2. Chapter 2 - Defining the Requirement and Requisition Receipt

1. Defining the requirements of a procurement is the cornerstone of a successful procurement process. The contracting officer must understand completely what he/she is about to procure. There are many aspects to consider.
2. When defining the requirement, client departments must keep in mind not only the goods and services needed, but also the legal framework regulating the goods and services being procured (see 1.15 The Legal Framework of Contracting). Client departments can save significant time and money if there is a clear and well-prepared description of what is required. Early involvement of Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) contracting officers in the process can help achieve this.
3. Identifying the needs and carefully developing the requirements at the earliest stages of requirements definition are the greatest contribution in obtaining the right good or service and best price, and can minimize the need for changes later.
4. Requirements are best defined in a manner that allows competition and ensures best value. Contracting officers may be able to suggest wording, which defines requirements in terms of operational requirements rather than using brand names or proprietary technical specifications.
5. PWGSC can help client departments identify special requirements related to green procurement, security, progress reports, special packaging, transportation, bonding, etc. that suppliers may need to address in their bids.
6. The contracting officer and the client department must work together to ensure that all concerns are addressed from the beginning of the process to receipt of the final deliverable.
7. Writing clear and concise contractual documents, using the right words and plain language, is the best method to adopt, to obtain satisfaction and avoid disputes.
8. For more information on the requirements definition, consult the Statement of Work Guide (available on GCpedia - Acquisitions Program Policy Suite - Procurement Process).

Government departments and agencies are guided in the management of projects by Treasury Board (TB) Policies and Guidelines addressing ARCHIVED - Project Approval Policy and ARCHIVED - Project Management Policy. For projects that require TB approval, consideration should be given to requesting advance approval to enter into contract, along with the applicable project approval submissions. Working closely with the client at the program development stage, advance approvals may be possible, saving time and effort.

A number of special procurements require a different approach when handling the requirement. On receipt of a requisition relating to any of the following programs, the contracting officer should review Chapter 9 - Special Procurements before proceeding further.

1. Real Property Contracting;
2. Purchases from CORCAN;
3. United States Foreign Military Sales;
4. Co-operative Logistics (COLOG) and Blanket Order Cases with the United States Department of Defence;
5. Use of the Defence Production Revolving Fund and Loan Account;
6. Canadian Commercial Corporation;
7. Major Crown Projects;
8. Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business;
9. Comprehensive Land Claims Agreements;
10. Public – Private Partnership (P3) procurements.

It is the mandate of Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) to provide services to departments, boards and agencies of the Government of Canada or to Crown Corporations. Section 16 of the Public Works and Government Services Canada Act further allows PWGSC to make its services available with the approval of the Governor in Council to any government, body or person in Canada, or elsewhere, if so requested by them. This means that the Act permits PWGSC to obtain an order in council to allow it to provide services, such as the procurement of goods and services, to entities that are not part of the Government of Canada. Contracting officers must consult Legal Services when they receive such a request. An agreement must be established between the entity, PWGSC and Legal Services to help with the preparation of the required order in council.

