PROFESSIONAL SERVICES NATIONAL PROCUREMENT STRATEGY

Trade Agreement: NONE Tendering Procedures: All interested suppliers may submit a bid Attachment: None Competitive Procurement Strategy: N/A - P&A/LOI Only Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No Nature of Requirements: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES NATIONAL PROCUREMENT STRATEGY

E60ZH-110001/B

This amendment is raised to update the contact information. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------ Public Release of the Final Professional Services National Procurement Strategy

Please note that although this is listed as a "Letter of Interest", there is no requirement for Industry to provide a response / submission to Canada at this time. The purpose of this Letter of Interest is to provide Industry a copy of the finalized Professional Services National Procurement Strategy.

1.0 BACKGROUND AND SCOPE

The Professional Services National Procurement Strategy proposes a consistent and uniform national approach for the procurement of professional services through the five following key elements:

a. Single governance on a national scale;

b. Common business rules;

c. Access through a single web portal known as the Centralized Professional Services System (CPSS);

d. Increased support for building statements of work and evaluation criteria; and

e. Harmonized training for client departments and suppliers.

The strategy applies to professional services (both IT and non-IT) methods of supply which are put in place by PWGSC for use by client departments and agencies across Canada, for all values of transaction. Services covered under the strategy include information management and information technology, management, business and administrative consulting, human resources consulting, training and learning services, audit services, and others.

Methods of supply which fall under the strategy include, but are not limited to, the following:

· Task-Based Informatics Professional Services Standing Offer and Supply Arrangement (TBIPS SO and SA)

· Solutions-Based Informatics Professional Services Supply Arrangement (SBIPS SA)

· Task and Solutions Professional Services Standing Offer and Supply Arrangement (TSPS SO and SA)

· Professional Services Online (PSO)

· Technical, Engineering, and Maintenance Services Supply Arrangement (TEMS SA)

· Learning Services Standing Offer and Supply Arrangement (Learning Services SO and SA)

· Professional Audit Support Services Supply Arrangement (PASS SA)

· Cyber Protection Supply Arrangement (CPSA)

The procurement of Temporary Help Services will be covered under a separate strategy, and is not governed under this National Procurement Strategy for Professional Services.

2.0 DOCUMENTS

For information purposes, the following documents are attached to this notice. These are:

a. A summary of comments from industry, as well as PWGSC's responses, followed by quantitative results of the supplier consultation, which were gathered using an online questionnaire;

b. The final version of the Professional Services National Procurement Strategy, including a tentative implementation timeline.

3.0 OVERVIEW OF THE CONSULTATION PROCESS

As part of PWGSC's new Procurement Strategies for Goods and Services process, the consultation with suppliers and client departments played an important part in validating the proposed strategy, and determining whether it met the needs of suppliers, client departments as well as Canadians. In addition, consultation helped ensure that the procurement process was fair and transparent, and allowed PWGSC to better anticipate issues which might arise during implementation of the strategy.

Initial engagement

In November 2010, PWGSC conducted an initial consultation with a cross-section of over 1,000 suppliers from the professional services industry in order to identify priorities and concerns.

This exercise was supplemented by several meetings with client departments and agencies. The feedback obtained during this initial consultation helped form the basis of the proposed national procurement strategy for professional services.

Formal Engagement

A formal Request for Information (RFI) was posted to MERX on August 12, 2011, for a period of eight weeks, and with a closing date of October 7, 2011. The RFI provided suppliers with a draft of the proposed Professional Services National Procurement Strategy. Suppliers were requested to provide feedback by means of a detailed, online questionnaire.

The questionnaire, sought feedback on the following items

a. Whether the proposed strategy met its stated objectives of reducing red tape, simplifying business rules, enhancing access and reducing administrative burden;

b. Whether suppliers agreed with the proposed business rules for supply arrangements and standing offers, respectively; suppliers were also asked to provide their comments on the proposed business rules.

c. Any other areas which should be taken into consideration.

4.0 GENERAL OUTCOMES OF THE CONSULTATION

· Suppliers were in agreement that the proposed strategy met its stated objectives.

· Suppliers, to a very large extent, agreed with the proposed business rules for supply arrangements and standing offers.

· Suppliers who participated in the consultations represented a good cross-section of large, medium and small suppliers. Several industry associations also provided their feedback on to the proposed changes. Industry representation also included suppliers based outside of the National Capital Region, across all of Canada.

5.0 CONCLUSION

· The consultation process helped provide PWGSC with valuable information that will be considered during the implementation of the strategy.

· There was a high level of support for the changes proposed under the Professional Services National Procurement Strategy. Given this level of support, no modifications will be made to the strategy that was posted under the original Request for Information.

6.0 NEXT STEPS

· Progressive implementation of the various initiatives identified under the strategy.

· Progressive roll-out of the harmonized business rules to the various professional services methods of supply, as identified in the tentative implementation timeline provided in the final document of the Professional Services National Procurement Strategy, which is included as an attachment to this notice.

Enquiries can be made to

Jean-Sébastien Deslauriers Supply Team Leader Telephone number: 819-934-1423 Fax number : 819-956-1432 Email address: ServicesProfessionnels.ProfessionalServices@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.