ProServices
How the supply arrangement works
The following information is provided for both our federal department clients and suppliers to better understand the ProServices method of supply:
- ProServices is the mandatory method of supply for professional services requirements below the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA) threshold
- Its categories are identical to those it shares with the Task-based informatics professional services (TBIPS) and Task and solutions professional services (TSPS) (task based only) methods of supply, but in all cases of contracting via a supply arrangement vehicle below CKFTA, ProServices remains the mandatory method of supply
- ProServices is a supply arrangement (SA), not a standing offer (SO). Call-ups cannot be issued against the ProServices SA
- ProServices uses business rules based on the Professional Services National Procurement Strategy:
- No ceiling rates
- Search by suppliers instead of named resources
- Access through the single ePortal of the Centralized Professional Services System (CPSS)
- An SA is not a contract and neither party is legally bound as a result of signing an SA alone. SAs allow our client departments to solicit bids from a pool of pre-qualified suppliers for specific requirements
Stage 1: The pre-qualifying of suppliers
- Suppliers interested in becoming pre-qualified with ProServices must download and respond to our Request for Supply Arrangement (RFSA). The opportunity for suppliers to pre-qualify is ongoing, and a link to the refresh solicitation can be found at ProServices method of supply (E60ZT-180024-C) (CanadaBuys)
- A supplier's bid response is submitted via the supplier module of the Centralized Professional Services System
- On a quarterly basis, the ProServices procurement team evaluates supplier bids and awards SAs to suppliers whose bids were found overall compliant
- The award of an SA does not guarantee contracts with government departments. The guarantee is that the legal names of all pre-qualified suppliers will appear in search results for government departments where search parameters are met. Therefore, the need for pre-qualified suppliers to network and market themselves remains
- For more information, suppliers may refer: Guidance for suppliers
Stage 2: Awarding contracts with ProServices
- Using the Centralized Professional Services System, government departments search for pre-qualified suppliers that meet their requirements (category/categories, aboriginal supplier, location of services, etc.). Find out how to register as a government employee in order to get access to our online training in order to obtain a user ID for CPSS
- Important: searches performed within the CPSS ePortal – Client Module are the only acceptable manner in which to contract using the ProServices SA. A search via CPSS is mandatory to confirm which suppliers have been pre-qualified against the specific category/categories for your requirement
- The search return will list all pre-qualified suppliers who meet the searched criteria for the requirements alphabetically by legal name
- For competitive requirements, government departments must select a minimum of 2 pre-qualified suppliers or let CPSS select them and contact them with a Request for proposal (RFP). As a best practice, ProServices recommends selecting and inviting more pre-qualified suppliers than the minimum of 2
- A sample RFP template is available to our federal department clients at Templates (available on Government of Canada network only)
- Suppliers will be given a minimum of 5 calendar days to respond to the RFP and submit a proposal.
- Once the solicitation has closed, the government department will evaluate all submitted proposals and determine who will be awarded the contract based on the basis of selection indicated within the RFP
- The maximum value of any ProServices requirement must not exceed the CKFTA threshold
- Directed contracting can also be done for requirements valued below $40K (all inclusiveFootnote *) as the method of supply has included the below $40K Government Contracting Regulations exception. However, you must still conduct a search within the CPSS ePortal to determine the eligible suppliers for your requirement
For more information, our federal department clients should consult the guidance for government employees.
Stage 3: ProServices contract reporting
- Quarterly usage reports are collected from the pre-qualified suppliers on a quarterly basis. Suppliers should consult the quarterly usage report instructions for more information
- On March 23, 2004, the government announced a new policy on the mandatory publication of contracts over $10,000
- each department contracting via ProServices should have its own proactive disclosure page