PAC POUR SERVICES DU SYSTEME EXPERT C5

PROVISION OF C5 EXPERT SYSTEMS AND SERVICES IN SUPPORT OF ENHANCED COMPREHENSIVE LAND CLAIMS AGREEMENT (CLCA) CONTRACTING AND REPORTING COMPLIANCE OBLIGATIONS, AND CONTRACTING COMPLIANCE ASSURANCE, ANALYSIS AND AWARENESS

December 17, 2014

1. Purpose of an Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN)

An Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) allows a department to post a notice, for no less than fifteen (15) calendar days, indicating to the supplier community that it intends to award a contract to a pre-identified supplier. If no other supplier submits, during the fifteen calendar day posting period, a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, the competitive requirements of the government’s contracting policy have been met. Following notification to suppliers not successful in demonstrating that their statement of capabilities meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, the contract may then be awarded using the Treasury Board’s electronic bidding authorities.

If other potential suppliers submit statements of capabilities during the fifteen (15) calendar day posting period, and meet the requirements set out in the ACAN, the department must proceed to a full tendering process on either the government’s electronic tendering service or through traditional means, in order to award the contract.

2. Definition of Requirements

On behalf of the Government of Canada, the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) has a requirement for the provision of a rules-based expert system capabilities and professional services that will further extend Government of Canada-wide implementation efforts with respect to Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement (CLCA) contracting obligations.

DIAND requires the deployment of a rules-based expert system capabilities to assist in better enabling personnel within Government of Canada departments and agencies to overcome a number of existing implementation challenges related to Canada’s contracting and related economic development obligations, as prescribed within over twenty (20) CLCAs. In particular, there are a number of specific improvement opportunities related to current CLCA contracting obligation awareness, complexity and reporting against which DIAND wishes to utilize an expert system and services to realize measurable improvements in meeting Canada’s legal and fiduciary obligations in this area.

The work associated with this contract will involve the following:

a. the provision of web-based CLCA contracting compliance expert systems capabilities to Government of Canada employees;

b. professional services and training support to both DIAND and departments/agencies with the implementation of Treasury Board mandated CLCA contract reporting obligations, and the enabling of significant reductions in the current degree of complexity associated with determining CLCA contracting obligations;

c. the provision of web-based information services to Government of Canada employees aimed at enhancing awareness and reducing the current degree of complexity associated with the application of CLCA contracting obligations to the Government of Canada’s contracting policies and practices;

d. the provision of reports providing evidence of Government of Canada-wide compliance with CLCA contracting implementation and reporting obligations; and

e. other as-required rules-based expert systems capabilities, professional services and training support, web-based information services and reports specifically related to CLCA contracting implementation and contracting compliance assurance, analysis and awareness.

Minimum Essential Requirements

Any interested Aboriginal supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that it meets all of the following requirements:

a. That the supplier has access to an existing web-based CLCA contracting compliance expert system based on existing and published Government of Canada CLCA contracting policies and rules; and

b. That the supplier possesses significant knowledge, expertise and experience in the compliant application of CLCA contracting obligations to the Government of Canada’s contracting policies and practices, as evidenced by a minimum of 500 working days previous experience directly related to Government of Canada CLCA
contracting related policy development and analysis and/or training and/or systems
development.

3. Governing Contracting Rules

This requirement is subject to the Government of Canada’s Set-Aside Program for Aboriginal Business and is therefore excluded from the Trade Agreements, in accordance with

• Article 1802 of the Agreement on Internal Trade
• Article 1001.2b of the North American Free Trade Agreement

4. Ownership of Intellectual Property

Ownership of any Foreground Intellectual Property arising out of the proposed contract will vest with the Contractor.

5. Period of Proposed Contract

The proposed contract period is from the contract award date to March 31, 2016. DIAND reserves the right to exercise an additional one (1) year option period.
6. Estimated Value of Proposed Contract
The estimated value of the contract, including the option period, is $189,000.00 (plus applicable taxes)

7. Reason for non-competitive award

Section 6 (d) of the Government Contracts Regulations – Only one (1) supplier can do the work.

The pre-identified supplier has developed at its own cost, an existing web-based CLCA contracting compliance expert system based on existing and published Government of Canada CLCA contracting policies and rules. The supplier has exclusive rights to this expert system. Representatives of Government of Canada departments and agencies have validated that the supplier’s existing system outputs conform with Government of Canada CLCA contracting policies and rules, and that its use on a wider scale across the Government of Canada would enable a significant reduction in the current degree of complexity associated with determining CLCA contracting obligations.

While DIAND recognizes that there are several suppliers who possess the capability to enter into a contract for the custom-development of a new solution to address its requirements in this area, DIAND has purposefully established its requirement for a pre- existing solution in order to mitigate the inherent risks of project failure associated with custom software development. This position is in keeping with the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Enhanced Framework for the Management of Information Technology Projects (Section 4.2.4.1. Existing Solutions Adopted), which states that:

“Adopting a proven solution that can meet the needs of the business function is less risky than developing a custom solution. An off-the-shelf product, or a solution that performs similar functions and services, has been implemented in an organization, and can be adapted to the department's needs, offers lower cost and risk than a custom system. A custom solution should be selected only as a last resort.”

In keeping with the above, DIAND has therefore established its requirement for a pre- existing web-based CLCA contracting compliance expert system that is capable of being validated. The pre-identified supplier is the only known entity capable of meeting this highly specialized requirement.

8. Proposed Contractor

Setaside Solutions Aboriginal Joint Venture
4043 Carling Avenue, Suite 202
KANATA, ON K2K 2A4

9. Submission of Statement of Capabilities by Suppliers:
This requirement is set aside in accordance with the government's Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business. Only statements of capabilities from Aboriginal suppliers will be considered.
Suppliers, who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the services described herein, may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this Notice on or before the closing date of this Notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.

10. Closing Date for Submission of Statements of Capabilities

January 8, 2015 at 14:00, Eastern Standard Time (EST).

11. Departmental Contact Person

Suppliers may inquire or submit a statement of capabilities to:

Name:
Josée Lacroix

Position:
Procurement Officer

Postal Address:
10 Wellington Street, Room 1302

Location:
GATINEAU, Québec K1A 0H4

Telephone no.:
(819) 994-6724

Facsimile no.:
(819) 953-7721

Electronic Mail Address:
J••••••••@••••••••.••.ca