1. Canada has contractual, statutory and common-law obligations to consult and, where appropriate accommodate, when Canada contemplates conduct that might adversely impact potential or established aboriginal and treaty rights.
2. The common law duty to consult is based on judicial interpretation of Canada’s obligations in the context of existing aboriginal and treaty rights, recognized and affirmed in section 35 of the Constitution Act 1982.
3. All federal departments and agencies are required to comply with the legal duty to consult.
4. Whenever a procurement may impact on potential or established aboriginal and treaty rights:
   1. It is the clients’ responsibility to comply with the legal duty to consult and, where appropriate, accommodate when the proposed activity, to which the procurement relates, may adversely impact on potential or established aboriginal or treaty rights. Proposed activities could be approvals of natural resource development projects, land transactions, road construction, pipeline routes, etc.
   2. Accommodation measures may include a range of possibilities, such as: adjusting an activity; placing terms and conditions on approvals or authorizations; financial compensation; inclusion of Aboriginal benefits as part of the procurement strategy, etc.
   3. The consultation process should take place prior to the client sending the requisition to Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), as consultation and accommodation may impact the procurement strategy as a whole, including the statement of work, procurement process timeline, funding, approval level required and even the decision to proceed with the proposed activity.
   4. The contracting officer should remind the client of its obligation to consult and accommodate and encourage the client to undertake consultation with Aboriginal groups, where required.
   5. If the client asks the contracting officer to be present during the consultation process, the contracting officer may do so as an observer, or by limiting its role to providing information on the proposed procurement process. The contracting officer should not get involved in any negotiation of the procurement strategy.
5. For further information on consultation and accommodation, clients should refer to the Government of Canada Updated Guidelines for Federal Officials to Fulfill the Duty to Consult.
6. Consultation-related queries can be sent to Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada at cau-uca@aandc-aadnc.gc.ca.
7. Clients can also find more information by consulting the Aboriginal and Treaty Rights Information System on the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada’s website.

1. The Government of Canada is committed to implementing the Policy on Green Procurement. This is to ensure that the government cost effectively procures, operates and disposes of its assets in a manner that protects the environment and supports sustainable development objectives. This policy is all encompassing and it applies across all four stages of the procurement process, from planning and acquisition through use and disposal.
2. The contracting officer, in assisting a client with the needs definition process, should analyze with the client what opportunities may exist to support their obligations, as well as their departmental targets related to green procurement. A key consideration is whether it is actually necessary to make the new purchase. Ultimately, avoiding a purchase will be the most environmentally preferable and economical option.
3. Some key considerations in defining the requirement are to:
   1. evaluate the need, utilization and scale of the procurement, and reduce the need if possible;
   2. determine that the quantity requested is appropriate and definitely will be used (the feasibility of short term leasing, renting or sharing of the good should be investigated);
   3. inquire as to whether or not the requirement could be satisfied internally, through a different division or section of the organization or through government surplus supplies;
   4. combine the requirement, if appropriate, with one or several other departments to take advantage of economies of scale, to reduce packaging and to save other resources.
4. See Annex 2.2: Green Procurement: Environmental Factors and Evaluation Indicators for factors and indicators that will aid the client in managing the resource, from planning to disposal.
5. More information can be found in the Environmental Awareness Tool Kit under the Green Procurement Considerations in the Planning Phase, and in section 2, Planning and Identifying Requirements of the Guideline for Integration of Environmental Performance Considerations in Federal Government Procurement.
6. Planning and Identifying Requirements will provide help in terms of planning and identifying environmental requirements to reduce or eliminate impacts on the environment.
7. The Green Procurement Tools Web site includes valuable information such as the Completed Green Procurement Plans and the related templates, a list of green standing offers (SO), supply arrangements (SA) and contracts and a repertoire of existing contracting language related to green procurement.
8. For commodities under the Commodity Management Policy, contracting officers must develop a green procurement plan, and procurements must be conducted in accordance with this plan.

Contracting officers who receive a requisition that may be subject to Comprehensive Land Claims Agreements (CLCAs) must refer to 9.35 Comprehensive Land Claims Agreements (CLCAs) for information on the CLCA obligations that have to be addressed during the procurement process.

Client departments are invited to engage with PWGSC contracting officers early in the process. This engagement may focus on different topics and may include various levels of engagement. It may be long before a signed requisition is received within PWGSC.

The early engagement with industry may also take many forms, such as issuing Letters of Interest (LOIs), Requests for Information (RFIs), one-on-one consultations with suppliers, the holding of industry days, etc. By engaging clients and suppliers through early and ongoing consultation and dialogue, contracting officers are better situated to identify the various complexities and risks associated with a client’s requirement, enabling the development of mitigation strategies. Acquiring the knowledge of the requirement and its related complexities and risk better positions all stakeholders for a successful procurement that meets the client’s needs.

Various tools are available to facilitate this early engagement. Some are listed below:

• The Acquisitions Program Policy Suite, which provides policy instruments on topics such as engagement and communications, governance, socio-economic objectives, risk management, etc. located on GCpedia on the Acquisitions Program Policy Suite page.
• The Procurement Library, which includes the Complexity Assessment tools as well as copies of Risk Assessments for Complexity Levels 1 through 3 inclusive in PDF format. The Procurement Library is available to PWGSC Acquisitions Branch employees only, and is available on the shared drive.
• The Procurement Nuggets, which provide quick references on various procurement issues, located on GCpedia on the Procurement Information Nuggets tab of the Acquisitions Program Policy Directorate (APPD) page.

1. Client departments must complete the Requisition for Goods and Services and Construction form PWGSC-TPSGC 9200, and submit it to a PWGSC Allocation Unit (AU). The client Requisition Checklist PWGSC-TPSGC 195 is a tool that can assist client departments in completing the requisition and in determining the required supporting documents.
2. Client departments must submit completed requisitions to the AU by e-mail, fax or mail, although e-mail is the preferred format. Contracting officers who receive a requisition directly from the client must forward it to the AU and inform the client department of the procedures to follow. The AU will acknowledge receipt of a requisition to the client department within one business day for electronically (e-mail) submitted requisitions, and within two business days for hard copy (fax/mail) submitted requisitions. While processing the requisition, the AU will vet the requisition received against the mandatory requirements and contact the client for any missing information as detailed in Requisition Checklist PWGSC-TPSGC 195. Only when all mandatory information is received, will the AU allocate the requisition to the appropriate contracting area.
3. Within five business days of an acquisitions office's receipt of a requisition from an allocations unit, the responsible contracting officer must advise the client department that he/she has been allocated the requisition and provide the client department with his/her contact information.

1. At times it is necessary to separate a client's requirement as it will be procured by two different procurement groups. In this instance, the main contracting officer will create an extract file.
2. The main file holder (the original contracting officer) must:
   
   1. procure items not extracted;
   2. control requisition funds;
   3. act as the coordinator for client enquiries;
   4. ensure that all procurement actions under extracted files are completed;
   5. record commitments on extracted items;
   6. request additional funds from the client, if required;
   7. process all invoices for payment by the client, and
   8. close the file once the procurement is complete.
3. The extract file holder (the contracting officer who received the extract file) must:
   
   1. procure the assigned items;
   2. request funds from the main file holder after the total funding requirement has been identified;
   3. ensure that funds have been allotted before contract award;
   4. obtain the contract number from the main file holder before contract award, if the procurement is done outside of ABE, and
   5. forward to the main file holder copies of all contracts and amendments issued against an extract file, if the procurement is done outside of ABE.

1. A price and availability ( P&A) enquiry is generally received from the client and handled in the same manner as any requisition. A P&A enquiry is prepared and sent to suppliers to obtain information concerning approximate prices and availability of specific goods or services. It is used when such information is needed by PWGSC or by a client for program planning or budgetary purposes. A P&A enquiry could be made directly to selected suppliers or it may be publicly posted on the Government Electronic Tendering Service (GETS).
2. P&A enquiries sent to suppliers, or posted on the Government Electronic Tendering Service, must clearly indicate that the request is not a bid solicitation and that there are no commitments with respect to future purchases or contracts.

Clients may request or the contracting officer may propose that a Request for Information (RFI) or a Letter of Interest (LOI) be issued to obtain feedback from industry, before finalizing the requirements definition or procurement strategy. Additional information on the RFI/LOI process may be found in 4.5.5 Request for Information or Letter of Interest.

1. When contracting for the services of individuals, including temporary help, contracting officers should carefully review the circumstances in order to avoid establishing an employer-employee relationship which would be contrary to or in conflict with the Public Service Employment Act and common law principles dealing with employer-employee relationships.
2. As per sections 4.1.9(e)and 16.3 Employer-employee relationships of the Treasury Board Contracting Policy, contracting officers must ensure that an employer-employee relationship will not result when contracting for the services of individuals.
3. Criteria for assessing an employer-employee relationship have been established by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and pertinent court rulings. For guidance, seek legal advice or consult the CRA publication RC 4110, Employee or Self-Employed?. If there is any uncertainty, the contract should be signed at a level higher than the individual who would normally approve the initial entry into the contract.
4. Legal advice should be sought where it is not feasible for contracting officers to determine whether a contract is a contract for services or a contract of employment (i.e. employment status is not easily identifiable). It is ultimately the responsibility of the contracting officer to ensure that contracts do not create employer-employee relationships.

1. Contracting officers must review all requisitions for completeness in accordance with Annex 2.1 Requisition Review before procurement action can proceed.
2. Issues must be resolved through consultation between the client and the contracting officer. Example of issues are as follows:
   1. if a requirement is not clearly defined, then the client must be encouraged and helped to define the objectives and the performance criteria to be met. The client must be encouraged to use generic or performance specifications;
   2. any unreasonable delivery requirements or unrealistic delivery dates should be discussed;
   3. if the sole source justification provided by the client is inadequate, then the contracting officer should seek further justification. If the request cannot be substantiated to the satisfaction of the contracting officer, then the contracting officer must advise the client that the procurement will be competed, and
   4. for justified sole source requirements, the contracting officer should work with the client to develop responses to Annex 3.1 Treasury Board Questions for Sole Source. For more information on this process, see 3.15 Non-competitive Contracting Process.

Public Works and Government Services (PWGSC) is sometimes asked to process requirements when the procurement process was initiated by client departments (e.g. sourcing, bidding, evaluation, selection). The client department remains responsible for all of their actions, which may or may not be in compliance with TB or PWGSC policies or applicable legislation. PWGSC will attempt to mitigate risks associated with such a requirement; however, the client department will remain responsible even if PWGSC agrees to continue or restart the procurement process. To reduce the risk of complaints and challenges associated with these procurements, the following procedures must be followed:

1. Upon receipt of a requisition for a contract or contract amendment, where the client has already taken certain steps in the procurement process, the contracting officer must alert the manager to the situation.
2. The contracting officer will review the procurement process already initiated by the client, to identify any deviations from standard practice or policy. The contracting officer must develop a clear understanding of all procurement-related activities that have been completed, including whether a contract has been awarded or the supplier has been given the go-ahead to commence work. Where a contract has been awarded, or the supplier authorized to proceed with the work, 2.75 Confirming Orders and Contracts Involving Pre-contractual Work will apply.
3. In the event that some of the actions of the procurement process initiated by client departments do not adhere to the established supply policy guidelines, PWGSC may have to restart the procurement process. Whenever a contracting officer must act in a way not clearly set out in this Manual, integrity and its supporting principles provide necessary guidance (see 1.10.5 Guiding Principles).

For information on ratification by Treasury Board, please refer to section 6.30.1 Ratification by Treasury Board.

1. PWGSC does not normally place contracts to confirm the actions of departments or agencies. The practice of providing such service to client departments should be discouraged to the maximum extent practical. However, it may be necessary for PWGSC to become involved because of its exclusive goods procurement authority. PWGSC may have some value to add in processing confirming orders when the work is complete.
2. Requests for confirming orders must be evaluated and processed on the basis of the circumstances surrounding each instance. Where the request is the result of attempts to circumvent normal procurement procedures, return of the request to the client department should be a prime consideration.
3. When the work has been completed, Legal Services will prepare a confirming order that will contain only the information necessary to document the transaction, which includes the parties, the work performed, the dates, the amount, a release and, if required, a transfer of intellectual property rights. The appropriate director or higher authority, as determined by the contract value and non-competitive contract approval authority limits, must approve the confirming orders processed by PWGSC.
4. The client department will remain liable for any complaints resulting from their actions.
5. For information on attaining approval for contracts involving pre-contractual work, see 6.30.10 Confirming Orders and Contracts Involving Pre-contractual Work.