In-Service Support for the Government of Canada Pay System

Attestation of assurance

The fairness monitor (FM) hereby provides the below unqualified assurance statement concerning the competitive selection process for the In-service support for the Government of Canada Pay System, for the invitation to qualify (ITQ) phase.

It is our professional opinion that the activities we observed or monitored were carried out in a fair, open, and transparent manner.

Original signed by:

Project requirement

Samson & Associates was contracted to participate as a FM to observe the competitive acquisition process for the In-service support for the Government of Canada Pay System, undertaken by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) as solicitation number EP961-200285/A. Samson & Associates is an independent third party with respect to this activity.

This report covers the activities of the FM from September 8, 2018 to September 3, 2020 for the invitation to qualify (ITQ) phase.

Canada has a requirement for an In-service support service provider to support the Government of Canada’s pay system. In general terms, the required services include but are not limited to:

• batch and interface management
• application system administration
• security administration
• system enhancements
• incident management
• configuration management
• release management
• change management
• user support

We reviewed all of the information provided and observed all relevant activities.

This report includes:

• our attestation of assurance
• a summary of the scope and objectives of our assignment
• the methodologies applied and relevant observations from the activities undertaken

Fairness monitoring engagement and observations

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we familiarized ourselves with the relevant documents and observed the procurement activities (per example: ITQ document, respective questions and answers and industry engagement sessions), identifying fairness-related matters to the contracting authority (CA) and technical authority, and ensuring that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate.

Activities and observations: Initial industry engagement phase

The consultative process began on June 19, 2019, when PWGSC posted a letter of invitation (LOI), solicitation number EP961-200285/A, to initiate engagement with industry. The LOI invited interested suppliers to participate in the engagement activities of a consultative process. LOI EP961-200285/A closed on September 3, 2019.

An Industry Day was held June 27, 2019 and was attended by approximately 35 people representing 15 firms (13 in person and 2 via teleconference). The FM had not been formally involved at this point in the process and did not attend the Industry Day.

The Government of Canada received request for information (RFI) responses from 3 firms. These 3 firms all had one-on-one meetings in October and November 2019, which the FM attended.

We identified fairness-related matters to the CA and technical authority and ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate.

No fairness issues were identified.

Activities and observations: Invitation to qualify

The ITQ was posted on buyandsell.gc.ca on May 8, 2020, as solicitation number EP961-200285/B. The closing date was June 17, 2020. The FM reviewed the ITQ document prior to being published.

This ITQ was intended to be the first phase of a 2 phase procurement process.

Suppliers were invited to prequalify in accordance with the terms and conditions of this ITQ to become qualified respondents for any later phases of the procurement process. Only qualified respondents would be permitted to bid on any subsequent solicitation issued as part of the procurement process.

There were 3 amendments issued during the ITQ process and 30 questions were responded to. The FM reviewed the responses prior to posting.

There were 3 responses submitted to the ITQ.

An evaluator training session was held on June 19, 2020, and was attended by all evaluators as well as the CA and the FM.

Evaluators conducted their individual evaluations separately and met on June 25 and 26, 2020 for the consensus meetings, which the CA and the FM attended. As a result of the consensus only 1 bidder was deemed responsive.

On June 30, 2020, Canada requested a clarification from 1 of the non-compliant bidders. The bidder responded to the request on July 3, 2020 and provided the requested clarification. The evaluators met again on July 6, 2020 for consensus. The CA and the FM attended the consensus meeting. During the second consensus, the bidder was deemed to remain non-compliant.

All bidders were provided with the final evaluation results on July 10, 2020. The unsuccessful bidders were debriefed with additional details on their bids, via conference call, on August 5 and 21, 2020. The FM participated in the debriefings. This concluded the briefing period of the ITQ.

As a result of the ITQ process PWGSC will enter negotiations with the sole qualified supplier.

No fairness issues were identified.

Reference documents

Documents related to the solicitation number EP961-200285 are available on CanadaBuys or through the project office.

Addendum to final report

December 27, 2021

Addendum to the FM final report dated September 21, 2020 regarding the competitive selection process for the In-service support for the Government of Canada Pay System.

This addendum to the FM final report covers the period following the conclusion of the evaluation phase, including contract award and debriefings.

Fairness monitoring activities related to contract award and debriefings

There was only 1 qualified bid received in response to the ITQ. As a result of the ITQ process, PWGSC entered into negotiations with the sole qualified supplier.

All bidders were provided with the final evaluation results on July 10, 2020. The unsuccessful bidders were debriefed with additional details on their bids, via conference call, on August 5 and 21, 2020. The FM participated in the debriefings. This concluded the briefing period of the ITQ.

A contract was awarded to the sole qualified bidder on December 17, 2021 and the award was published on buyandsell.gc.ca on December 20, 2021.

Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the below unqualified assurance statement concerning the competitive selection process for the In-service support for the Government of Canada Pay System.

It is our professional opinion that the competitive selection process that we observed or monitored was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.

Original signed by: