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Management Board of Cabinet

Procurement Directive
July 2009

Procurement Directive July 2009 1


TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. PURPOSE ....................................................................................................4
2 DEFINITIONS ................................................................................................4
3. APPLICATION AND SCOPE ........................................................................7
4 PRINCIPLES .................................................................................................8
5 MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS ..................................................................9
5.1 Procurement Planning - Ministries .................................................................... 9
5.1.1 Annual Procurement Planning................................................................... 9
5.1.2 Individual Procurement Planning............................................................. 10
5.1.3 Large Projects ......................................................................................... 10
5.2 Procurement Planning – Other Included Entities ............................................ 11
5.3 Procurement Value.......................................................................................... 11
5.3.1 Procurement Value Increases ................................................................. 11
5.4 Supply Source ................................................................................................. 12
5.4.1 Central Common Services........................................................................... 12
5.4.2 Vendor of Record Arrangements............................................................. 12
5.4.2.1 Establishing VOR Arrangements............................................................. 13
5.4.2.2 Conducting a Second Stage Selection Process.................................... 14
5.5 Procurement Methods - Ministries................................................................... 15
5.5.1 Consulting Services Procurements ......................................................... 15
5.5.2 Goods Procurements............................................................................... 15
5.5.3 Non-Consulting Services Procurements.................................................. 15
5.5.4 Non-Competitive Procurements .............................................................. 16
5.5.4.1 Allowable Exceptions – Consulting Services ....................................... 16
5.5.4.2 Allowable Exceptions – Goods and Non-Consulting Services ............... 17
5.5.5 Non-Competitive Procurements Business Case Requirements .............. 18
5.5.6 Non-Competitive Procurements for Unforeseen Situations of Urgency .. 19
5.6 Procurement Methods - Other Included Entities ............................................. 19
5.6.1 Consulting Services Procurements ......................................................... 19
5.6.2 Goods and Non-Consulting Services Procurements ............................... 20
5.7 Procurement Approvals - Ministries ................................................................ 20
5.7.1 Approval Authority ................................................................................... 20
5.7.1.1 Consulting Services Procurement Approvals ...................................... 20
5.7.1.2 Goods Procurement Approvals ............................................................... 22
5.7.1.3 Non-Consulting Procurement Approvals ............................................. 22
5.7.2 Ministry Approval Authority...................................................................... 23
5.7.3 Supply Chain Leadership Council Approval Authority ............................. 23
5.7.4 TB/MBC Approval Authority..................................................................... 24
5.7.5 Information Technology Approvals .......................................................... 24
5.8 Procurement Approvals – Other Included Entities .......................................... 24
6 PROCUREMENT PROCESS ......................................................................25
6.1 Research and Consultation ............................................................................. 25
6.2 Procurement Documents - Ministries .............................................................. 25
6.3 Procurement Documents – Other Included Entities ........................................ 27
6.4 Electronic Tendering ....................................................................................... 27
6.5 Bid Response Time ......................................................................................... 28
6.6 Additional Information...................................................................................... 28
6.7 Evaluation Process.......................................................................................... 28
6.8 Vendor Debriefings.......................................................................................... 29
6.8.1 Scheduling Vendor Debriefing Meetings ................................................. 29

Procurement Directive July 2009 2


6.8.2 Conducting Vendor Debriefings............................................................... 29
6.9 Contract Management..................................................................................... 30
6.10 Post Contract Award Notification................................................................. 31
6.11 Documentation and Record Retention ........................................................ 31
6.12 Annual Reporting......................................................................................... 33
7. OTHER RELATED POLICIES .....................................................................33
7.1 Ontario Trade Agreements.............................................................................. 33
7.2 Tax Compliance .............................................................................................. 33
7.3 Contractor Security Screening ........................................................................ 34
7.4 Business Continuity Planning.......................................................................... 34
7.5 Protection of Personal and Sensitive Information ........................................... 34
7.6 Storage of Personal Information or Program Data .......................................... 34
7.7 Public Opinion Polls and Market Research Studies ........................................ 34
7.8 Ontarians with Disabilities ............................................................................... 35
7.9 Environmental Considerations ........................................................................ 35
7.10 Disposition of Assets ................................................................................... 35
7.11 Corporate Card Program................................................................................ 36
7.11.1 Purchasing Card Program ...................................................................... 36
7.11.2 Travel Card Program ............................................................................... 36
7.12 Asset Management...................................................................................... 37
7.13 Domestic Steel ............................................................................................ 37
8 CONSULTING SERVICES ..........................................................................37
8.1 Approval of Vendor Selection.......................................................................... 38
8.2 Terms of Reference......................................................................................... 38
8.3 Assignment Substantiation.............................................................................. 38
8.4 Agreements with Universities and Colleges .................................................... 38
8.5 Unsolicited Research Proposals ..................................................................... 39
8.6 Follow-On Agreements.................................................................................... 39
9 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.................................................................39
9.1 Acquisition of Information Technology ............................................................ 40
9.2 Alternative Financing....................................................................................... 40
9.3 Information Technology Standards ................................................................. 40
9.4 Software .......................................................................................................... 40
9.5 Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Products and Related Services.............. 40
9.6 Custom Software Development....................................................................... 41
9.7 Open Source Software .................................................................................... 41
9.8 Maintenance and Support ............................................................................... 42
9.9 Agreement Terms and Conditions................................................................... 42
9.10 Lease-Purchase Agreements .......................................................................... 42
10 LARGE PROJECTS ................................................................................42
10.1 Procurement Planning for Large Projects ....................................................... 42
10.2 Separation of Design and Build in Procurement Process............................ 43
11 RESPONSIBILITIES ...............................................................................43
Appendix A - Central Common Services.............................................................48

Procurement Directive July 2009 3


PREAMBLE

This Directive replaces both the Management Board of Cabinet Procurement Directive
2007 and the Procurement Operating Policy November 2007.

1. PURPOSE

To ensure that goods and services, including construction, consulting services, and
information technology are acquired through a process that is fair, open, transparent,
geographically neutral and accessible to qualified vendors.

To specify the responsibilities of individuals and organizations throughout each stage of


the procurement process.

To contribute to a reduction in purchasing costs.

To ensure consistency in the management of procurement related processes and


decisions.

2 DEFINITIONS

“Agreement” means the formal written document that will be entered into at the end of
the procurement process.

“Agreement Ceiling Price” means the total cost for specified goods/services as
established in a contractual relationship with a third party.

“Cluster” means I&IT clusters as defined by the Information and Information Technology
Strategy 1998.

“Cluster CIO” means the Cluster Chief Information Officer.

“Consulting Service” means the provision of expertise or strategic advice that is


presented for consideration and decision-making

“Contract” means the aggregate of (a) the Form of Agreement including any schedules;
(b) the procurement document, including any addenda; (c) the Proposal; and (d) any
amendments executed in accordance with the terms of the Agreement.

“COTS product” means Commercial-Off-The-Shelf software or pre-packaged software.


“COTS product and related services” means Commercial-Off-The-Shelf software or pre-
packaged software and related services including, but not limited to, maintenance,
technical support services, installation, training, configuration and implementation
services.

“Deputy Head” means the Deputy Minister of a ministry or Chief Executive Officer of an
agency that must comply with this Directive in its entirety (see Section 3).

“Electronic Tendering System” means a computer-based system that provides vendors


with access to information related to open competitive procurements.

Procurement Directive July 2009 4


“Fairness Commissioner” means an independent and impartial third party who observes
and monitors the procurement process.

“Information Technology” means the equipment, software, services and processes used
to create, store, process, communicate and manage information.

“Information Technology Standards” means technical standards adopted by the


Government of Ontario but developed by recognized standards development
organizations (SDO’s), and widely used throughout industry and other government
jurisdictions, to support seamless interoperability in the delivery of e-government
services.

“Invitational tenders” means a method of inviting at least three (3) vendors to respond to
a request for supply of goods or services based on stated delivery requirements,
performance specifications, terms, and conditions.

“Large Projects” means procurement(s) related to complex projects involving either


Information Technology and/or significant transformation of ministry business processes
and operations

“MBC” means Management Board of Cabinet.

“Ministries” means all ministries, clusters, advisory, adjudicative and regulatory agencies
and any other agency that is required by a Memorandum of Understanding established
prior to July 2009 to comply with the MBC Procurement Directive or its predecessors.

“OCCIO” means the Office of the Corporate Chief Information Officer.

“ODA” means the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001.

“Other Included Entities” means all Crown Foundation, Trust, Operational Service and
Operational Enterprise agencies, as classified under the Agency Establishment and
Accountability Directive and all non classified entities where the Chair and/or Chief
Executive Officer is directly or indirectly appointed by Ontario.

“Procurement Value” means all costs and conferred value associated with a contractual
relationship with a third party

“Procurement Value Increase” means that the costs and conferred value associated with
a procurement initiative have increased subsequent to the procurement approval.

“Request for Information (RFI)” means a market research procurement document that is
used to elicit industry information on particular products and/or services from the vendor
community.

“Request for Proposal (RFP)” means a procurement document that requests vendors to
supply solutions for the delivery of complex products or services or to provide alternative
options or solutions. It is a process that uses predefined evaluation criteria in which price
is not the only factor.

Procurement Directive July 2009 5


“Request for Qualifications (RFQ)” means a procurement document used to solicit
financial stability, technical information, product or service suitability from potential
vendors in order to pre-qualify or short list vendors to bid on specific categories of work
or provide specific types of goods or services, or to respond to a particular request for
proposals or tenders.

“Request for Services (RFSe)” means the document used during the second stage
selection process to request submissions from a vendor(s) listed on a services Vendor of
Record arrangement.

“Request for Solution (RFSo)” means the document used during the second stage
selection process to request submissions from a vendor(s) listed on a software or
hardware Vendor of Record arrangement.

“Request for Tender (RFT)” means a procurement document that requests a vendor
response to supply goods or services based on stated delivery requirements,
performance specifications, terms, and conditions. A request for tender usually focuses
the evaluation criteria predominantly on price and delivery requirements.

“SCLC” means the Supply Chain Leadership Council.

“Single Sourcing” means the use of a non-competitive procurement process to acquire


goods or services from a specific supplier even though there may be more than one
supplier capable of delivering the same goods or services.

“Sole Sourcing” means the use of a non-competitive procurement process to acquire


goods or services where there is only one available supplier for the source of the goods
or service.

“Supply Chain Management” means the Supply Chain Management Division of Ontario
Shared Services, Ministry of Government Services.

“TB/MBC” means Treasury Board/Management Board of Cabinet.

“Temporary Help Services” means the transactional, task-oriented work usually provided
through private sector temporary help agencies or organizations by way of non-OPS
employees.

“Trade Agreements” means any applicable trade agreement to which Ontario is a


signatory.

“Vendor of Record (VOR) Arrangement” means a procurement arrangement that


authorizes one or more qualified vendors, for a defined time period on terms and
conditions, including pricing, as set out in the particular VOR agreement. VOR
Arrangements are categorized as enterprise-wide, multi-ministry, or ministry specific.

“VOR Ceiling Price” means the maximum value per assignment, or per multiple project-
related assignments, under which a ministry may use the VOR arrangement.

“Volume Licensing Agreement (VLA)” means a software licensing program that software
publishers provide to large customers offering significant price discounts and common

Procurement Directive July 2009 6


business and legal terms and conditions. VLAs are not VOR arrangements and have not
been established competitively.

3. APPLICATION AND SCOPE


This Directive applies to the procurement of all goods and services including
construction, consulting services, and information technology required to meet
government needs except those related to advertising, public relations, media relations
or creative services and retention of outside legal services. Ministries should consult with
the Advertising Review Board, or its successor, and refer to the Procurement Directive
on Advertising, Public and Media Relations and Creative Communications Services.

This Directive applies in its entirety to:

• all ministries and clusters;


• all advisory, adjudicative, regulatory agencies;
• any other agency, as classified under the Agency Establishment and
Accountability Directive, that is required by a Memorandum of Understanding
established prior to July 2009 to comply with the MBC Procurement Directive or
its predecessors
.
For the purposes of this Directive, this group will be known as Ministries. This Directive
is mandatory for Ministries and the principles and requirements must be applied to all
procurements including the acquisition of central common services and establishment of
Vendor of Record (VOR) arrangements.

Ministries seeking any exemptions from the mandatory requirements of the Procurement
Directive must receive prior MBC approval.

In applying this Directive, Ministries should refer to the Management Board of Cabinet
Directives on Establishing a Central Common Service, Agency Establishment and
Accountability, and Information & Information Technology, as well as their Ministry’s
Financial Delegations of Authority. Ministries should also refer to Regulation 381/07 COI
Rules for Public Servants and Former Public Servants.

This Directive also applies, in part, to all Crown Foundation, Trust, Operational Service
and Operational Enterprise agencies, as classified under the Agency Establishment and
Accountability Directive and all non classified entities where the Chair and/or Chief
Executive Officer is directly or indirectly appointed by Ontario. For the purposes of this
Directive, this group will be known as Other Included Entities. To be included as an
Other Included Entities, entities must not be required by a Memorandum of
Understanding established prior to July 2009 to comply with the MBC Procurement
Directive or its predecessors.

The following sections of this Directive are mandatory for Other Included Entities.

• Section 1 Purpose
• Section 2 Definitions
• Section 3 Application and Scope
• Section 4 Principles
• Section 5.2 Procurement Planning – Other Included Entities

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• Section 5.3 Procurement Value
• Section 5.6 Procurement Methods – Other Included Entities
• Section 5.8 Procurement Approvals – Other Included Entities
• Section 6.3 Procurement Documents – Other Included Entities
• Section 6.4 Electronic Tendering
• Section 6.5 Bid Response Time
• Section 6.6 Additional Information
• Section 6.7 Evaluation Process
• Section 7.1 Ontario’s Trade Agreements

Other Included Entities must establish and follow their own procurement policy and
related processes and procedures provided that they do not conflict with the above
mandatory sections.

Other Included Entities seeking exemptions from the mandatory sections of this Directive
that apply to them must receive prior MBC approval. Any such exemptions must then be
reflected in their Memorandum of Understanding.

4 PRINCIPLES
The overall objective of this Directive is to ensure Ministries and Other Included Entities
acquire the goods and services required to meet government needs in the most
economical and efficient manner, through a procurement process that conforms to the
following principles:

Vendor Access, Transparency, and Fairness

Access for qualified vendors to compete for government business must be open and the
procurement process must be conducted in a fair and transparent manner, providing
equal treatment to vendors.

Conflicts of interest, both real and perceived, must be avoided during the procurement
process and the ensuing Contract; and relationships must not be created which result in
continuous reliance on a particular vendor for a particular kind of work.

Value for Money

Goods and services must be procured only after consideration of ministry business
requirements, alternatives, timing, supply strategy, and procurement method.

Responsible Management

The procurement of goods and services must be responsibly and effectively managed
through appropriate organizational structures, systems, policies, processes, and
procedures.

Geographic Neutrality and Reciprocal Non-Discrimination

Ministries and Other Included Entities that are subject to Ontario’s Trade Agreements
must also ensure that access for vendors to compete for government business is

Procurement Directive July 2009 8


geographically neutral with respect to other jurisdictions that practice reciprocal non-
discrimination with Ontario.

5 MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

5.1 Procurement Planning - Ministries


Ministries must undertake procurement planning as an integral part of the procurement
process to identify goods and services needed to meet business requirements and
identify opportunities to aggregate spending on goods and services both within ministries
and across government.

Ministries are required to undertake procurement planning both for their annual
procurement requirements and individual procurement activities. Procurement planning
also assists in identifying the potential supply source and procurement method as well
as determining what and when approvals are needed to ensure sufficient time is allowed
to complete the procurement process.

In doing so, Ministries must assess the following planning requirements:

• early identification of needs;


• clear definition of requirements;
• justification for the acquisition;
• compatibility of procurement needs with program policy, program, and/or
legislative and regulatory requirements;

5.1.1 Annual Procurement Planning


Ministries must submit an annual procurement plan as part of the Results-based
Planning (RbP) process. Ministries are required to submit a list of all known
procurements to be conducted in the upcoming fiscal year to support current, ongoing,
and future business requirements.

An annual procurement plan must take into consideration:

i. current, ongoing and future business requirements including goods and services
being procured under existing Contracts;
ii. availability of necessary human, financial, technical and accommodation
resources to support the business requirements; and
iii. alternative options considered to satisfy the business requirements
iv. availability of necessary human, financial, technical and accommodation
resources;
v. consideration of alternative ways to satisfy the needs and selection of the most
appropriate option;
vi. an estimate undertaken of the Procurement Value; and
vii. necessary approval authorization to proceed.

Ministries are required to identify the value, supply source, procurement method, and
necessary approvals for each procurement identified in the plan.

Procurement Directive July 2009 9


Ministries should refer to the annual RbP instructions for more details on the annual
procurement plan. Ministries may amend their annual procurement plan to address in-
year business requirements.

Ministries seeking procurement approvals as part of the RbP must submit a business
case, for each procurement approval being sought, providing sufficient details on the
procurement to support appropriate decision making. Details will include, but not be
limited to, information on vendor community, procurement risks, and if appropriate
rationale for any non-competitive procurements. Ministries must refer to the annual RbP
instructions to confirm actual requirements

Ministries seeking in-year procurement approval must review the Procurement Approval
requirements Section 5.7.

5.1.2 Individual Procurement Planning


In addition to the planning requirements noted in Section 5.1, Ministries must also
assess the following planning requirements for individual procurement activities as
appropriate to that procurement:

i. procurement timetable including procurement authority approvals;


ii. vendor qualification and evaluation requirements;
iii. impact of vendor participation;
iv. the roles and responsibilities of the successful vendor(s) and any other public
sector participants;
v. reporting relationships and accountability mechanisms that will apply to the
successful vendor(s);
vi. privacy, security and confidentiality requirements;
vii. ownership of deliverables and intellectual property rights including the obligation
to ensure that the Government does not inadvertently infringe on rights
belonging to third-parties;
viii. business continuity requirements;
ix. performance standards and service levels;
x. performance management including remedies for non-performance;
xi. vendor compensation and payment;
xii. knowledge transfer and training;
xiii. risk allocation and liability;
xiv. dispute resolution;
xv. early termination provisions; and
xvi. other requirements deemed necessary

For IT procurements, Ministries must also consider, as appropriate, delivery, testing and
acceptance requirements and any applicable technical architecture and design
requirements, standards and interface requirements.

5.1.3 Large Projects


Ministries must consider the separation of procurement activities related to each project
stage when undertaking procurement planning related to projects involving the
significant transformation of ministry business processes and operations, For IT projects,
Ministries should refer to the Operational Policy on the I&IT Project Gateway Process.

Procurement Directive July 2009 10


5.2 Procurement Planning – Other Included Entities
Other Included Entities must ensure that procurement planning is an integral part of their
procurement policy as necessary to support their business requirements and ensuring
sufficient time is allowed to complete the procurement process.

5.3 Procurement Value


Ministries and Other Included Entities must determine the value of a procurement in
order to determine appropriate procurement approval authority and procurement
method. To determine the value of a procurement, Ministries and Other Included Entities
must consider all costs and benefits, associated with entering a contractual relationship
with a third party.

Costs and benefits include but may not be limited to:

i. Price/cost of the goods and/or services;


ii. One-time costs such as site preparation, delivery, installation and
documentation;
iii. Ongoing operating costs including training, accommodation, support and
maintenance;
iv. Taxes and duties;
v. Disposition costs; and
vi. Benefits such as direct payments by the Crown to the successful vendor(s);
indirect payments by third parties to the successful vendor(s); and any conferred
value by the crown to the successful vendor(s).

Examples of conferred value include, but are not limited to, the exchange of goods
and/or services in return for other goods and/or services, revenue generating
opportunities and partnership agreements with non-profit organizations.
Where a project involves multiple related procurements, the estimated total Contract
value of all related procurements must be used to determine the procurement value.

Ministries and Other Included Entities must not take any actions to reduce the value of
procurements to avoid any requirements of this Directive regarding competition,
approvals or reporting. Such actions could include subdividing projects, procurements,
or Contracts and awarding multiple consecutive Contracts to the same vendor. The
award of multiple consecutive Contracts to the same vendor may be made only where
each assignment is unique or where prior approval of a Consulting Services follow-on
Agreement has been received.

5.3.1 Procurement Value Increases


When the value of a procurement increases, Ministries and Other Included Entities must
ensure they have the appropriate procurement approval authority and have used the
appropriate procurement method. This is especially important when the Procurement
Value Increase causes the Procurement Value to exceed the approval threshold of the
original approver. Approval for Procurement Value Increases must be sought prior to
proceeding with or continuing the procurement. Procurement Value Increases may be
caused by, but not limited to, price increases, volume uptake, or other unforeseen
circumstances.

It may be determined that certain commodities, such as fuel and food, require
contractual provisions for price increases. In these instances, Ministries and Other

Procurement Directive July 2009 11


Included Entities should anticipate such increases and ensure that they seek the
appropriate procurement approval authority. Ministries and Other Included Entities must
also ensure that the procurement documents, including the Agreement, identify the
framework under which price increases will be permitted including, but not limited to, the
frequency of price increases, allowable amount of increase, and any benchmarks that
will be used to confirm the price increase.

5.4 Supply Source


Prior to conducting a procurement, Ministries must determine the appropriate supply
source for the required goods and/or services first taking into consideration the
availability of ministry resources.

Where internal ministry resources are not available, Ministries must use the following
supply sources for goods and services, in the order indicated below:

i. Mandatory central common services;


ii. Vendor of Records arrangements
iii. Enterprise-wide Vendor of Record arrangements;
iv. Multi-ministry Vendor of Record arrangements;
v. Ministry Vendor of Record arrangements;
vi. Optional central common services;
vii. Competitive procurement process.

5.4.1 Central Common Services


Central common services are services provided by one ministry or agency to all other
Ministries established under the Establishment and Use of a Central Common Services
Directive. Ministries must use central common services that have been identified as
mandatory. A list of central common services is attached as Appendix A.

Except where the Management Board of Cabinet has directed that the services are to be
provided without charge, the inter-ministry charges for optional central common services
must recover the full costs required by the service ministry to deliver the goods and
services to client Ministries. Ministries must refer to the Ministry of Finance OPS Costing
and Pricing Policy and Guidelines for more information.

5.4.2 Vendor of Record Arrangements


Enterprise-wide Vendor of Record (VOR) arrangements have been established to
reduce procurement costs by providing ministries with access to one or more contracted
vendors of goods and services common to more than one ministry. Enterprise-wide
VOR Arrangements may be established only by the Ministry of Government Services
(MGS).

Multi-ministry VOR Arrangements may be established where there is an identified need


for a particular good/service among one or more ministries but where there is insufficient
demand for an enterprise-wide VOR Arrangement.

Finally, ministries may establish ministry-specific VOR Arrangements for the supply of a
particular required good/service.

Enterprise-wide Vendor of Record arrangements must be used where the estimated


Procurement Value is $25,000 or more and less than the approved VOR Ceiling Price.

Procurement Directive July 2009 12


Ministries should note that there are some VOR arrangements where Management
Board of Cabinet has approved mandatory use under $25,000. Ministries should refer to
the VOR User Guide, available on MyOPS Supply Chain Management, to determine the
VOR Ceiling Price and whether a VOR is mandatory use under $25,000.

Ministries must secure appropriate procurement approval authority prior to using a VOR
arrangement. The procurement approval authority requirement is based on the total
estimated Procurement Value of the procurement being conducted under the VOR
arrangement including potential follow on agreements. For projects that involve multiple
related procurements under one or more VOR arrangements, the procurement approval
authority is based on the total of all of the related procurements.

For VOR arrangements where there are multiple vendors, a further second stage
selection process is required to ensure buyers obtain the best value for money (Section
5.4.2.2).

Ministries must enter into a written Agreement with the successful vendor(s) selected
through a VOR arrangement. Prior to using a VOR arrangement(s), Ministries must also
refer to the VOR User Guide to identify and comply with any user requirements of that
VOR arrangement.

New VOR Arrangements are established on a regular basis. Ministries should consult
MyOPS Supply Chain Management for the list of available VOR Arrangements.

5.4.2.1 Establishing VOR Arrangements


VOR arrangements must be established using an open competitive procurement
process. Enterprise-wide VOR arrangements can only be established by the Ministry of
Government Services while ministries can establish either multi-ministry or ministry
specific VOR arrangements. When establishing a VOR arrangement, Ministries must
comply with the principles and mandatory requirements of the Procurement Directive
When establishing VOR arrangements, Ministries must:

i. Seek appropriate procurement approval authority based on the total estimated


value of spending expected to occur over the life of the VOR arrangement.
Establish an appropriate VOR Ceiling Price.
ii. Identify if the VOR arrangement is to be made mandatory for goods/services
valued at less than $25,000.
iii. Determine insurance coverage requirements related to the goods and services
being procured and confirm when proof of insurance must be presented noting
that where insurance is a requirement, proof of insurance must occur at the
second stage process unless identified by the ministry in their procurement
approval document as being required when the VOR arrangement is initially
established.
iv. Create a VOR User Guide that provides users with information about the VOR
arrangement such as vendor contact information and pricing, specific user
requirements such as insurance requirements as well as any other information
identified by the ministry.

For multi-ministry VOR arrangements, a single ministry lead must be established. In


addition to the above noted requirements for the establishment of VOR arrangements,
the lead ministry must also:

Procurement Directive July 2009 13


a) consult with Supply Chain Management Division, Ontario Shared Services to
verify that an enterprise-wide VOR arrangement is not possible;
b) secure the appropriate procurement approvals;
c) identify all other user Ministries;
d) manage the procurement process; and
e) manage the resulting VOR arrangement.

Only those Ministries, or successor Ministries, identified at the time the multi-ministry
VOR arrangement is established are entitled to use the VOR arrangement.
Ministry specific VOR arrangements are for the exclusive use of that ministry and may
not be utilized by any other ministry. Where opportunities are identified to expand
existing VOR arrangements from multi-ministry to enterprise-wide or ministry-specific to
multi-ministry, Ministries must consult with Supply Chain Management prior to seeking
approval authority.

VOR Arrangements may be made available, where appropriate, to Other Included


Entities and Ontario broader public sector (BPS) entities.

5.4.2.2 Conducting a Second Stage Selection Process


Ministries conducting a second stage process must issue a written procurement
document, such as a Request for Solutions (RFSo) or Request for Services (RFSe), as
part of the second stage selection process. The required second stage selection process
is determined by the Procurement Value of all procurements being conducted under a
VOR arrangement. Where Ministries are using multiple VOR arrangements, the second
stage selection process is determined by the Procurement Value of all procurements
being conducted under each VOR arrangement. Ministries must not take any actions to
reduce the value of procurements to avoid second stage selection process
requirements.

The procurement document must be sent to the required number of vendors as follows:
Procurement Value Minimum Second Stage Requirement
Less than $25,000 Ministries may invite only 1 vendor unless
otherwise specified by the VOR User
Guide
$25,000 up to but not including Ministries must invite 3 vendors
$250,000
$250,000 up to but not including Ministries must invite 5 vendors
$750,000
$750,000 up to VOR Ceiling Price (if Ministries must invite 8 or more vendors
ceiling price greater than $750,000)
Above VOR Ceiling Price Ministries must use an open competitive
procurement or seek an exemption to the
Procurement Directive

Where there are fewer vendors on a VOR arrangement than the above noted
requirements, Ministries must invite all listed vendors. The procurement document must

Procurement Directive July 2009 14


include appropriate selection criteria, an evaluation process and any other applicable
VOR arrangement instructions and include the form of Agreement to be signed

If the estimated procurement value exceeds the approved VOR Ceiling Price, the
ministry must conduct an open competitive procurement or seek appropriate approval to
exceed the ceiling price.

As VOR Arrangement ceiling prices can vary, Ministries should verify the approved
ceiling price in the VOR User Guide available on MyOPS Supply Chain Management.

5.5 Procurement Methods - Ministries


Ministries must select and use the appropriate procurement method dependent on the
type and value of the procurement. Ministries must note that:

ƒ Certain VOR arrangements have been approved for mandatory use irrespective of
the value of the procurement and Ministries must use these VOR arrangements
where they are available.

ƒ An invitational competitive procurement is achieved by requesting a minimum of


three (3) qualified vendors to submit a written proposal in response to the Ministry’s
requirements.

ƒ An open competitive procurement is achieved by issuing procurement documents


using Ontario’s electronic tendering system. The Daily Commercial News may also
be used for construction related procurements.

5.5.1 Consulting Services Procurements


A competitive process must be used for all Consulting Services irrespective of the value
of the procurement.

Ministries may use an invitational competitive procurement for Consulting Services


valued up to $100,000.

Ministries must use an open competitive procurement for Consulting Services valued at
$100,000 or more.

5.5.2 Goods Procurements


Ministries are encouraged to conduct an open competitive procurement for goods with
an estimated value of up to $25,000 but may conduct procurements using their own
policies, processes, and procedures provided they are in accordance with the principles
of this Directive.

Ministries must use an open competitive procurement for goods valued at $25,000 or
more.

5.5.3 Non-Consulting Services Procurements


Ministries are encouraged to conduct an open competitive procurement for non-
consulting services with an estimated value of up to $25,000 but may conduct these
procurement using their own policies, processes and procedures provided they are in
accordance with the principles of this Directive.

Procurement Directive July 2009 15


Ministry may use an invitational competitive procurement for non-consulting services
valued at up to but not including $100,000.

Ministries must use an open competitive procurement process for all non-consulting
services valued at $100,000 or more.

5.5.4 Non-Competitive Procurements


Except in unforeseen situations of urgency (see Section 5.5.6), Ministries must develop
a business case and secure the appropriate procurement approvals in writing for all non-
competitive procurements valued at $25,000 or more for goods, for non-consulting
services valued at $100,000 or more and for all Consulting Services irrespective of
value.

This approval must be secured prior to conducting the non-competitive procurement.


Where approval is being sought for a non-competitive procurement to renew a Contract
with an existing vendor, Ministries must seek appropriate approvals prior to the contract
end date and in sufficient time to permit an alternative procurement method.

Non-competitive procurement processes include single and sole source procurements.

Exceptions exist whereby Ministries are allowed, subject to appropriate procurement


approval authority, to use a non-competitive process for goods valued at or over $25,000
and non-consulting services valued at or over $100,000. These exceptions adhere to
Ontario’s Trade Agreements and represent the only allowable circumstances where a
non-competitive process may be used. Where Ministries wish to use a non-competitive
procurement process, but no allowable exception exists, the Ministry must seek prior
MBC approval of an exemption to this directive.

Where no allowable exception exists, Ministries must seek MBC approval of an


exemption to the Procurement Directive.

5.5.4.1 Allowable Exceptions – Consulting Services


The following are allowable exceptions for the non-competitive procurement of
Consulting Services subject to appropriate procurement approvals:

a) Where an unforeseen situation of urgency exists and the Consulting Services


cannot be obtained by means of a competitive procurement process. An
unforeseen situation of urgency does not occur where Ministries have failed to
allow sufficient time to conduct a competitive procurement process.

Ministries must also see Section 5.5.6 where an unforeseen situation of urgency
exists that prevents the ministry from seeking appropriate procurements approvals.

b) Where Consulting Services regarding matters of confidential or privileged nature


are to be purchased and the disclosure of those matters through a competitive
procurement process could reasonably be expected to compromise government
confidentiality, cause economic disruption or otherwise be contrary to the public
interest.

Procurement Directive July 2009 16


c) Where a competitive process could interfere with the government’s ability to
maintain security or order or to protect human, animal or plant life or health.

d) Where there is an absence of any bids in response to a competitive procurement


process that has been conducted in compliance with this Directive.

e) Where only one supplier is able to meet the requirements of a procurement in the
following circumstances:

i. To ensure compatibility with existing products, to recognize exclusive rights,


such as exclusive licenses, copyright and patent rights, or to maintain
specialized products that must be maintained by the manufacturer or its
representatives. Compatibility with existing products may not be allowable if
the reason for compatibility is the result of previous non-competitive
procurements.

ii. For the procurement of goods and services the supply of which is controlled
by a supplier that is a statutory monopoly.

5.5.4.2 Allowable Exceptions – Goods and Non-Consulting Services


The following are allowable exceptions for the non-competitive acquisition of goods and
non-consulting services subject to appropriate procurement approvals:

a) Where an unforeseen situation of urgency exists and the goods, services or


construction cannot be obtained by means of a competitive procurement process.
An unforeseen situation of urgency does not occur where Ministries have failed to
allow sufficient time to conduct a competitive process.

Ministries must also see Section 5.5.6 where an unforeseen situation of urgency
exists that prevents the ministry from seeking appropriate procurements approvals.

b) Where goods or non-consulting services regarding matters of confidential or


privileged nature are to be purchased and the disclosure of those matters through a
competitive procurement process could reasonably be expected to compromise
government confidentiality, cause economic disruption or otherwise be contrary to
the public interest.

c) Where a Contract is awarded under a co-operation agreement that is financed, in


whole or in part, by an international organization only to the extent that the
agreement includes different rules for awarding contracts.

d) Where construction materials are to be purchased and it can be demonstrated that


transportation costs or technical considerations impose geographic limits on the
available supply base, specifically in the case of sand, stone, gravel, asphalt
compound and pre-mixed concrete for use in the construction or repair of roads.

e) Where a competitive procurement process could interfere with the government’s


ability to maintain security or order or to protect human, animal or plant life or health.

Procurement Directive July 2009 17


f) Where there is an absence of any bids in response to a competitive procurement
process that has been conducted in compliance with this Directive.

g) Where only one supplier is able to meet the requirements of a procurement in the
following circumstances:

i. To ensure compatibility with existing products, to recognize exclusive rights,


such as exclusive licenses, copyright and patent rights, or to maintain
specialized products that must be maintained by the manufacturer or its
representatives.
ii. For the procurement of goods and services the supply of which is controlled
by a supplier that is a statutory monopoly.
iii. For the purchase of goods on a commodity market.
iv. For work to be performed on or about a leased building or portions thereof
that may be performed only by the lessor.
v. For work to be performed on property by a Contractor according to provisions
of a warranty or guarantee held in respect to the property or original work.
vi. For a Contract to be awarded to the winner of a design contest.
vii. For the procurement of a prototype or a first good/service to be developed in
the course of research, experiment, study, or original development but not for
any subsequent purchases.
viii. For the purchase of goods under exceptionally advantageous circumstances
such as bankruptcy or receivership, but not for routine purchases.
ix. For the procurement of original works of art.
x. For the procurement of subscriptions to newspapers, magazines or other
periodicals.
xi. For the purchase of real property.

5.5.5 Non-Competitive Procurements Business Case Requirements

Written documentation for non-competitive procurements must include:

a) A description of the business requirements.

b) A description of the proposed non-competitive procurement process including the


approximate value and the estimated Agreement start and end dates.

c) The allowable exception which has been identified to support the non-competitive
procurement. For allowable exceptions where only one vendor is able to meet the
requirements Ministries must include documentary evidence supporting this
exception. Where no allowable exception exists, an exemption to the Procurement
Directive must be sought. The Ministry must identify the mandatory requirement(s)
from which it is seeks to be exempted.

d) The rationale for using a non-competitive procurement process including the


circumstances that prevent the use of a competitive procurement process. The
rationale must support the permissible exception or exemption being requested.

e) Identifying if the selected vendor has previously been awarded a Contract with the
Ministry within the past five years for the same or closely related requirements, and
the type of procurement process(es) used.

