Amendment 1:
The purpose of this amendment is to respond to bidders questions.
Question 1:
Could you elaborate on the requirement to provide telephone or email support for Drupal support related issues 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Will calls be coming from outside Canada? Does this include holidays?
Answer 1:
Calls will be coming from Canada only and this does not include statutory holidays.
1. An ACAN is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services or construction to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier.
2. Definition of requirement
Drupal Web Content Management System is being used at Statistics Canada to power its web presence and more and more projects are using this platform as it really speeds up service delivery / productivity on many web based projects. This being said Drupal websites / applications need periodic updates and maintenance for core security updates and it would be beneficial to have a technical support contract in place for questions, advice and issues that might arise. Having this contract in place will also help ensure that Statistics Canada has a reliable system that will meet the goals of its business clients.
3. Criteria for assessment of the Statement of Capabilities
Minimum Essential Requirements
Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that it meets the following requirements:
- minimum of 3 years experience providing technical support for Drupal within the last 5 years.
- minimum of 3 years experience providing security updates and module maintenance to clients.
- provide telephone or email support for Drupal related issues 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- minimum of 3 years experience providing providing Drupal advisory services to clients
- minimum of 3 years experience providing Drupal training to clients
- Budgetary restriction of up to $27,500.00 per year for the required services.
4. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier
Statistics Canada has attempted to procure support for Drupal for over ten (10) months by competing the requirement on three (3) separate attempts. Each attempt was unsuccessful as per the following:
- 1st Attempt – false identification of security requirements
- 2nd Attempt – sole bid exceeded Statistics Canada budget
- 3rd Attempt – unsuccessful negotiation of contract terms and conditions
On the recommendation from Statistics Canada’s procurement authority it was recommended to proceed with an ACAN posting based on the history with the file:
- The level of effort and time spent on this requirement,
- the lack of a contract being in place and
- the risk of not having a support contract in place as it could affect critical operations
5. Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s)
The following exception to the Government Contracts Regulations is invoked for this procurement under the following subsection:
subsection 6(c) - "the nature of the work is such that it would not be in the public interest to solicit bids"
6. The period of the proposed contract or the delivery date(s)
The proposed period of the contract is from October 1, 2014 – September 30, 2015. The Contractor grants to Canada the irrevocable option to extend the term of the Contract by up to one (1) additional one (1) year period under the same conditions.
7. A cost estimate of the proposed contract
The estimated value of the contract, including option(s), is $51,250.00 USD
8. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier:
Acquia Inc.
25 Corporate Drive
Burlington, MA
01803
USA
9. Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities
Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods, services or construction services described in the ACAN, 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. The closing date for a submission of a statement of capabilities.
The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is September 30, 2014 at 2:00 pm EST.
11. Inquiries and submission of statements of capabilities
Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed to:
Michael Tsoukanas
Contracting Advisor
Fax: 613-951-2073
m••••••••@•••••••.••.ca
