Offender Management System Modernization

Attestation of assurance

The fairness monitor (FM) hereby provides the following unqualified assurance statement below concerning the Offender Management System (OMS) Modernization up to and including the conclusion of the evaluation phase.

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

Original signed by:

Activity requirement

RFP Solutions Inc. was engaged on January 12, 2021 as a FM to observe the competitive procurement process for the OMS Modernization, issued by Public Works and Government Services Canada on behalf of Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) under solicitation number 21120-206246. RFP Solutions Inc. is an independent third party with respect to this activity.

This report covers the activities of the FM, during the vendor one-on-one meetings of the initial request for information (RFI) as well as the activities of the second RFI, request for proposal (RFP), evaluation and contract awards phases.

The OMS is CSC's mission critical system, used to manage information about offenders under its care and ensure their safe reintegration into society. Besides being utilized directly by its partner, the Parole Board of Canada, CSC also distributes offender information electronically to other stakeholders. As of June 2017, CSC had approximately 15,000 OMS user accounts which included 14,000 CSC internal and 1,000 external users. It is estimated that there are approximately 500 to 600 concurrent users by regions at peak times.

OMS was conceived by CSC and implemented in increments between 1991 and 1993. Between 1993 and 1999 the scope of OMS business processes had increased, and it was supporting a user population 10 times its originally envisaged size. In 2002, CSC began a renewal project to provide enhanced technology for information sharing between its partners. The renewal project was a technical migration of the OMS database to a more user-friendly interface with improved functionality and new modules were added.

A 2015 review process identified the need for a modernized OMS to better focus on offender case management. Today, OMS requires investment to transform offender management business processes to allow CSC to better store, retrieve and manage offender data, and ultimately improve the programming and policies to manage offenders and support their reintegration into society more effectively.

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
• relevant observations from the activities undertaken

Fairness monitor engagement and observations

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we:

• familiarized ourselves with the relevant documents
• observed the activities of the:
  • vendor one-on-one meetings of the initial RFI
  • second RFI
  • RFP
  • evaluation and contract awards phases
• identified fairness-related matters to the contracting authority (CA)
• ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate

In this section

• Initial request for information
• Second request for information
• Request for proposal phase
• Evaluation phase
• Contract award and debriefing

Initial request for information

RFP Solutions Inc. was engaged to begin fairness monitoring activities beginning after the RFI (solicitation number 21120-206246/A) had closed on October 27, 2020. To become familiar with the OMS requirements and the procurement process, the FM reviewed the RFI documentation.

The RFI indicated that as a follow-up activity, Canada may meet with respondents who indicated in their responses that they wished to meet.

Ten vendors indicated that they wished to meet with Canada to present and demonstrate the capabilities of their solutions. Based on availability of Canada's representatives, the vendors and FM, a meeting schedule was established with a full day being allocated to each vendor. A detailed agenda for vendor one-on-one sessions was developed and communicated to each interested vendor 10 days in advance of its session. The FM reviewed the agenda and all communication with the vendors in planning the sessions prior to it being sent.

The vendors were responsible for providing the virtual platform for the online meetings. CSC was responsible for controlling the agenda on a strict timeline to allow different teams from the OMS project to attend the demonstrations that were directly within their areas of responsibility. Canada also provided its representatives with a separate Microsoft Teams instance to be able to communicate amongst themselves and to be able to pose questions for the vendors via the CSC moderator.

Seven vendor one-on-one meetings were conducted on February 8, 12, 17, 22, 24 and 26, 2021 and March 1, 2021. Three of the vendors that initially requested one-on-one meetings, cancelled those requests after the meetings were scheduled.

The FM was present and observed each of the online one-on-one meetings.

No fairness issues were identified.

Second request for information

The second RFI was issued under solicitation number 21120-206246/B on March 22, 2021 to provide responses to 14 questions raised by vendors during the one-on-one meetings. The RFI closed administratively on March 26, 2021.

The FM reviewed the responses to the vendor questions before they were issued to provide assurance as to the neutrality of the responses and the clarity of the documentation to support understandability by potential suppliers.

One amendment to the RFI was issued to provide notification of a revision to the French translation for the project title of the RFI.

In reviewing the RFI documentation including the amendment, no fairness issues were identified.

Request for proposal phase

Prior to its release, the FM reviewed draft versions and the final RFP documentation. All feedback provided by the FM was addressed by the CA.

No fairness issues were observed with the RFP.

The RFP was issued via buyandsell.gc.ca on December 17, 2021 as solicitation number 21120-206246/C.

A total of 167 questions were received from potential suppliers during the posting period. Responses to these questions, as well as 11 amendments to the terms and conditions of the solicitation were issued in 14 solicitation amendment documents; all of which were posted to buyandsell.gc.ca. The FM reviewed all the amendment documents and feedback was addressed by the CA.

No fairness issues were observed with the amendments.

The RFP final closing date was March 31, 2022 at 2:00 pm Eastern daylight time.

The FM reviewed the way the RFP responses were received and handled with the CA.

