Returning Officers' Home IT Assets - Decommissioning and Installation

Request for Proposal (RFP) for Returning Officers’ Home IT Assets Decommissioning and Installation Trade Agreements: NAFTA, WTO-AGP, AIT Tendering Procedures: All interested suppliers may submit a bid Attachment: Yes (buyandsell.gc.ca) Competitive Procurement Strategy: Best overall Proposal Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No Nature of Requirement: Returning Officers’ Home IT Assets Decommissioning and Installation

Elections Canada File No: ECPB-RFP-13-0581

SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS ARE ONLY AVAILABLE THROUGH buyandsell.gc.ca

The information contained in this notice is a brief description of the requirement and is for information purposes only. Bidders must refer to the complete Request for Proposal (RFP) document for a full description of the requirements and the full bid instructions.

Background: The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada (“CEOC”), an agent of Parliament, exercises general direction and supervision over the conduct of elections and referendums at the federal level. The CEOC heads the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, commonly known as Elections Canada. The Constitution of Canada requires that federal electoral districts be reviewed after each decennial (10-year) census to reflect changes and movements in Canada’s population. As a result, following completion of the redistribution of federal electoral districts, the number of ROs has increased from 308 to 338. EC Field Programs and Services is responsible for providing direction and support to all 338 ROs and their staff in the delivery of services to electors and candidates during an Electoral Event, whether it is a general election or a by-election. The directorate is also responsible for overseeing the administration of the readiness cycles and ensuring ROs have the necessary tools to adequately perform their duties. Finally, the directorate is responsible for the acquisition and management of RO home IT equipment. The current RO home IT equipment has reached the end of its useful life and will be replaced by newer technology. Description: Under a multi-year contract, the service provisioning required by EC will start on the day the contract is awarded and will remain effective until the issue of the writ for the 42nd general election, which is planned for 2015. Along with decommissioning activities and the shipment and installation of new IT equipment at the ROs’ home locations, EC also requests that the Service Provider be available on site at 30 Victoria, Gatineau, to perform the following activities: • Image the new PCs with EC’s Windows 7 Enterprise RO image. • Adequately package the IT equipment for transportation, according to organizational standards. • The IT equipment must be subsequently shipped to the respective RO home locations across the country. The Service Provider must use the list of postal codes attached in section 5.7 to identify the nearest distribution centre. Elections Canada will provide the Service Provider a complete list of RO home addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses upon contract award. The Service Provider may also be required to provide the same level of service when by-elections are called after Phase 1 completion. (See article 4 in regards to phases and details.) Note: The decommissioning activities and installation of new IT equipment must be done on the same day. These activities must be completed by May 1, 2014. As of today, it is known that 226 of 308 existing ROs are automatically reappointed for a new mandate. As a result, the Service Provider must decommission, install and test new IT equipment.

EC is hopeful that the majority of the remaining 82 ROs will be appointed by mid-March 2014 following public competitions, so that there will be an RO for each of the 338 electoral districts stemming from the redistribution exercise. There may be delays, as there are currently six electoral districts in which public competitions currently underway yielded no potential candidates. Exceptions will be managed separately. The Service Provider will have to adjust activities according to information provided by EC.

Period of the Contract: The Contract period will be from the effective date of the contract to December 31, 2015. Evaluation Methodology: Bids will be evaluated in progressive stages: - Phase 1: Mandatory Technical Requirements; - Phase 2: Rated Technical Requirements; - Phase 3: Mandatory Financial Requirements - Phase 4: Determination of Highest Ranked Bidder Proposals which fail to achieve the requirements specified in the RFP for Phases 1, 2, or 3 will be deemed non-responsive and given no further consideration. The responsive proposal with the lowest evaluated price per point, as determined in accordance with the following formula, will be considered for award of a contract:

___BID PRICE__ = PRICE PER POINT TECHNICAL SCORE

International Trade Agreements: This procurement is subject to the provisions of: The North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA), the Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA), and the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CCOFTA), the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) and the World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP). Comprehensive Land Claim Agreements: This procurement is not subject to any Comprehensive Land Claim Agreements. Submission of Bids: It is requested that bids be provided directly to the Contracting Authority. Bids must be delivered to the following address, sealed, on or before the bid closing date outlined in the RFP (Ottawa time). Mailing Address: Elections Canada Proposal Receiving Unit

c/o Business Centre 30 Victoria St Gatineau, QC K1A 0M6 Attn: Pascal Bouchard-Phillips, Procurement and Contracting Services Elections Canada File No: ECPB-RFP-13-0581 For sending packages by courier or for dropping off, please note that the Business Centre hours are Mondays to Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (local time). Bids received after the stipulated closing date and time will not be accepted and will be returned unopened to the bidder. If a late bid must be opened to determine the name and/or address of the bidder or the nature of the enclosure, a covering letter will be sent to explain the necessity of opening the bid. Faxed or bids sent via electronic mail will not be accepted. All enquiries and other communication with Elections Canada officials are to be directed ONLY to the Contracting Authority. The Contracting Authority will be the bidder’s primary contact. All requests for information must be directed to this contact. Bidders who contact anyone other than the Contracting Authority may be disqualified. All enquiries must be submitted in writing to proposal-proposition@elections.ca no later than seven (7) calendar days before the RFP closing date. Enquiries received after that time may not be answered. Interested parties wishing to order the solicitation documents for this solicitation must do so through buyandsell.gc.ca/tenders. The documents downloaded through this site take precedence over any copies that may also be made available.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada. Elections Canada retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement. Further information about Elections Canada may be obtained at www.elections.ca.