0S5

Telephone: (819) 956-0575 Facsimile: (819) 956-2675 E-mail address: jocelyne.c.gagnon@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.