Two bids were received and handled in accordance with the closing requirements and deadline stated in the RFP and established procedures.

No fairness issues were identified with the receipt and handling of the bids.

Evaluation phase

Prior to the start of bid evaluation, the FM reviewed the evaluation guidelines, including:

• evaluator responsibilities
• code of conduct
• security
• confidentiality
• conflict of interest requirements

Evaluator training was provided by the CSC project lead, supported by the CA and attended by the FM.

Following RFP closing, a review of mandatory technical criteria was undertaken individually by the members of the evaluation committee for each of the 2 bids received.

Initial mandatory technical criteria consensus meetings on the 2 bids were conducted on April 11 and 19, 2022. The need to seek clarification from both bidders was identified. The CA prepared clarification questions which were reviewed by the FM prior to issuance and responded to by the bidders. The evaluation committee reconvened to complete consensus evaluation on April 29, 2022. The FM observed the consensus evaluation meetings.

Following evaluation of the mandatory technical criteria, compliance assessment reports (CAR) were issued to both bidders. One bidder was informed that it was compliant with the mandatory technical criteria. The other bidder was given the opportunity to provide additional or different information to address areas of non-compliance, in accordance with the phased bid compliance process set out in the RFP.

The compliant bid was deemed eligible to proceed to the evaluation of the point-rated technical criteria, while the remedy period for the non-compliant bid proceeded in parallel.

After the remedy period closed, the CAR response of the bidder was independently reviewed by the members of the evaluation committee, prior to re-convening for consensus on the mandatory technical criteria on May 26, 2022. The CAR response was deemed non-responsive to the requirements as stated in the RFP, and therefore the bid was ineligible to proceed to point-rated technical evaluation.

The FM reviewed the CAR prior to its issuance and was present for the consensus evaluation of the CAR response and reviewed the results of the phased bid compliance process against the requirements in the RFP.

Following evaluation of the mandatory requirements, members of the evaluation committee individually reviewed the 1 compliant bid against the point-rated technical criteria. The evaluators subsequently met via web conference on May 6, 17, 24, 26, 27, and 31 and June 2, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 14, 2022 to conduct consensus evaluation.

Those consensus evaluation meetings identified parts of the bid that required clarification. The FM reviewed the clarification questions prior to them being issued.

The bidder's responses to the clarification questions were reviewed individually by each member of the evaluation committee prior to re-convening to complete consensus via web conference on July 15, 18, and 19, 2023. The FM was present and observed the meetings.

As due diligence, Canada determined to conduct reference checks for 3 of the bidder's provided client references. The FM reviewed the reference check questions for alignment to the RFP prior to their being issued. The results of the reference checks were reviewed by the evaluation committee during the final consensus meeting.

At the conclusion of the point-rated technical evaluation process, the bidder was deemed to have met the required score threshold to proceed to the financial evaluation.

In accordance with the RFP, the pricing envelope for the 1 responsive bid was opened and the CA determined the total bid price.

Following review of the financial proposal, the CA requested information for financial capability assessment and price support for the pricing provided by the bidder. Clarification questions were reviewed by the FM prior to them being issued. Upon receipt of this information the CA finalized the financial evaluation.

The CA kept the FM informed throughout the financial evaluation and verification process. Following the confirmation of the top ranked bidder, the CA finalized the overall results which were reviewed with the FM.

In reviewing the conduct of the evaluation, verification and bidder selection, the FM provided comments that were addressed before proceeding. No fairness concerns were observed.

Contract award and debriefing

This section will be completed as an addendum to this report following completion of contract award, which is subject to confirmation of security and integrity provisions and, as requested, debriefing of bidders.

Reference documents

Documents related to solicitation number 21120-206246/A, 21120-206246/B and 21120-206246/C through CanadaBuys and through the project office.

Addendum to the final report

August 11, 2023

Addendum to the final report dated August 10, 2023, for the OMS Modernization.

This addendum covers the period following the conclusion of the evaluation phase including contract award and debriefings.

The successful bidder was notified in writing of contract award on September 1, 2022. The contract was to develop a prototype solution and deliverables for a capability and usability assessment (CUA). If the CUA confirmed the proposal elements, Canada would exercise an option to fully implement the solution. The FM reviewed the contract for alignment to the RFP.

The unsuccessful bidder was notified on the same date and notified that they were entitled to a debriefing on the evaluation results. A debriefing was conducted with the unsuccessful bidder on October 24, 2022. The FM was present and observed the debriefing. Following the debriefing, the bidder requested additional detail on the evaluation of its bid which was provided by the CA. The FM reviewed this information prior to its issuance to the bidder.

In reviewing the awarded contract and observing the debriefing for the unsuccessful bidder, the FM provided comments that were addressed.

Following the conclusion of the CUA, the FM reviewed the outcome of the CUA process. The CUA determined that the successful bidder was eligible to be recommended to enter the next stage of the contract. No fairness concerns were observed.

Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the unqualified assurance statement below concerning the OMS Modernization procurement process up to and including the conclusion of the contract award and debriefing activities.

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

Original signed by: