Procurement Presentation - March 1 2007

1. Province of Nova Scotia Procurement Services www.gov.ns.ca/tenders

Procurement Policy and Guides

Procurement Processes

Solicitation of Bids

Communication

Evaluation & Selection

Contract

Vendor Debriefing

Trade Agreements

Reciprocity / Preference

Procurement Intranet Site

To establish and maintain a high level of confidence in the procurement process by ensuring that all public sector procurement is carried out in an open, fair, consistent, efficient and competitive manner.

Thresholds

Under $1,000 (no quotes required)

$1,000 up $5,000 (attempt to obtain three quotes)

Over $5,000 for Goods and $10,000 for Services & Construction (tendered and posted to Public Tenders website)

Procurement Policy

Construction Contract Guidelines

Environmentally Responsible Government

Facilities Procurement Guide

Architects & Professional Engineering Services

Guide to the Submission & Evaluation of Unsolicited Proposals

Supplier Debriefing

Vendor Complaint Process

Request for

Quotations (RFQ)

Expression of Interest (REI)

Proposals (RFP)

Construction (RFC)

Standing Offers (RSO)

Alternative Procurement (ALTP)

Bidders Meeting

Informal process used to determine what products and services are available, scope business requirements and/or estimate project costs

Used as a tool to obtain comments from proponents on draft RFPs and feedback on business direction

Notice of meeting posted to website

Procurement templates are provided to clients to assist them in the preparation of REI, RFP or RSO documents.The templates identify sections that will clearly inform proponents of the scope of work, timelines, experience,requirements, evaluation criteria, etc.

Assistance in preparation of a document can be obtained by contacting a consultant on the Professional Services Standing Offer

Procurement tool used to solicit vendor price submissions usually for goods acquisitions

Evaluation process focuses on price for submissions that meet stated delivery requirements and quality standards

May sometimes include an evaluation criteria

May be first stage in the procurement process

May be used to identify suppliers who are capable of responding to an upcoming RFP.Evaluate capability and not solution to problem

Bidders responding may be short listed according to the scoring in the evaluation process

Must be followed by an RFP process to result in an award

Procurement tool used to solicit vendor proposals to:

Supply complex products and /or services

Provide options or solutions to a problem, requirement or objective

Imperative the RFP is clear and includes all the requirements for the project to be a success.Unclear RFPs can lead to poor responses and re-tendering

Evaluation includes consideration of the quality of the idea, concept or solution proposed along with price

Legal contract at time of award

Procurement tool used to tender for construction, reconstruction, demolition, remediation, repair or renovation of a building, structure, road or bridge

Tender document contains a set of terms & conditions and a separate bid form that apply to that specific project

Evaluation based on a number of factors as described in the tender document

Procurement tool used to tender for goods or services that are usually used across government or are department specific

Supplier agrees to provide goods or services on an as required basis, during a particular period of time and at predetermined price or discount

Term of standing offer may very in duration, will be clearly defined in RSO along with any options for extensions

A purchase order is required to draw off the Standing Offer list.Each purchase order must not exceed $25,000 for goods and $50,000 for services

Clients may choose to obtain quotes from multiple vendors for a specific project

Standing Offers may include an evaluation criteria depending on the requirement

List of available standing offers available on the Procurement Intranet site

Urgent or specialized circumstances, not to avoid competition

Rationale documented and kept on file

Authorized by Senior Management or Board

List of circumstances provided in Procurement Policy

Subject to audit

Must be defendable

Opportunities must be posted for at least 15 calendar days on Province of NS Tenders website; longer for complex proposals

Vendors can obtain most documents by downloading from the website or by contacting the Public Tenders Office

Nova Scotia vendors can receive automatic notification of tender opportunities by registering with the Tender Opportunity Notification Service (TONS)

Venues used to solicit bids depending on the target vendor community requiring notification:

Advertisements in local, national or specialized newspapers

To ensure a competitive process, clients may provide a comprehensive list of vendors to be notified

Vendor consultation and Request for Expression of Interest are valuable tools in the communication process

Once a formal document has been issued, vendors must contact designates identified in documents for answers to questions

In most cases, it is recommended that communication with vendors remain confidential except in cases where it is deemed that answers be known by all.In these instances, an addendum would be issued

Questions and answers may be addressed at a scheduled proponents meeting.

Pre-selected evaluation team consists of at least three members who are knowledgeable of the RFP development process, the potential project expectations and planning requirements.Evaluation process focuses on:

Mandatory Criteria:Proposalsmustmeet mandatory criteria to be considered for further evaluation.

Desirable Criteria:Requirements which are weighted.The assigned weights reflect the relative importance of the requirements.Pricing is included with weights.

Only evaluate the content of vendor submissions and requested clarifications no assumptions made.Any additional information provided, could not be considered or evaluated.

Evaluators should keep substantial notes evaluating each criterion.Notes from all evaluators should be consolidated by criterion for each proponents response.(This information will provide necessary information should a debriefing be requested.)

All information is subject to the Freedom of Information & Protection of Privacy Act

Standard contract link Identified in RFP.Any other contract format should be noted or attached as an Appendix to the RFP

Contract should include reference to original RFP , the Proponents response, any associated negotiations and relevant privacy legislation

Unsuccessful proponents may request a debriefing.This is conducted as soon as possible after the contract has been awarded.

Debriefing provides proponent valuable information on strengths and areas requiring improvement.

Debriefings do not provide an opportunity to question the award.

Proponents are not provided information from other proponents responses.

Win / win situation.Provides opportunity for proponent to learn how to improve the quality of their proposals and provide you with improved proposal submissions in the future.It also demonstrates your appreciation of their effort.

Applies to public sector procurement

Atlantic Canada Procurement Agreement

Thresholds

$25,000 for goods

$50,000 for services

$100,000 for construction

Agreement on Internal Trade

Thresholds

$25,000 for goods

$100,000 for services

$100,000 for construction

Reciprocity

To ensure NS supplier community receives fair treatment elsewhere in Canada

Consider and evaluate bids from other jurisdictions on the same basis a similar NS bid would be treated in those jurisdictions

Decision lies with client on final award

Preference

Based on principle of best value for government and deemed best interest to the province, may award tenders for goods manufactured or produced in NS for under thresholds ($5,000 or less) on the following basis:

1 stNS Manufacturer

2 ndNS Distributor

3 rdAtlantic Canada Manufacturer

4 thAtlantic Canada Distributor

Whats available on the site?

Tender Notices

Results/Award Notices

Standing Offers

Policies & Guides

Tendering Guides

Terms & Conditions

Trade Agreements

Supplier Development

Contact Information

N.S. Business Registry

Registry of Joint Stock

How do you get access to this site?

Contact Jim Donohue, 424-6828, to obtain user login id

Documents

Procurement Presentation - March 1 2007