Departmental Plain Language Standard Procurement Documents for the Acquisition of Goods or Services

We have written the documents on this Web site for Government of Canada contracting officers to use.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Purpose
• Background – The Importance of the Initiative for the Department
• Consultation
• Policy Implication
• Objectives and Types of Procurement that are concerned
• Bid solicitation and Resulting Contract
  • Low Dollar Value Requirements below $25K (including applicable taxes)
  • Medium Complexity Requirements
  • Higher Complexity Requirements
• Request for Standing Offers
• Request for Supply Arrangements
• The Documents – What Are They?
• The Documents – Where Do They Reside?
  • Low Dollar Value (LDV)
  • Medium Complexity
  • Request for Standing Offers
• Reference Tools
  • Examples
  • Origin of the new instructions and conditions
  • Comparative Charts
  • Frequently Asked Questions
• Synopsis of changes
• Next Steps
• Contact

Introduction

The development of the Plain Language Standard Procurement documents is an ongoing initiative whose objectives are to standardize procurement terminology, simplify the language, and ensure more uniformity in acquisition documents issued by the Department.

Purpose

The purpose of this website is to:

1. provide an overview of the plain language initiative and the key elements to consider in putting this policy into actual practice;
2. provide assistance in the use and application of the plain language documents.

Background - The Importance of the Initiative for the Department

The Acquisitions Business Plan identifies the development of the Departmental Plain Language Standard Procurement documents as a key initiative in support of departmental priorities.

PN-79: Departmental Plain Language Standard Procurement Documents: Standing Offer – Goods or Services has been promulgated on July 10, 2006 and is available at the following URL address: http://www.pwgsc.gc.ca/acquisitions/text/pns/pn79-e.html

PN-71: Departmental Plain Language Standard Procurement Documents: Low Dollar Value and Medium Complexity Requirements promulgated on March 31, 2005 (now archived as Historical Policy Notification) is available at the following URL address: http://www.pwgsc.gc.ca/acquisitions/text/pns/pn71-e.html

Consultation

The plain language working group, comprised of representatives from the Procurement Process Tools Division and Legal Services, has led this initiative and dealt with a wide spectrum of procurement issues with input from various stakeholders including Acquisition Branch representatives.

Policy Implication

Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) has implemented Departmental Plain Language Standard Procurement documents for use by its contracting officers for competitive and non competitive procurement of goods, services or both, excluding Construction and Architectural and Engineering (A&E) requirements. The plain language documents consist of:

1. templates for Bid Solicitation and Resulting Contract for Low Dollar Value (LDV) and Medium Complexity requirements;
2. template for Request for Standing Offers;
3. standard instructions 2003 (for LDV and Medium Complexity requirements) and 2006 (for Request for Standing Offers);
4. general conditions 2005 (for Standing Offers), 2029 (for LDV requirements) and 2010 (for Medium Complexity requirements).

The policy on the Departmental Plain Language Standard Procurement documents is available in chapter 6 of the Supply Manual (SM), section 6E.643. The Supply Manual will be modified in December 2006 to incorporate PN-79. The documents and procedures are available in the Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions (SACC) Manual and on this site.

Objectives and Types of Procurement that are concerned

The objectives of this initiative are to (1) standardize procurement terminology, (2) simplify the language and (3) ensure more consistency and uniformity in acquisition documents issued by the Department (e.g. "common look and feel"). In order to meet the objectives, a requirement for templates has been identified for bid solicitations and contracts, standing offers, and supply arrangements for competitive and non-competitive procurement of goods, services or both.

Major Crown Projects and requirements where standard terms and conditions are generally not applicable and where contracting is completely a forward-looking strategic pursuit of solutions (some information management/information technology (IM/IT), secure channel, Government of Canada Marketplace (GoCM), Maritime Helicopters Project (MHP), etc.) are not covered by this initiative.

Bid Solicitation and Resulting Contract

Three different types of bid solicitation for competitive and non-competitive procurement for goods or services have been identified:

1. Low Dollar Value Requirements below $25K (including applicable taxes);
2. Medium Complexity Requirements; and
3. Higher Complexity Requirements.

At this stage, the Bid Solicitation and Resulting Contract templates, standard instructions and general conditions for LDV and Medium Complexity requirements have been developed. Documents for Higher Complexity requirements are under development.

The three (3) tables below provide details on the requirements that are "Included" and "Excluded". Those tables should be used as a starting point in establishing if a procurement is subject to this initiative. The third table is currently provided for your information as the documents are under development.

1. Low Dollar Value Requirements below $25K (including applicable taxes)

2. Medium Complexity Requirements

3. Higher Complexity Requirements (under development)

Request for Standing Offers

Effective August 15, 2006, PWGSC contracting officers must use the Departmental Plain Language Standard Procurement documents for the issuance of Standing Offers for goods, services or both.

The requirements for the Standing Offer (SO) method of supply are defined in the Supply Manual, chapter 5 (procedures 5.153 to 5.188).

The table below provides details on the requirements that are " Included" and " Excluded".

Request for Supply Arrangements

The Plain Language Working Group will review and develop standard procurement documents (e.g. plain language template, standard instructions and general conditions) for supply arrangements.

The Documents - What are they?

In order to maintain a "common look and feel" for the Department’s procurement documents, the order and content of these templates must not be changed except where indicated.

The templates contain multiple self-explanatory remarks and references to guide the users.

The documents for LDV and Medium Complexity requirements consist of bid solicitation and resulting contract templates, standard instructions and general conditions for competitive and non-competitive requirements for goods, services or both as identified in the table below.