Procurement Directive July 2009 18


f) A description of the potential pool of vendors that might have responded to a
competitive procurement, where appropriate, and an assessment of all potential
vendor complaints and how the ministry would respond and manage these
complaints.

g) A description of how the Ministry will ensure it will comply with the principles of the
Procurement Directive, particularly value for money.

h) Any alternatives considered.

i) The impact on the business requirements if the non-competitive procurement is not


approved.

j) If appropriate, a description of how the Ministry will meet these business


requirements, in the future, using a competitive procurement process.

k) Any other matters considered relevant.

5.5.6 Non-Competitive Procurements for Unforeseen Situations of Urgency


Where a non-competitive procurement is required due to an unforeseeable situation of
urgency that cannot wait for a regularly scheduled SCLC or TB/MBC meeting, Ministries
may conduct the procurement prior to obtaining the appropriate approvals. Ministries
must promptly notify the Secretary of MBC and report back to MBC on the
circumstances and justification of the urgency once the situation of unforeseen urgency
is under control. The report back must include a description of the selection process and
results.

An unforeseen situation of urgency does not occur where Ministries have failed to allow
sufficient time to conduct a competitive process.

5.6 Procurement Methods - Other Included Entities

5.6.1 Consulting Services Procurements

A competitive process must be used for all Consulting Services, irrespective of the value
of the Contract.

Other Included Entities may use an invitational competitive procurement for Consulting
Services valued up to $100,000. An invitational competitive procurement is achieved by
requesting a minimum of three (3) qualified vendors to submit a written proposal in
response to the ministry’s requirements.

Other Included Entities must use an open competitive procurement for Consulting
Services valued at $100,000 or more.

Other Included Entities may utilize the allowable exceptions for non-competitive
procurement processes for Consulting Services as defined in Section 5.5.4.1 subject to
approval as defined in Section 5.8. Where a non-competitive procurement process is
required, but no allowable exception exists, Other Included Entities must seek prior

Procurement Directive July 2009 19


approval from the most appropriate approval authority as determined by their
procurement policy and subject to approval as defined in Section 5.8.

5.6.2 Goods and Non-Consulting Services Procurements


Other Included Entities are encouraged to conduct an open competitive procurement for
all goods and non-consulting services but may conduct these procurements using their
own policies, processes, and procedures provided they are in accordance with the
principles of this Directive. This includes the allowable exceptions for the non-
competitive acquisition of goods and non-consulting services as defined in Section
5.5.4.2.

5.7 Procurement Approvals - Ministries

5.7.1 Approval Authority


Except in unforeseen urgent situations as identified in Section 5.5.6, Ministries must
seek the necessary approval authority for all procurements prior to conducting the
procurement including those establishing or using a VOR arrangement(s). Requests for
procurement approvals, and any necessary subsequent approvals such as for
Procurement Value Increases, must be in writing.

Procurement approvals may be required from within a ministry in accordance with the
ministry’s Financial Delegations of Authority (DOA), Supply Chain Leadership Council
(SCLC) or Treasury Board/Management of Cabinet (TB/MBC) depending on the
procurement value, the procurement method, and whether the procurement activity is
funded or unfunded.

Ministries must not take any actions to reduce the value of procurements to avoid
approval authority requirements. Such actions could include subdividing projects,
procurements, or Contracts and awarding multiple consecutive Contracts to the same
vendor.

All unfunded Ministry procurements require TB/MBC approval.

5.7.1.1 Consulting Services Procurement Approvals


For approval purposes, Ministries should anticipate future needs and include potential
follow on agreements as part of the Procurement Value. Ministries must refer to Section
8.6 for requirements specific to follow on agreements.

For Consulting Services Agreements, a ceiling price must be established in the


Agreement with a successful vendor(s). The Agreement Ceiling Price must reflect the
total value of the Agreement including potential follow-on Agreements. The Agreement
Ceiling Price cannot exceed the Procurement Value identified in the procurement
approval. Once established, Ministries are not permitted to make changes to the
Agreement Ceiling Price unless allowed by contractual provisions.

It is acknowledged that Agreement Ceiling Price increases may be required over the
term of an Agreement. Ministries are encouraged to avoid such increases through
appropriate procurement planning.

Where Ministries have established that an Agreement Ceiling Price increase is required,
they must seek prior written approval from the appropriate delegated authority, noting

Procurement Directive July 2009 20


that Ministries must secure both Deputy Head and Minister approval when the increase
will cause the total value of the Agreement to reach or exceed $750,000. When the
increase will cause the total value of the Agreement to reach or exceed $1M, TB/MBC
approval is required.

In seeking written approval, Ministries must identify the framework used to confirm that
the increased vendor costs are justified and how the government continues to obtain
value for money. Prior to implementing a ceiling price increase, Ministries and Other
Included Entities must determine whether the increase causes the total Procurement
Value to exceed the original procurement approval. If so, changes to the Agreement
Ceiling Price must not be made until the Ministry has sought new procurement approval
authority as appropriate.

Ministries must consult legal counsel in this regard to identify required changes to the
Agreement terms and conditions related to the Agreement Ceiling Price increase.

Funded Ministry procurement approval requirements for Consulting Services are as


follows:

Procurement Value Approval Submission


Method Authority Approval
Invitational $0 up to but not including Ministry DOA Ministry DOA
Competitive $100,000
Open $0 up to but not including Ministry DOA Ministry DOA
Competitive $1M
$1M up to but not including SCLC Deputy Head
$10M
$10M or more TB/MBC Minister

Non-competitive $0 up to but not including Deputy Head Ministry DOA


$500,000 Minister
$500,000 up to but not SCLC Deputy Head
including $1M Minister
$1M or more TB/MBC Minister
Ceiling Price $750,000 up to but not Deputy Head Deputy Head
Increases including $1M Minister
$1M or more TB/MBC Minister

Procurement Directive July 2009 21


5.7.1.2 Goods Procurement Approvals

Funded Ministry procurement approval requirements for goods are as follows:

Procurement Value Approval Submission


Method Authority Approval
Ministry Process Up to $25,000 Ministry DOA Ministry DOA
Open Competitive $25,000 up to but not Ministry DOA Ministry DOA
including $1M
$1M up to but not including SCLC Deputy Head
$10M
$10M or more TB/MBC Minister

Non-competitive $0 up to but not including Ministry DOA Ministry DOA


$1M
$1M or more TB/MBC Minister
VOR Arrangement Procurement value TB/MBC Minister
exceeds VOR
Arrangement ceiling price

5.7.1.3 Non-Consulting Procurement Approvals

Funded Ministry procurement approval requirements for non-consulting services are


as follows:

Procurement Value Approval Submission


Method Authority Approval
Ministry Process Up to $25,000 Ministry DOA Ministry DOA
Invitational $25,000 up to but not Ministry DOA Ministry DOA
Competitive including $100,000
Open Competitive $25,000 up to but not Ministry DOA Ministry DOA
including $1M
$1M up to but not including SCLC Deputy Head
$10M
$10M or more TB/MBC Minister

Non-competitive $25,000 up to but not Ministry DOA Ministry DOA


including $1M
$1M or more TB/MBC Minister
VOR Arrangement Procurement value TB/MBC Minister
exceeds VOR
Arrangement ceiling price

Procurement Directive July 2009 22


5.7.2 Ministry Approval Authority
For procurements where approval authority is within the ministry’s approval threshold,
Ministries must refer to their own ministry financial delegations of authorities and
processes.

Deputy Heads may delegate authority to an appropriate ministry official(s) for


procurements valued within ministry approval authority except for non-competitive
consulting services. Deputy Heads may not delegate approval authority for non-
competitive Consulting Services procurements.

5.7.3 Supply Chain Leadership Council Approval Authority


For procurements where approval authority is within the Supply Chain Leadership
Council’s approval threshold, Ministries must submit a written business case that
includes the following information:

a) Ministry name, division and branch.

b) Program and controllership contact information. Ministries must identify the key
contact for the submission who may be contacted for more information.

c) Procurement title and description including how the procurement supports the
ministry’s business requirements.

d) Estimated total Procurement Value (Section 5.3) including any proposed


extension periods.

e) Proposed release date of the procurement documents.

f) Proposed Agreement start and end dates, including any proposed Agreement
extension periods.

g) Proposed procurement method.

h) Description of potential pool of vendors.

i) Where there is an incumbent vendor(s):

i. Name of the incumbent vendor(s).

ii. The number of years the incumbent vendor(s) has had an Agreement to
provide the goods/services being procured.

iii. The procurement method used to select the incumbent vendor(s).

iv. Description of how the ministry will ensure the incumbent vendor does not
have an unfair advantage in this procurement.

j) Description of all known risks associated with the procurement and the proposed
mitigation strategy that will be used.

Procurement Directive July 2009 23


k) For non-competitive procurements, completion of the written requirements
described in Section 5.5.5.

l) If applicable, confirmation that the ministry has addressed or will address any
Financial Administration Act considerations.

m) Any other relevant information in support of the procurement.

For goods, non-consulting services, and competitive Consulting Services SCLC


business cases must be signed by the ministry’s Deputy Head. Deputy Heads may not
delegate this authority. Submissions from classified agencies must be signed by the
Deputy Minister of the oversight ministry.

For non-competitive Consulting Services irrespective of value, SCLC business cases


must be signed by the Deputy Minister and Minister.

For IT related procurements, business cases must also be signed by the appropriate
Cluster Chief Information Officer.

Additional information on SCLC is available on MyOPS Supply Chain Management.

5.7.4 TB/MBC Approval Authority


For any procurement that does not meet the criteria for approval under delegated
authority, Ministries must submit an MB20 submission for TB/MBC review. Ministries
must refer to the Ministry of Finance, Treasury Board Office intranet portal for more
information on TB/MBC submissions.

For procurements that require TB/MBC approval authority, Ministries do not have to
submit a separate SCLC business case. However, Ministries must include in their MB20
submission the same information that would otherwise be included in the SCLC
business case. Submissions to TB/MBC must be signed by the Minister

5.7.5 Information Technology Approvals


In addition to the procurement approval, IT projects that contain a procurement
component may also require approvals from the Cluster CIO, the OCCIO, and/or the
Information Technology Project Approval Committee (ITPAC). Ministries should refer to
the I&IT Directive and Operational Policy on the I&IT Project Gateway Process to
determine appropriate IT related approvals.

5.8 Procurement Approvals – Other Included Entities


Other Included Entities must include a procurement approval authority framework in their
procurement policy.

For goods and non-consulting services, the procurement approval authority


framework must reflect the procurement method and procurement value and assign
authority to the most appropriate accountable authority in the agency as determined by
the Board of Directors.

Procurement Directive July 2009 24


For Consulting Services, the procurement approval authorities of Other Included
Entities are as follows:

Procurement Value Approval Submission


Method Authority Approval
Invitational $0 up to but not including Agency DOA Agency DOA
Competitive $100,000
Open Any Value Agency DOA Agency DOA
Competitive
Non-competitive $0 up to but not including Agency DOA Agency DOA
$100,000
$100,000 up to but not Deputy Head Agency DOA
including $1M Minister
$1M or more TB/MBC Deputy Head
Minister

Other Included Entities must not take any actions to reduce the value of procurements to
avoid approval authority requirements. Such actions could include subdividing projects,
procurements, or Contracts and awarding multiple consecutive Contracts to the same
vendor.

6 PROCUREMENT PROCESS

6.1 Research and Consultation


Ministries may decide to engage in a vendor consultation process prior to initiating a
competitive procurement process such as issuing a Request for Information or draft
Request for Proposal. This consultation process must be conducted solely for
information gathering purposes or to market test a proposed procurement scope,
approach and process. Ministries must not apply mandatory participation of vendors in
the research and consultation process as a condition for future bidding and must not
solicit or accept formal submissions from vendors during the consultation process.

