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 RFP document for a full description of the requirement 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.
EC requires a software solution to produce Federal Electoral District boundary scenarios for the upcoming 2023 Federal Redistribution.
Requirement
PROJECT BACKGROUND
The Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act (EBRA) provides for readjusting representation in the House of Commons through the timely redrawing of electoral boundaries.
Federal Electoral District boundaries are readjusted in Canada after each ten-year (decennial) census. At Confederation in 1867, there were 181 electoral districts. Since Confederation, the number of seats has increased significantly. As of the most recent representation order in 2013 there are 338 electoral districts. This representation order was used at the 2015 and 2019 general elections.
Under the authority of EBRA, the division of the provinces into electoral districts is the responsibility of independent Electoral Boundary Commissions, composed of a Chair and two members. It is the responsibility of the Chief Justice in each province to appoint the Chair of the commission. The other two members of the commission will be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Commons within the same deadline.
Elections Canada through the Electoral Geography Division (EGD) provides technical geographic support and services to the 10 Commissions with the readjustment of federal electoral boundaries. Geography technicians provide the Commissions with map based geographic information combined with population and demographic data provided by Statistics Canada to produce boundary scenarios and to prepare Proposals for public hearings.
EGD developed, in 2011, the Commission Redistricting Tool (CRT), a mapping software that allowed the overlay of electoral boundary maps over topographical and demographic data. This software was used to support the 2013 federal redistribution. The added value of the CRT was immediately recognized: not only was the productivity gain for exploring and elaborating interactively boundary scenarios significant, it also allowed the Commissions to spend more time on discussion and exploration of possible scenarios.
Nevertheless, the CRT was developed in 2011 and is built on an outdated GIS Software platform. The technology is no longer supported and cannot be easily integrated to the current EGD GIS environment.
OBJECTIVE
The objectives that drove the 2011 CRT development project must however be kept in mind in order to keep the gains made in 2011. Therefore, the objectives of this project are the following:
To modernize the CRT using today’s technologies;
To develop the ability to provide technical support to the 10 Commissions in the readjustment of federal electoral boundaries in accordance with Elections Canada’s mandate to administer the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act (EBRA). Technical support to the Commissions must be provided to Commissions throughout the entire redistribution process;
To allow EC to customize, up to a certain extent, the CRT for the specific needs of provincial electoral boundaries commissions (for clarity, commissions that adjust provincial electoral boundaries as opposed to federal electoral boundaries at the provincial level).
Security
Minimum corporate security required: DOS - Reliability
Minimum resource security required: Reliability status
Period of the Contract
The Contract period will be from the Effective Date of the Contract until September 30, 2023 (the “Initial Term”).
Submission of Proposals
This RFP allows bidders to use the epost Connect service provided by Canada Post Corporation to transmit their proposals electronically. For further information, bidders must refer to Part 2 – Bidder Instructions, and Part 3 – Proposal Preparation Instructions of the RFP document.
Proposals are to be addressed to the attention of the Contracting Authority and delivered, sealed, to the Proposal Receiving Unit on or before the bid closing date and time indicated on the front page of the RFP.
For sending packages by courier or for dropping off, please note that the Proposal Receiving Unit at the Business Centre is open Mondays to Fridays from 8:00 to 12:00 and from 13:00 to 16:00 (Gatineau, Quebec time).
Bids sent via email or facsimile will not be accepted.
Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.
Elections Canada retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement.
Selection Methodology
Competitive Procurement Strategy: Highest combined rating of technical merity and price
Enquiries
All enquiries and other communication with Elections Canada personnel are to be directed ONLY to the Contracting Authority. The Contracting Authority will be the bidder’s primary contact. Bidders who contact anyone other than the Contracting Authority may be disqualified.
All enquiries must be submitted in writing to p•••••••@••••••••.ca no later than the deadline indicated in the RFP. Enquiries received after that time may not be answered.
Interested parties wishing to obtain the solicitation documents for this RFP must do so through https://buyandsell.gc.ca/procurement-data/tenders. The documents downloaded through this site take precedence over any copies that may also be made available.
Further information about Elections Canada may be obtained at elections.ca.
Debriefings
Once the successful bidder has been announced, bidders may request a debriefing on the results of the RFP process. Bidders should make the request to the Contracting Authority as per the terms of the RFP. The debriefing may be in writing, by telephone or in person.