* Standard Instructions and Conditions 9403 and 9403-5 remain active in the SACC Manual for use with requirements other than LDV and Medium Complexity requirements. General Conditions 9628, 9329 and 9601-10 were canceled June 10, 2005.

The table below identifies the new Plain Language documents for the Request for Standing Offers for competitive and non-competitive requirements for goods, services or both.

*Standard Instructions and Conditions – Standing Offers 9403-6 were canceled in the SACC Manual as of August 15, 2006. Parts A and B of 9403-6 are replaced by 2006 and 2005 respectively. Part C of 9403-6 is contained in general conditions 2029 and 2010 and was incorporated in the modified general conditions (2006-08-15) 9601, 9676 and 9624.

The Documents - Where do they reside?

The Standard Instructions, General Conditions and templates are available in the SACC Manual and on this site.

These various plain language documents, examples and reference tools may be accessed as follows:

(1) Low Dollar Value (LDV) - documents for competitive and non-competitive requirements for goods or services are as follows:

2003 Standard Instructions and Conditions – Goods or Services
Refer to: SACC Section 1 – Standard Instructions 2003

2T-Proc 1 Procedures for using the Low Dollar Value and Medium Complexity templates
Refer to: SACC Section 2 – 2T-PROC 1

2T-LDV1 Low Dollar Value Bid Solicitation and Resulting Contract template – Goods or Services
Refer to: SACC Section 2 – 2T-LDV1

• PDF Version ( 112k B )
• Word Pro Version ( 50k B )
• MS Word Version ( 54k B )
• Word Perfect Version ( 106k B )

2029 General Conditions – Goods or Services (LDV)
Refer to: SACC Section 3 – Condition 2029

(2) Medium Complexity - documents for competitive and non-competitive requirements for goods or services are as follows:

2003 Standard Instructions and Conditions – Goods or Services
Refer to: SACC Section 1 – Standard Instructions 2003

2T-Proc 1 Procedures for using the Low Dollar Value and Medium Complexity templates  
Refer to: SACC Section 2 – 2T-PROC 1

2T-MED1 Medium Complexity Bid Solicitation and Resulting Contract template – Goods or Services
Refer to: SACC Section 2 – 2T-MED1

• PDF Version ( 135k B )
• Word Pro Version ( 75k B )
• MS Word Version ( 82k B )
• Word Perfect Version ( 120k B )

2010 General Conditions – Goods or Services (Medium Complexity)
Refer to: SACC Section 3 – Condition 2010

(3) Request for Standing Offers (RFSO) - documents for competitive and non-competitive requirements for goods or services are as follows:

2006 Standard Instructions – Request for Standing Offers – Goods or Services
Refer to: SACC Section 1 – Standard Instructions 2006

2T-Proc 2 Procedures for using the Request for Standing Offers Template – Goods or Services
Refer to: SACC Section 2 – 2T-PROC 2

2T-RFSO1 Request for Standing Offers template – Goods or Services
Refer to: SACC Section 2 – 2T-RFSO1

• PDF Version ( 75k B )
• Word Pro Version ( 175k B )
• MS Word Version ( 135k B )
• Word Perfect Version ( 90k B )

2005 General Conditions – Standing Offers - Goods or Services
Refer to: SACC Section 3 – General Conditions 2005

Reference Tools

Examples

• Low Dollar Value Bid Solicitation and Resulting contract – Goods and Services
• Medium Complexity Bid Solicitation and Resulting Contract - Goods and Service

Origin of the new instructions and conditions

The reference documents below provide the origin for each section contained in the new Standard Instructions (2003 and 2006) and General Conditions (2029, 2010 and 2005) as well as key comments on some sections. The reference documents are for information purposes only and will not be updated to reflect changes made to the standard instructions and general conditions.

• 2003 (2005-06-10) Standard Instructions - Goods or Services
  For Low Dollar Value (LDV) and Medium Complexity, Competitive and Non-Competitive requirements - Goods or Services
• 2006 (2006-08-15) Standard Instructions – Request for Standing Offers – Goods or Services
  For Request for Standing Offer, Competitive and Non-Competitive requirements - Goods or Services
• 2029 (2005-06-10) General Conditions - Goods or Services (Low Dollar Value)
  For Low Dollar Value (LDV), Competitive and Non-Competitive Requirements - Goods or Services
• 2010 (2005-06-10) General Conditions - Goods or Services (Medium Complexity)
  For Medium Complexity, Competitive and Non-Competitive Requirements - Goods or Services
• 2005 (2006-08-15) General Conditions – Standing Offer – Goods or Services
  For Standing Offers, Competitive and Non-Competitive Requirements – Goods or Services

Comparative Charts:

Refer to the "comparative charts" for various general conditions. These reference documents provide a comparison of various general conditions with the general conditions 2029 and 2010 (version 2005-06-10).

• 9601-10 (Comparison of 9601-10 with 2029&2010)
• 9601 (Comparison of 9601 with 2029 & 2010)
• 9624 (Comparison of 9624 with 2029 & 2010)
• 9676 (Comparison of 9676 with 2029 & 2010)

Synopsis of changes

Changes made to the current version of the templates, standard instructions (2003 and 2006) and general conditions (2029, 2010 and 2005) are documented in the SACC Manual under Synopsis. Refer to: SACC Manual Synopsis.

Next Steps

Procurement Process Tools Division is responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the Departmental Plain Language Standard Procurement documents, the standard instructions and the general conditions. All modifications to these documents will be published in future releases of the SACC Manual and will also be available on this site.

Contact

Please direct inquiries to Gaëtane Dagenais, Procurement Process Tools Division gaëtane.dagenais@pwgsc.gc.ca.