6.2 Procurement Documents - Ministries


To enable fair comparison of vendor submissions, procurement documents must be in
writing and include sufficient details concerning the submission requirements.

Ministries must include in all procurement documents the following information:

a) A description of the needed goods or services in generic and/or functional terms


specific to the business needs that the good or service will serve. When the use of
non-generic and/or non-functional terms is appropriate, the specifications must
deal with performance requirements and exclude all features that could unfairly
confer an advantage to certain vendors. For IT procurements, Ministries may
express requirements in terms of corporate or ministry Information Technology
standards as an alternative to functional terms. Such standards must have been
established through a prior competitive process or otherwise approved by the
Management Board of Cabinet or the Information Technology Standards Council

Procurement Directive July 2009 25


b) Full disclosure of the evaluation criteria and process to be used in assessing
submissions. In addition to bid price/cost, quality, quantity, delivery, servicing,
experience, financial capacity of the vendor and any other criteria directly related to
the procurement may be taken into account. Ministries must pay particular
attention to apply the maximum justifiable weighting to price/cost as part of the
evaluation criteria. For IT procurements, Ministries must assess conversion costs,
if appropriate. In establishing the evaluation criteria and weighting of conversion
costs, Ministries must not unduly favour an incumbent vendor or unduly
disadvantage non-incumbent vendors.

c) The name, telephone number and location of the person to contact for additional
information on the procurement documents.

d) Conditions that must be met before obtaining procurement documents such as


confidentiality agreements, if appropriate.

e) The address, date and time limit for submitting responses to procurement
documents. Responses received after the closing date and time must be returned
unopened.

f) The time and place of the opening of the responses in the event of a public
opening.

g) For goods valued at $25,000 or more and services valued at $100,000 or more, a
statement that the procurement is subject to Ontario's Trade Agreements.

h) Tax compliance declaration that the vendor’s Ontario taxes are or will be in good
standing prior to signing an Agreement. The tax compliance declaration form and
related guidelines are available on MyOPS Supply Chain Management.

i) Notice that any confidential information supplied to the Ministry may be disclosed
by the Ministry where it is obliged to do so under the Freedom of Information and
Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), by an order of a court or tribunal otherwise
required at law.

j) Conflict of interest provisions that:

i. define conflict of interest to include situations or circumstances that could


give a vendor an unfair advantage during a procurement process or
compromise the ability of a vendor to perform its obligations under the
Agreement;

ii. reserve the right of the ministry to solely determine whether any situation or
circumstance constitutes a conflict of interest;

iii. reserve the right to disqualify prospective vendors from a procurement


process due to conflict of interest;

iv. require prospective vendors participating in a procurement process to declare


any actual or potential conflict of interest;

Procurement Directive July 2009 26


v. require vendors to avoid any conflict of interest during the performance of
their contractual obligations for the ministry;

vi. require vendors to disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest arising
during the performance of an Agreement;

vii. reserve the right to prescribe the manner in which a vendor should resolve a
conflict of interest;

viii. allow the Ministry to terminate an Agreement where a vendor fails to disclose
any actual or potential conflict of interest or fails to resolve its conflict of
interest as directed by the ministry; and

ix. allow the Agreement to be terminated where a conflict of interest cannot be


resolved.

k) The form of Agreement the successful vendor(s) is expected to sign. Appropriate


termination clause(s) must be included in Agreements. As appropriate mechanisms
for amending the Agreement from time to time should be included.

l) Other mandatory policy requirements as appropriate.

m) Other information as deemed appropriate.

Ministries must consult with legal counsel regarding their procurement documents
including the implementation and application of updated Agreement terms and
conditions.

6.3 Procurement Documents – Other Included Entities


Other Included Entities are encouraged to adopt the information requirements for
Procurement Documents noted in Section 6.2 as appropriate.

6.4 Electronic Tendering


Ministries and Other Included Entities must use electronic tendering for open competitive
procurements valued at or above $25,000 for goods and at or above $100,000 for
services.

Ministries must use Ontario’s electronic tendering system as established by the Ministry
of Government Services. The Ministry of Government Services has established an
Agreement with MERX™ (www.merx.com) to provide electronic tendering services to
the Ontario Government. Ministries must use MERX™. Certain standard elements must
be included in the different forms of procurement documentation that are posted.
Ministries must consult with Supply Chain Management or the MERX™ site to confirm
posting requirements.

In addition to the electronic tendering system, Ministries may also advertise in a national
newspaper accessible to all Canadian suppliers or the Daily Commercial News for
construction related procurements.

Procurement Directive July 2009 27


Other Included Entities are encouraged to utilize the electronic tendering system as
established by the Ministry of Government Services but may establish their own method
of electronic tendering.

6.5 Bid Response Time


Sufficient time must be given to vendors to prepare and submit bid responses. Ministries
must provide vendors a minimum response time of 15 calendar days for Consulting
Services at any value, goods valued at or over $25,000 and non-Consulting Services
valued at or over $100,000 and a minimum of 30 calendar days for procurements
assessed as complex/high risk procurements, including alternative service delivery.

Other Included Entities are encouraged to utilize the bid response times recommended
for Ministries.

6.6 Additional Information


Any additional information, clarification or modification of the procurement documents
must be provided in the same manner as the procurement document via an amendment
or addendum and must be released in sufficient time prior to the submission deadline to
allow bidders sufficient time to submit a responsive bid. The submission deadline may
be extended to ensure sufficient time is provided to bidders.

6.7 Evaluation Process


Ministries and Other Included Entities must evaluate the bid responses received
consistently and in accordance with the evaluation criteria, rating and methodology set
out in the procurement document.

Typically, an evaluation process is comprised of three components - mandatory


requirements, rated requirements and price/cost.

Ministries and Other Included Entities must pay particular attention to apply the
maximum justifiable weighting to price/cost but can also take into account quality,
quantity, delivery, servicing, experience, financial capacity of the vendor, and any other
criteria directly related to the procurement.

Where a vendor is disqualified for non-compliance of a mandatory requirement or fails to


meet a minimum rated requirements score, as identified in the procurement document,
no further evaluation must take place.

The evaluation of price/cost must be undertaken after the completion of the evaluation of
the mandatory requirements and any other rated criteria.

The evaluation process to be used in assessing a vendor’s submission must be fully


disclosed. A full disclosure of the evaluation methodology and process includes, but is
not limited, to:

a) A clear articulation of all mandatory requirements, which must indicate if the


mandatory requirements will be assessed on a pass/fail basis and indicate how
vendors achieve a passing grade.

b) All weights, including sub-weights, for rated requirements.

Procurement Directive July 2009 28


c) Description of any short-listing processes, including any minimum rated score
requirements.

d) The role and weighting, if applicable, of reference checks, oral interviews,


demonstrations and site visits.

e) Descriptions of the price/cost evaluation methodology including the use of


scenarios in the evaluation process, to determine costs for specific volumes
and/or service levels.

Following the evaluation process, Ministries and Other Included Entities may select only
the highest ranked submission(s) that have met all mandatory requirements set out in
the related procurement document.

In responding to procurement documents, vendors may sometimes propose alternative


strategies or solutions to the business needs or apply conditions to their responses.
Unless expressly requested in the procurement documents, alternative strategies or
solutions proposed by a vendor must not be considered.

6.8 Vendor Debriefings


For all procurements valued at $25,000 or more, Ministries must ensure that all vendors
who participated in the procurement are offered an opportunity for a debriefing. Vendors
have a right to a debriefing only after the legal Agreement between the successful
vendor(s) and the Ontario Government has been signed.

6.8.1 Scheduling Vendor Debriefing Meetings


In scheduling vendor debriefings, Ministries must:

a) Confirm the right to a debriefing, in writing, and allow vendors sixty (60) calendar
days following the date of the written communication to respond.

b) Confirm the date and time of the debriefing session in writing.

c) Conduct vendor debriefings individually.

d) Ensure that the same participant(s) from a ministry participate in every debriefing
conducted. If Ministries have used a Fairness Commissioner in the procurement
process they may be invited to participate in the debriefing but must not conduct
the debriefings.

e) Retain all correspondence and documentation relevant to the debriefing session


as part of the procurement documentation (Section 6.11).

6.8.2 Conducting Vendor Debriefings


In conducting vendor debriefing meetings, Ministries must:

a) Provide a general overview of the evaluation process set out in the procurement
document;

Procurement Directive July 2009 29


b) Provide the name, address, and total bid price, where applicable, of the
successful vendor as well as the Agreement award notice information (Section
6.10);

c) Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the vendor’s submission in relation to


the specific evaluation criteria and the vendor’s evaluated score. If more than
price is evaluated, Ministries may provide the vendor’s evaluation scores and
their evaluation ranking (eg. 3rd of 5).

d) Provide suggestions on how the vendor may improve future submissions;

e) Receive feedback from the vendor on current procurement processes/practices;

f) Address specific questions and issues raised by the vendor in relation to their
submission.

In addition, Ministries may also provide the name(s) and address(es) of all vendors who
participated in the procurement including qualified and disqualified Proponents/Bidders
as well as those who submitted “no bid”.

In conducting vendor debriefings, Ministries must not disclose information concerning


other vendors, other than as specified above, as it may contain confidential third party
proprietary information subject to the mandatory third party exemption under the
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). If a vendor makes such a
request, they must be advised that a formal freedom of information request can be
submitted to the ministry’s Freedom of Information and Privacy Office. Questions
unrelated to the procurement process must not be responded to during the debriefing
and must be noted as out of scope based on the debriefing process agreed to in the
procurement documents.

6.9 Contract Management


All procurement of goods and services and the resulting Contract, must be responsibly
and effectively managed. Following the procurement process, the responsibilities of
both the Ministry and the successful vendor must be defined formally in a signed written
Contract before the provision of the goods or services commences.

The Contract must be finalized using the form of Agreement/Contract that was released
with the procurement document. When executing the Contract, the Ministry must obtain
the vendor signature before obtaining the designated Ministry signature.

All Contracts must include appropriate cancellation or termination clauses and


appropriate legal advice should be sought on the development of these clauses.
Particularly for goods and services procured as part of an I&IT project, the use of
Contract clauses that permit cancellation or termination at critical project lifecycle stages
must be considered.

The term of the Agreement, and any options to extend the Agreement must be set out in
the procurement document. Changes to the term of the Agreement may change the
procurement value. Prior written approval by the appropriate approval authority is
necessary before changing Contract start and end dates. Extensions to the term of
Agreement beyond what is set out in the procurement document are considered non-

Procurement Directive July 2009 30


competitive procurements and appropriate approval authority must be obtained prior to
proceeding.

Particular attention should be paid to the following in managing procurement Contracts:

• All payments must be in accordance with provisions of the Agreement;


• All payments for applicable expenses must be in accordance with the Travel,
Meal and Hospitality Expenses Directive and General Expenses Directive.
• Any overpayment must be recovered;
• All assignments must be properly documented;
• Vendor performance must be managed and documented, and any performance
issues must be addressed;
• All required approvals must be obtained for any Procurement Value Increases
and ceiling price increases or other changes in terms and conditions of the
Agreement; and,
• Knowledge transfer to ministry staff must take place, where applicable.

6.10 Post Contract Award Notification


For goods over $25,000 and services over $100,000, Ministries must post, in the same
manner the procurement documents were posted, the name(s) of the successful
vendor(s), Agreement start and end dates including any options for extension and the
total Agreement value upon completion of the evaluation process and after execution of
the Contract with the successful vendor(s).

Posting Contract award information does not apply to the second stage selection
process when using a Vendor of Record Arrangement.

6.11 Documentation and Record Retention


Ministries must ensure that all procurement decisions and decision making processes
are recorded to account for and support the re-construction of facts related to a
procurement. Ministries must:

• establish a file naming convention that will permit related procurement


documents to be associated with each other

• retain procurement records in compliance with the Government of Ontario


Common Schedule for Administrative Records.

