Public Works and Government Services Canada’s Smart Approach to Procurement Benefits

Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) recently proposed to take a more strategic approach to leveraging procurement to achieve benefits for Canadians.

It will do this by engaging suppliers earlier in the process to provide feedback on how best to provide solutions to meet requirements to produce socioeconomic benefits for Canada.  Such benefits might include:  job creation, innovation, regional benefits, green initiatives, and creating opportunities for SMEs and aboriginal peoples.

This approach is consistent with existing contract policy which seeks to obtain best value for Canadians.  The shift to early engagement of suppliers to propose innovative solutions at the earliest opportunity will provide opportunities to consider socio-economic benefits from the outset along with cutting edge innovative solutions and industry best practices.

This Smart Procurement Strategy also seeks to make it easier to do business with Government by reducing cost and process burdens.  For example, PWGSC is looking at ways to avoid disqualification of bidders after an expensive bid preparation process due to minor points of information which may have been left out.

The Department outlined its progress on its Smart Procurement strategy at a recent meeting of its Supplier Advisory Committee (SAC).  The Committee, established in January 2013, to consult industry on procurement issues and best practices includes representatives from a wide range of associations.  ITAC is one of these associations and is the representative for the ICT community.

PWGSC is seeking input on the Smart Procurement plan.  For example, it’s asking how the Department can improve the way it works with suppliers.You can see the list of consultation questions, as part of the meeting documents, here:

SAC_Agenda_English

SAC_Transformation_English

SAC_ military procurement_English

If you would like to provide input on PWGSC’s Smart Procurement Strategy, please contact Cindy Baker at cbaker@itac.ca.