PWGSC Procurement best practices

Ensure integrity

Contracting officers must ensure the integrity of the procurement process. If there is any doubt that what is being done (or asked by the client to be done) might bring the integrity of the process into question, the contracting officer should consider suspending the procurement process until the issue is resolved. Issues that cannot be resolved satisfactorily at the contracting officer level must be referred to a higher authority withinPWGSC.

Get involved early

The procurement process can be facilitated by advance work being done with clients. This includes helping with needs identification and requirement definition, procurement strategy development, and drafting of solicitation documents before a requisition is actually received. Facilitating the process also includes ensuring that accessibility has been considered by clients and, where appropriate or necessary, is incorporated into the procurement process, including in the requirement definition and solicitation documents. This can be accomplished through ongoing liaison with the client or a review of procurement patterns. These methods can be initiated by a client request for assistance, or by a more formal process of regular consultation.

Consult with peers

Contracting officers should consult with colleagues, particularly when working with an unfamiliar situation, such as a new commodity, or incorporating accessibility into procurement requirements or solicitation documents. Their experience and advice may help to arrive at a sound decision. Referring to previous files can also be instructive, particularly for estimating things like business volume under a new contract where there is a current contract covering substantially the same activities.

Liaise with the client

The contracting officer should keep clients informed and involved, and in order to develop responsive, creative, and flexible procurement strategies, their departmental needs must be understood, as well as their specific technical and accessibility requirements. When consulting the client, make the purpose plain, so that if there is a problem with a proposed approach a solution that achieves the purpose can be developed. The contracting officer must work with the client towards their operational objectives.

Use specialists

The contracting officer should seek advice from the following specialists: Legal Services, policy advisors, Access to Information and Privacy officers, quality control officers, cost analysts, and risk management advisors. Specialists are available to provide guidance and recommendations in their areas of expertise. The mandatory or discretionary use of cost and price analysis specialists is detailed in theAcquisitions Program Policy Suite.

Communicate effectively

Contracting officers should be very clear in communications. Written instructions accompanying each bid solicitation, for example, should be clear with no ambiguity and be easily understood by all parties.

Maintain confidentiality

The contracting officer must treat all information of a confidential or personal nature, including bid information, in a secure and confidential manner. This ensures the integrity of the contracting process and protects the interests of suppliers and clients.

Obtain confirmation

The contracting officer should obtain written confirmation of significant information, agreements and discussions, such as confirmation of an unusually low price, or extension of a bid validity period by the bidder.

Select the appropriate contracting method

Depending on which commodity is being procured, the appropriate contracting method may be a standing offer, a supply arrangement, a government-wide or multi-departmental contract, or a normal contract. See3.15 Non-competitive Contracting Processfor details on the usage of the different methods.

Some commodities are available via mandatory standing offers, and these must be used unless there is a valid reason to deviate.

Commodity knowledge

Contracting officers should develop their understanding of their commodity's industry, the market conditions, opportunities, accessibility standards and options, and other pertinent factors of each commodity, which then affects the choices made by contracting officers in determining, for example, such things as the basis of payment and the selection methodology. Clients should also use their understanding of the commodity, including relevant standards or best practices, when defining their technical and accessibility requirements and scope. This would include any market analysis of capacity when the procurement is subject to a Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement.

Contracting officers should also keep themselves informed about such things as the proposed contractor's performance history, financial situation, and practices, before recommending a contract award. It also means keeping up to date with a contractor during the performance of a contract.

Life Cycle Management of Assets

Life Cycle Management of Assets (LCMA) is an integrated approach to materiel management that looks at the process as a complete system rather than separate activities. While this process is primarily the responsibility of materiel managers within client departments, procurement and disposal are a part of this process so contracting officers should discuss with the client the implications of the life cycle management process for each procurement.

Maintain records

Contracting officers should keep files up to date for reasons of good management, access to information requests as well as audit purposes. Current files should be kept up to date for anyone who may have to consult the file or assume responsibility for it at a later date. SeeAnnex 8.1: Guidelines on File Organization and Make-upfor further details.

Use standard documents

For every solicitation process (with the exception of construction and architecture and engineering services), whether for competitive or non-competitive requirements, contracting officers must only use the departmentalstandard procurement templatesand the clauses of the Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions (SACC) Manual. Contracting officers should obtain from their supervisor the most current standard documents that have been developed in accordance with these templates within their respective areas. Directorates requiring assistance in developing documents based on these templates should contact the Strategic Policy Development and Integration Directorate of the Strategic Policy Sector

1. Consider the PWGSC best practices. Are these best practices useful for the public sector organization procurement?Are there any other best practices that should be added to the list?Does the list of "best practices" cover procurement activities in the private sector?
2. Based on the brief look at the above PWGSC, is the Government of Canada embracing strategic SCM? Explain the answer.