• manage procurement Agreements and documentation to ensure Ministries can


respond to any requests for information, vendor inquiries, debriefing requests,
audits and legal challenges in a relevant, reliable, comprehensive and timely
fashion.

Procurement process documentation includes, but is not limited to, the following:

a) a copy of the procurement justification or business case;

Procurement Directive July 2009 31


b) information regarding all vendor consultations, including any requests for
information, undertaken in the development of the procurement business case
and/or procurement documents;

c) evidence that all required approvals were obtained;

d) copies of all procurement documents used to qualify and select the vendor;

e) where the procurement was conducted through a Vendor of Record


arrangement, information regarding the second stage selection process used to
select the particular vendor of record;

f) copies of all advertisements of procurement documents;

g) information relating to compliance with the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001
where applicable;

h) copies of all responses, submissions, proposals and bids received in response to


procurement documents including the conflict of interest declaration, the tax
compliance declaration and Ministry of Revenue tax compliance verification;

i) information regarding any issues that arose during the procurement process;

j) information regarding all evaluations of submissions, proposals and bids received


in response to procurement documents;

k) information regarding all vendor debriefings including written documentation of


the offer of vendor debriefing where applicable;

l) copies of all award letters, notices, and posted announcements;

m) copies of the Agreement(s);

n) information regarding all changes to the terms and conditions of the Agreement,
including any changes that resulted in an increase in the Agreement price;

o) information regarding the management of the vendor, including how the vendor’s
performance was monitored and managed and, where applicable, mechanisms
used to transfer knowledge from the vendor to staff;

p) risk assessment information and recommendations, where applicable;

q) contractor security screening decisions, where applicable;

r) information regarding all disputes or vendor complaints regarding the


procurement including any Agreement disputes;

s) evidence of receipt of deliverables;

t) any other documentation as identified.

Procurement Directive July 2009 32


6.12 Annual Reporting
Ministries must maintain procurement records and develop annual reports related to
Consulting Services and Ontario’s Trade Agreements.

Each year, Ministries will receive a written request from the Ministry of Government
Services. Ministries must refer to this written communication to confirm the information to
be reported and the due date of each report.

7. OTHER RELATED POLICIES

7.1 Ontario Trade Agreements


Ontario is party to certain inter-provincial and national Trade Agreements and must
conduct its procurements in a prescribed manner in order to adhere to these
agreements. The Trade Agreements apply to the acquisition of goods valued at or over
$25,000 and services and construction valued at or over $100,000.

Ontario’s Trade Agreements describe the processes that are to be followed in case of
disputes. The Director, Corporate Procurement Policy and Planning Branch, Ministry of
Government Services is the Provincial Co-ordinator for addressing such disputes.

Where requirements in the Trade Agreements differ to this directive, Ministries must
comply with this directive. Ministries engaging in procurements to which the Trade
Agreements do not apply, must note that they are still be required to conduct the
procurement in accordance with the requirements of this Directive. Should this occur,
consult with the Ministry of Government Services’ Supply Chain Management Division.

Other Included Entities may be subject to Ontario’s Trade Agreements including


requirements for contracting rules, buying groups, exclusions and dispute resolution.
Other Included Entities that are subject to Ontario’s Trade Agreements must ensure that
their procurement policy reflects the requirements of Ontario’s Trade Agreement as
appropriate.

7.2 Tax Compliance


For procurements with a value of $25,000 or more, Ministries must only enter into
Contracts with vendors whose Ontario tax obligations are in good standing. Vendors
must complete and submit a signed copy of a Tax Compliance Declaration form. Prior to
signing the Agreement, Ministries must verify the tax compliance status of the successful
vendor(s) with the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Revenue will confirm the
vendor’s tax compliance status within 3 to 5 days. Ministries must fax a copy of the
successful vendor’s Tax Compliance Declaration, along with the name, address, and
contact information, including fax number, to the:

Agreement Review Officer


Revenue Collections Branch
Ministry of Revenue
Facsimile (905) 433 6009

The Tax Compliance Declaration Form and related guidelines are available on MyOPS
Supply Chain Management.

Procurement Directive July 2009 33


7.3 Contractor Security Screening
Contractor security clearance may be required for vendors selected to provide goods
and services to the Ontario Public Service. Ministries must refer to the Contractor
Security Screening Operating Policy and/or consult with the Emergency Management
and Security Branch, Ministry of Government Services prior to conducting a procurement
to determine if contractor security clearance is required.

Where contractor security clearance is required, it is the obligation of the procuring


ministry to ensure that clearance is received prior to signing an Agreement with a
successful vendor

7.4 Business Continuity Planning


When procuring goods and services, Ministries must consider how the procurement(s)
will affect their obligations under the Business Continuity Operating Policy and take
appropriate measures to ensure that in a state of emergency, their supply chain is not
disrupted in a manner that will prevent the delivery of time-critical functions and services.
If required, Ministries are encouraged to contact their Business Continuity Co-ordinators
to determine if their procurement supports time-critical functions and services.

Where appropriate, Ministries must determine the requirement for business continuity
assurances from vendor(s) with whom they will establish an Agreement including
whether this should be an evaluated requirement. The need for such assurances must
be in the original procurement documents including the form of Agreement. Ministries
must ensure that they communicate these requirements when seeking assistance from
legal counsel.

7.5 Protection of Personal and Sensitive Information


Prior to undertaking any procurement of goods and/or services that may result in the
release of personal or sensitive information, Ministries and Other Included Entities must
conduct a risk assessment that includes undertaking a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA)
and a Threat Risk Assessment (TRA). Any information that is to be released must
comply with applicable privacy legislation.

Ministries should refer to the Information Security and Privacy Classification Policy for
more details on these requirements.

7.6 Storage of Personal Information or Program Data


Personal information or program data that is considered confidential and essential to the
operation of programs or considered as medium-sensitive or highly-sensitive must be
stored and processed in accordance with the Information Security and Privacy
Classification Policy.

Ministries should refer to the Information Security and Privacy Classification Policy for
more details on storage of personal information or program data.

7.7 Public Opinion Polls and Market Research Studies


Ministries must obtain the prior approval of the Cabinet Office before undertaking any
procurement for the commissioning of any public opinion polls or market research
studies and before adding any questions to a non-commissioned poll.

Procurement Directive July 2009 34


7.8 Ontarians with Disabilities
Ministries must comply with the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 when acquiring
goods and services. The Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 requires that “in deciding
to purchase goods or services through the procurement process for the use of itself, its
employees or the public, the Government of Ontario shall have regard to the
accessibility for persons with disabilities to the goods or service.” Ministries must
consider accessibility when procuring goods and/or services. Where applicable,
procurement documents should specify the desired accessibility standard to be met and
provide for the evaluation of proposals in respect of those standards.

7.9 Environmental Considerations


Ministries conducting procurements with an estimated Procurement Value over $10,000,
including the establishment of VOR arrangements, must consider environmental
reduction, re-use, and recycling measures in the development of commodity
specifications, terms and conditions, and Agreement award decisions. Prior to
conducting any procurements, regardless of value, Ministries must also consider the
government’s Surplus Assets Services, a mandatory central common service.

Ministries must use the Federal Environmental Choice Program standards when
acquiring goods and services valued at over $10,000. The Federal Environmental
Choice Program is characterized by the EcoLogo™ certification mark (three doves
entwined to form a maple leaf). This program provides assurance that the products
bearing the EcoLogo™ certification mark meet stringent environmental criteria. The
Federal Environmental Choice Program includes more than 3000 certified products.
Ministries must refer to www.environmentalchoice.com for more information on the
Federal Environmental Choice Program including the list of certified products and related
certification standards.

7.10 Disposition of Assets


The Ministry of Government Services is designated as the mandatory central common
service provider and has sole responsibility for arranging the disposal of government
owned motor vehicles, government owned computers and all other assets and
consumable supplies.

All surplus, obsolete or unusable movable assets must be identified and, disposed of
through the Ministry of Government Services unless being transferred to another
ministry or held for trade-in against the purchase of new assets. All arrangements for the
disposal of goods by sale must be equitable to potential buyers, avoid conflict of interest
concerns by excluding government employees as buyers and optimize the revenue to
the government.

Ministries must remove all confidential, personal and sensitive data from information
technology prior to disposing of the equipment.

Arrangements for the disposal of hazardous materials must comply with the regulations
and requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Transportation of
Dangerous Goods Act, the Environmental Protection Act and any other rules and
regulations that from time to time may apply.

Procurement Directive July 2009 35


7.11 Corporate Card Program

7.11.1 Purchasing Card Program


The Purchasing Card is a mechanism for acquiring and paying for low dollar value goods
and services. Use of the Purchasing Card reduces the administrative costs of payables
associated with low dollar value purchases; improves cash flow and accounts receivable
status for vendors; avoids GST payment on most low dollar value purchases; reduces
petty cash and accountable advance usage and simplifies the purchase process for
employees.

The Purchasing Card must be used for low dollar value purchases. Employees using the
purchasing card must not circumvent government or ministry procurement policies and
are required to agree to the terms and conditions of purchasing card use.

Ministries must follow the delegation of authority framework for their ministry to
determine which employees will be approved for a purchasing card.
Although purchasing cards are issued in the name of the employee, the Crown is liable
for all charges. Goods and services ordered or purchased for the use of the Crown in the
Right of Ontario are not subject to the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Cardholders are
responsible for informing merchants of this and ensuring that GST is not charged on
their transactions. To help facilitate this, the province’s GST exempt number is printed
on each purchasing card.

The purchasing card must not to be used for:

• Personal purchases including points or rewards programs;


• Cash advances;
• Computer software without prior IT Cluster approval;
• Expenses for fleet vehicles including repairs, maintenance and fuel for those
using a fleet management system (these costs must be charged to the fleet
management card);
• Salaries and wages (except for Temporary Help Services); and
• Travel and travel-related expenses.

7.11.2 Travel Card Program


The Corporate Travel Card is a charge card that enables eligible public servants as well
as employees and appointees of agencies classified under the Agency Establishment
and Accountability Directive, to pay for expenses incurred while travelling on approved
business.

Ministries must follow the delegation of authority framework for their ministry to
determine which employee will be approved for a travel card.

The travel card is issued in the name of the employee. Cardholders are fully liable for all
charges, interest, fees, cash advances or adjustments levied against their card account
and are responsible for ensuring the statement is paid in full prior to the payment due
date. Cardholders are also responsible for compliance with all terms and conditions as
set out in the Cardholder Agreement and the Travel Card Use Agreement and the
Travel, Meal and Hospitality Expenses Directive.

Procurement Directive July 2009 36


The Crown has corporate liability for all airfare, rail tickets, and travel management
transaction fees which will be charged to a diversion account.

7.12 Asset Management


Ministries must establish and maintain appropriate systems to enable the effective
management and security of assets procured by government, including the periodic
physical verification and reconciliation of moveable assets at least once every four years
and consumable supplies at least once every two years.

7.13 Domestic Steel


To support domestic steel vendors, procurement evaluation processes may include a
price preference of 10% for Canadian steel products identified in vendor proposals
submitted in response to construction procurement tenders with an estimated total
Contract value of $100,000 or more.

8 CONSULTING SERVICES
In addition to the mandatory requirements set forth in Section 5, Ministries must adhere
to the following requirements specific to Consulting Services.

Consulting Service refers to the provision of expertise or strategic advice that is


presented for consideration and decision-making such as:

• management consulting (i.e. helping Ministries improve their performance,


primarily through the analysis of existing problems and development of plans for
improvement. This includes organizational change management assistance and
strategy development.);

• information technology consulting (i.e. Advisory services that help clients assess
different technology strategies, including aligning their technology strategy with
their business or process strategy);

• technical consulting (i.e. activities related to actuarial science, appraisal,


community planning, employment/ placement, engineering, health sciences,
interior design, realty, social sciences);

• research and development (i.e. investigative study for the purpose of increasing
the available store of knowledge and/or information on a particular subject);

• policy consulting (i.e. the provision of advisory services to provide policy options,
analysis and evaluation); and

• communication consulting (i.e. the provision of strategy and advice in conveying


information through various channels and media).

Consulting Services do not include services in which the physical component of an


activity would predominate, for example, services for the operation and maintenance of a
facility or plant; water-testing services; exploratory drilling services; surveying; temporary
help services; training/education instructors; and aerial photography.

Procurement Directive July 2009 37


Consulting Services do not include any licensed professional services provided by
medical doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, veterinarians, engineers, land surveyors,
architects, chartered accountants, lawyers and notaries in their regulated capacities.
.
Consulting Services assignments must have a start and end date. Any change to a
Consulting Services Agreement, including the end date of the Agreement, may affect the
Procurement Value. Ministries must ensure they have prior appropriate approval
authority in this regard.

8.1 Approval of Vendor Selection


For Consulting Services valued at or above $100,000, Ministries must seek prior written
approval from their Deputy Head of the selected vendor and the proposed Agreement
before the proposed Agreement is signed.

For Consulting Services Agreements valued at or above $100,000 and up to $750,000,


Deputy Heads may delegate this authority, in writing, to an appropriate official of the
ministry.

For Consulting Services valued at or above $750,000, only Deputy Heads can provide
this written approval.

Other Included Entities are required to obtain appropriate approvals in accordance with
their MBC approved governance structure for procurement controllership

8.2 Terms of Reference


Clear terms of reference for the consulting assignment, including: objectives,
background, scope, constraints, staff responsibilities, tangible deliverables/results,
timing, progress reporting, approval requirements, and, where applicable, knowledge
transfer requirements must be established.

8.3 Assignment Substantiation


External Consulting Services must not be procured when existing internal resources are
available for the assignment. Ministries must document their prior consideration of using
internal ministry resources as part of the procurement documentation if a decision is
made to use Consulting Services.

Ministries shall co-ordinate, monitor and control the combined efforts of internal and
external resources to ensure satisfactory completion of consulting assignments on
schedule and within budget. When applicable, a transfer of knowledge must occur from
consultant to staff to avoid a continuous reliance on consultants.

8.4 Agreements with Universities and Colleges


For research and development projects involving universities, colleges or their staff,
Contracts must be made with, or with the written concurrence of, the university/college
administration. Payments must be made to the administration or to another party only
with the written concurrence of the administration. In addition, the terms of these
Contracts must cover the full cost of the research, including appropriate allowances for
indirect and overhead costs.

Procurement Directive July 2009 38


8.5 Unsolicited Research Proposals
Ministries may accept unsolicited research proposals that conform to other elements of
administrative policy in cases where the government’s interests would not be better
served by calling for competitive proposals for the project. Deputy Head approval in
writing must be obtained before entering into an Agreement and all such Agreements
must be documented. Subsequent purchases of these services must be through an
appropriate competitive process in accordance with the provisions of this Directive.

8.6 Follow-On Agreements


A follow-on Agreement is one that follows and is related to an already completed
Agreement. Follow-on Agreements allow a Ministry to structure a procurement into
several smaller portions for reasons of complexity, size, uncertainty or improved
management control.

Follow-on Agreements are permitted only for Consulting Services where the total value
of all Agreements, does not exceed $750,000 and where an open competitive
procurement or VOR arrangement has been used to select a vendor.

Prior to entering into a follow-on Agreement the following activities must have taken
place:

• Appropriate approval has been obtained in writing prior to entering the original
Agreement;
• Procurement approval authority has been based on the total value of the work in
the original Agreement and the follow-on Agreements;
• The terms of the original Agreement were fulfilled and vendor performance was
satisfactory;
• The appropriate procurement method was used for the original Agreement such
as a VOR arrangement or an open competitive procurement;
• The procurement documents for the original work disclosed the total potential
scope of work to be completed.

9 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
In addition to the mandatory requirements set forth in Section 5, Ministries must adhere
to the following requirements specific to IT. These requirements apply whether licensing,
renting, leasing or purchasing IT. Ministries should also refer to the I&IT Directive and
the Operational Policy on the I&IT Project Gateway Process when acquiring IT for any
additional IT related requirements.

For the purposes of this section, information technology does not include the following
specialized single-purpose equipment such as computerized equipment used exclusively
for:

• medical and scientific research;


• laboratory instrument monitoring systems;
• sensing devices (e.g. thermostats);
• diagnostic tools (e.g. engine analysers);
• process-control systems (e.g. traffic lights); and
• general information technology supplies (e.g. removable disks).

Procurement Directive July 2009 39


9.1 Acquisition of Information Technology
All ministry acquisition of information technology shall conform to applicable corporate
and ministry policies, architectures and standards unless specifically exempt. Ministries
must refer to the I&IT Directive, and related policies, prior to the acquisition of
information technology including determination of exemption status.

9.2 Alternative Financing


Where the estimated total Contract value of a procurement is $1M or more, Ministries
must consider alternative financing arrangements (eg. leasing) for the proposed
information technology.

9.3 Information Technology Standards


Ministries must comply with all applicable enterprise-wide corporate information
technology standards.

Ministries may establish ministry information technology standards that apply to the
ministry only, provided that such ministry standards do not conflict with corporate
information technology standards and that they are established on the basis of a fair,
open and transparent competitive process or are otherwise approved by MBC or the
Information Technology Standards Council.

9.4 Software
Ministries and Other Included Entities are encouraged to conduct open competitive
procurement for software but have the option of choosing software through a competitive
evaluation rather than a call for tenders. In a competitive evaluation, requirements must
be documented in functional terms and examine and record the fit of potentially suitable
software to functional requirements. The software product that meets the documented
functional requirements and has the lowest evaluated costs is the preferred product. All
relevant costs and benefits must be considered.

9.5 Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Products and Related Services


Ministries must follow specific requirements that apply to the acquisition of COTS
products and related services when the Procurement Value is expected to exceed
$25,000. For procurement approval authority purposes, Ministries must consider the
value of all related services over the period of time that the ministry requires the COTS
products. Ministries must not sub-divide any of these costs when determining the
Procurement Value.

When procuring COTS, Ministries must comply with the supply source requirements.
However, prior to conducting an open competitive process, Ministries must first
determine if a ministry Agreement or Volume Licensing Agreement is available. In this
regard, the supply source requirements for COTS products are as follows:

• VOR arrangement
• Ministry Agreement
• Volume Licensing Agreement (VLA) – Resellers
• Volume Licensing Agreement – Direct sellers
• Open competitive procurement or competitive evaluation process

Procurement Directive July 2009 40


Where COTS products are available through VOR arrangements or ministry
Agreements, Ministries must follow the requirements of the VOR or Ministry User Guide.
Ministry Agreements must have been established through a prior competitive process or
otherwise approved by the MBC or the Information Technology Standards Council.
Where COTS products are not available through VOR arrangements or ministry
Agreements, Ministries must consider VLAs. VLAs have been established with certain
COTS vendors to take advantage of discounts and the right to use, copy and distribute
COTS products within the Ontario Public Service, and where appropriate, within the
Broader Public Service. Ministries must note that VLAs have not been established using
an open competitive process and are not considered a substitute for competition.
VLAs may include COTS products that have been previously selected in accordance
with Section 7.1. Where COTS standards have been established in accordance with
Section 7.1, Ministries must consider the use of VLAs. For non-competitive COTS
products acquisitions valued at less than $25,000, Ministries may consider the use of
VLAs.

Prior to using a VLA, Ministries must review the VLA User Guide. The VLA User Guide
identifies specific processes that Ministries must follow including the requirement for
further competition to obtain best value for money or additional procurement approval
authority requirements. Ministries must also comply with all VLA terms and conditions
including, but not limited to, reporting and audit requirements.

Where Ministries are unable to acquire COTS products through a VOR arrangement,
ministry Agreement, or VLA, Ministries must conduct an open competitive procurement
or competitive evaluation in compliance with this Directive including, but not limited to,
appropriate procurement approval authority.

Ministries must obtain prior written approvals to procure COTS products through a
competitive procurement or competitive evaluation. Ministries must also follow the
Checkpoint 1 for Acquired Solutions Guideline

Where Ministries seek to conduct a non-competitive procurement of COTS products,


they must do so in compliance with this Directive. Ministries seeking an allowable
exception to conduct a non-competitive procurement for the purposes of compatibility
must note that COTS products are considered compatible if they are interoperable and
the exchange of data between software packages and/or hardware infrastructure is
possible and complete with minimal adjustment and without data corruption. Ministries
must conduct a full technical review of product interoperability to demonstrate this
requirement. Monetary considerations, such as training or implementation costs related
to the use of a new COTS product(s), are not sufficient justification for a non-competitive
procurement process.

9.6 Custom Software Development


With defined exceptions, suppliers may own the intellectual property rights in custom
software procurements. Ministries must obtain approval from their Cluster CIO to invoke
an exception for Crown ownership of intellectual property rights in custom software
procurements (see Guidelines for Ownership of IP in Custom Software Development).

9.7 Open Source Software


Open source software solutions and proprietary software solutions that contain open
source software elements must be acquired in a manner that is consistent with the

Procurement Directive July 2009 41


Procurement Directive, the Information & Information Technology Directive and the MGS
Operating Policy on Open Source Software

9.8 Maintenance and Support


Ministries must include the acquisition of maintenance and/or support over the estimated
life of the IT installation as part of the Procurement Value. For already installed software
or hardware, where maintenance and/or support was not included in the procurement
approval or where maintenance and/or support services will expire, Ministries must seek
the appropriate procurement approvals for the balance of the intended installation period
or next anniversary of the installation when maintenance and/or support will be required.

9.9 Agreement Terms and Conditions


Ministries must implement and consistently apply updated Agreement terms and
conditions in IT procurement documents that are made periodically to align with changes
to government policy. Ministries must refer to the MyOPS Supply Chain Management to
access templates/Agreement precedents. Ministries must consult with legal counsel
regarding their procurement documents including the implementation and application of
updated Agreement terms and conditions.

9.10 Lease-Purchase Agreements


Goods that are the subject of a lease-purchase Agreement, where payments are
partially or totally credited to the purchase, do not require an open competitive
procurement to complete the purchase since this is the completion of an existing
procurement process.

10 LARGE PROJECTS

In addition to the requirements set out in the Procurement Directive, Ministries must
adhere to the following requirements specific to Large Projects.

10.1 Procurement Planning for Large Projects


When undertaking procurements related to complex projects involving either IT and/or
significant transformation of ministry business processes and operations, Ministries must
ensure that a procurement plan is developed and implemented. The project procurement
plan must be appropriate to and aligned with the key business objectives of the project
and provide sufficient detail of all required procurements to successfully meet the key
business objectives. Ministries may consider sub-dividing a project-related
procurement(s) into several smaller procurements for the purposes of complexity, size,
uncertainty, or improved management control but not to circumvent approval authorities.

To maximize alignment with the business objectives, the procurement(s) should be


conducted by project team members responsible for both project delivery and
Agreement management and supported by procurement experts. In this regard, the
procurement experts should play an advisory role to the project team. Ministries must
also consider the use of a Fairness Commissioner to ensure the consistent application of
the procurement processes. Where Ministries use a Fairness Commissioner, they must
be engaged throughout the entire procurement process.

When developing the project procurement plan, Ministries must ensure that all of the
mandatory requirements of this Directive are addressed.

Procurement Directive July 2009 42


Ministries must also refer to MyOPS, Project Management Centre of Excellence
(PMCOE) and the Office of the Chief Corporate Information Officer intranet site for more
information on managing Large Projects in the OPS.

10.2 Separation of Design and Build in Procurement Process


For procurements that involve design and build phases, Ministries must separate these
phases in the procurement process. This can be accomplished by conducting a single
procurement with the build phase being subject to the successful completion of the
design phase or by conducting separate procurements.

Where Ministries determine it appropriate to conduct a single procurement, whereby the


same vendor would provide both design and build services, Ministries must validate the
satisfactory completion of the design phase before proceeding with the build phase.
Ministries must ensure that the procurement documents, especially the Agreement,
clearly outline the criteria by which satisfactory completion will be measured. Ministries
must consult with, and provide direction to, ministry legal counsel regarding the
appropriate completion and approval criteria for the procurement.

Ministries must ensure that appropriate design review and approval by the project
governance structure occurs prior to proceeding to the build stage.

Where Ministries conduct separate procurements for the design phase and the build
phase of a project, Ministries must determine whether or not the successful vendor(s) at
the design phase will be permitted to participate in the build stage and clearly indicate
this in the design phase procurement documents. As appropriate, Ministries are
encouraged to allow the successful design vendor(s) to bid on the build phase.

Ministries must provide full disclosure of the design and the design vendor(s) in the build
phase procurement documents including whether or not the successful design vendor(s)
are permitted to bid. Ministries must also ensure all interested vendors have access to
the same information made available to the successful design vendor(s). Ministries must
do this either through the procurement documents or other mechanisms such as a
reading room accessible to all vendors interested in responding to the procurement.

11 RESPONSIBILITIES

Management Board of Cabinet

i. Periodic review of this directive to ensure it continues to serve the government’s


procurement strategy.

ii. Approve unfunded and/or non-competitive procurements valued at $1M or more


and all procurements valued at $10M or more for Ministries.

iii. Approve non-competitive Consulting Services procurements valued at $1M or


more for Other Included Entities.

iv. Approve exemptions from the mandatory requirements contained in this Directive.

Procurement Directive July 2009 43


Minister of Government Services

i. Administer Ontario’s Trade Agreements.

ii. Periodically make recommendations to MBC on updating this Directive.

Ministers

i. Approve in writing, any submissions to TB/MBC.

ii. Approve in writing, in conjunction with the Deputy Head, the use of all non-
competitive procurement processes for Consulting Services irrespective of value
for Ministries.

iii. Approve in writing, in conjunction with the Deputy Head, Agreement ceiling price
increases for Consulting Services that would cause the total Agreement value to
reach or exceed $750,000.

iv. Approve in writing, in conjunction with the Deputy Head, the use of all non-
competitive procurement processes for Consulting Services valued at $100,000
and up to $1M or more for Other Included Entities.

Deputy Minister of Government Services

i. Support the Minister of Government Services in the administration of Ontario’s


Trade Agreements including receiving and directing complaints relating to Ontario's
Trade Agreements to the appropriate ministry or ministries for response and
resolution.

ii. Receive, consolidate and transmit procurement reports as required by Ontario's


Trade Agreements.

iii. Maintain appropriate procurement mechanisms including electronic tendering


systems as central common services to Ministries.

iv. Provide, on request, assistance to Ministries in the development of the appropriate


organization structures and processes to facilitate the planning, acquisition and
management of goods and services.

v. Sponsor and co-ordinate government wide initiatives to achieve improvements in


the planning, acquisition and management of goods and services.

vi. Publish and disseminate to Ministries policies and guidelines to enable the
government to achieve its objectives in the area of environmental procurement.

vii. Administer the disposal of all government owned movable assets and consumable
supplies except assets transferred between Ministries, consumable supplies
returned for credit or where specific legislation to the contrary exists.

viii. Evaluate the effectiveness of this Directive and make recommendations to


Management Board of Cabinet on required changes to this Directive.

Procurement Directive July 2009 44


ix. Negotiate, establish and maintain the corporate Contract for general purpose
charge/credit and travel cards on behalf of the government.

Deputy Minister of Finance

i. Maintain and enforce the controllership standards and guidelines for general
purpose charge/credit and travel cards on behalf of the government.

ii. Establish an appropriate organizational structure/process to verify, prior to Contract


award and annually for multi-year Contracts, the accuracy of declarations from
bidders made in accordance with Section 7.2 that their Ontario taxes are in good
standing.

iii. Apply any unpaid Contract proceeds to outstanding tax liabilities if a vendor
becomes non-compliant with the Ontario tax statutes during the term of a Contract.

Deputy Minister of Revenue

i. Designate a point of contact within the Ministry of Revenue for bidders to query
their tax status with the Ontario government and dealing with any vendor
complaints arising from application of the process.

Secretary of Management Board of Cabinet

i. Provide advice to the Management Board of Cabinet on ministry requests for any
required approval or exemption from the mandatory requirements of this directive.

Deputy Heads

i. Ensure compliance with the mandatory requirements of this Directive.

ii. Formally delegate the authority and responsibility for approvals concerning this
directive and the Purchasing Card to appropriate levels of management within the
ministry. This authority may not be delegated for non-competitive Consulting
Services procurements irrespective of value.

iii. Approve in writing, in conjunction with the Minister, the use of all non-competitive
Consulting Services procurement processes irrespective of value for Ministries.

iv. Approve in writing, in conjunction with the Minister, the use of all non-competitive
Consulting Services procurement processes valued at $100,000 and up to but not
including $1M for Other Included Entities.

v. Approve in writing, in conjunction with the Minister, any submissions to TB/MBC.

vi. Approve in writing, submissions to Supply Chain Leadership Council for goods,
non-consulting services and open competitive Consulting Services.

vii. Approve in writing, in conjunction with the Minister, submissions to Supply Chain
Leadership council for non-competitive Consulting Services.

Procurement Directive July 2009 45


viii. Establish appropriate ministry organization structures, systems, policies,
processes, procedures, including regular staff training, to enable the responsible
and effective management of the procurement of goods and services.

ix. Ensure ministry participation on the Supply Chain Leadership Council, as


requested by the Deputy Minister of Government Services.

x. As appropriate, provide approved mandatory central common services to Ministries


and administer, publish and disseminate policies and guidelines for the
management of any central common service which has been delegated to that
Deputy Head.

xi. Make employees aware of post-service restrictions regarding conflict of interest.

xii. Establish the appropriate controls and checks required for the integrity of the
Purchase Card process including appointing a Ministry Purchasing Card
Coordinator to act as liaison between employees, the Purchasing Card Service
Provider and the Ministry of Government Services.

xiii. Investigate and respond expeditiously to vendor and government complaints


arising from the obligations of Ontario's Trade Agreements.

xiv. Comply with all applicable enterprise-wide corporate information technology


standards approved by the Management Board of Cabinet.

xv. Approve the Consulting Services and Trade Agreement Reports prior to
submission to the Ministry of Government Services.

xvi. Approve in writing the use of follow-on Agreements for Consulting Services.

xvii. At the Deputy Head discretion, delegate authority to an appropriate ministry official
to approve the selected vendor and proposed Agreement for Consulting Services
valued at or above $100,000 and up to but not including $750,000.

xviii. Approve in writing the selected vendor and proposed Agreement for Consulting
Services valued at or above $750,000.

xix. At the Deputy Head discretion, delegate authority to an appropriate ministry official
of Agreement Ceiling Price Increases for Consulting Services valued at less than
$750,000.

xx. Approve in writing, in conjunction with the Minister, Agreement Ceiling Price
increases for Consulting Services that would cause the total Agreement value to
reach or exceed $750,000.

Supply Chain Leadership Council

i. Approve competitive funded procurements valued between $1M and up to but not
including $10M.

Procurement Directive July 2009 46


ii. Approve non-competitive Consulting Services valued between $500,000 and up to
but not including $1M.

iii. Provide advice to MBC on ministry requests for unfunded procurements, all
procurements valued at $10M or more, non-competitive procurements valued at
$1M or more, and exemptions from the mandatory requirements of this directive.

Cabinet Office

i. Approve the commissioning of all public opinion polls and market research studies
and all questions added on by a ministry to non-commissioned polls.

Procurement Directive July 2009 47


Appendix A - Central Common Services
Mandatory Service Description (if applicable) Supplier Ministry Division/Branch
(if applicable)
Advertising Includes advertising, public and media Government Services Advertising Review Board
relations and creative communication
services but not recruitment advertising
Air Transportation Provision/arrangement of non-scheduled Natural Resources Aviation and Forest Fire
air transportation or specialty air Management
transportation for authorized travel on
government business
Asset Disposal Disposal of movable assets (except Government Services Ontario Shared Services
vehicles), including government-owned General Administrative Services
computers
Common Applications and Enabling Software Services, Enterprise Government Services Office of the Corporate Chief
Services Common Application Services, and Infrastructure Technology
Components, Utilities and Tools Services Services, OCCIO
Computer Services Network, help desk, data centre, and Government Services Office of the Corporate Chief
server management. Infrastructure Technology
Services, OCCIO
Drugs and Related Medical Provision of drugs and related medical Health and Long-term Ontario Government
Supplies for Human Use supplies for use in the diagnosis, Care Pharmaceutical and Medical
treatment, mitigation or prevention of any Supply Services
disease, disorder, abnormal physical
state, or symptoms thereof in humans
and for restoring, correcting or modifying
any human organic function.
Financial Services As outlined in the OPC Financial Policies Government Services Ontario Shared Services
Financial Transaction Services
Government Contributions to Government Services Ontario Shared Services
Employee Benefit Plans Business Support Services
Government Motor and Acquisition, disposal and management Government Services Ontario Shared Services
Passenger Vehicles Supply Chain Management

Procurement Directive July 2009 48


Mandatory Service Description (if applicable) Supplier Ministry Division/Branch
(if applicable)
Government Telephone Production of government telephone Government Services ServiceOntario
Directory directory Access and Inquiry Services
Insurance and Risk Government Services Ontario Shared Services
Management Services General Administrative Services
Legal Services Acquisition of legal services Attorney General Legal Services
Media Purchase of space and time in the Government Services Advertising Review Board
domestic media
Non-Commissioned Opinion Non-commissioned polls are quantitative Government Services Communication Services
Polls public opinion surveys conducted
independently of the Ontario Government
by private organizations. The results of
such surveys, with or without questions
added by another party, might be
obtainable by a ministry or agency.
Payroll Services Provision of CORPAY system Government Services Ontario Shared Services
Business Support Services
Real Property and Realty advice and portfolio planning, Ontario Realty Corporation
Accommodation Services property management and client services,
transaction and project management
Recruitment Advertising Provision of recruitment advertising Government Services Centre for Leadership and
Human Resources Management
Statistics Canada Prescribed As prescribed by Agreement, Finance Economic and Revenue
Data memorandum of understanding, or Forecasting and Analysis
Sections 10 and 11 of the Statistics Act
Translation Services (1) Provincial statutes, regulations, and Attorney General Legislative Counsel
French language wills that affect interests
in land
Translation Services (2) Setting, maintaining, and distributing Government Services Ontario Shared Services
French official government terminology General Administrative Services
and providing guidelines on preferred
usage in French. Ministries must comply

Procurement Directive July 2009 49


Mandatory Service Description (if applicable) Supplier Ministry Division/Branch
(if applicable)
with the English-French and French-
English Translation and Proofreading
Services Operating Policy.
Travel Services Management of corporate Agreements for Government Services Ontario Shared Services
travel services including ticketed Supply Chain Management
transportation, accommodation and car
rental requirements

Voice Telecommunication Includes telephone (Centrex, PBX, Government Services Office of the Corporate Chief
equipment and services electronic key), voice processing Infrastructure Technology
(voicemail, audiotex, auto attendant, Services
interactive voice response), long distance
(inbound, outbound, calling card) and
other miscellaneous services (audio
conferencing, T-1)
Workforce Information Network Provision of Workforce Information Government Services Ontario Shared Services
Network Business Support Services

Optional Service Description (if applicable) Supplier Ministry Division/Branch


(if applicable)
Actuarial Services Government Services Human Resources Division
Mass Mailing Services Government Services Ontario Shared Services
General Administrative Services
Records Storage Government Services Archives of Ontario

Procurement Directive July 2009 50

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