Effective: April 1, 2016

Applicable FAM Policies: 705 - Procurement

Applicability: GNWT Departments and Public Agencies

A formal request for tenders (RFT) or request for proposals (RFPs) must be issued in accordance with the policies and procedures established by the Government and as prescribed in the Government Contract Regulations. All public sector procurement should be carried out in an open, transparent, fair, consistent, efficient and appropriate manner.

Competitive contracts requirements are further outlined in the GNWT Procurement Guidelines.

INTERPRETATION

Mandatory Contract Terms

Service contracts must contain the written condition that the Government is not liable for remitting source deductions (including income tax, CPP, EI and WSCC premiums) relating to payments made to the contractor.

Contracts must contain an indemnification clause in which the contractor indemnifies the Government against any third party claim arising out of the contractor's performance of the contract. The GNWT Procurement Procedures Manual provides the standard wording to be used under Indemnification and Insurance Requirements. A request to delete or amend the indemnification clause must be submitted to the Manager, Risk Management & Insurance to assess the risk in the proposed contract including any reference for legal review.

All contracts must contain terms and conditions that ensure adequate insurance coverage by the contractor. The requirement for insurance coverage by a contractor may be waived by the Manager, Risk Management & Insurance, Department of Finance, who shall assess the risk in the proposed contract before approving or rejecting a waiver request.

Standardized contract terms and conditions previously considered by the Department of Justice must be applied, notwithstanding any non-standard contractual requirements for which departments/agencies must seek legal advice from the Department of Justice for contracts greater than $50,000.

Multi-year contracts must clearly state the requirement for an expenditure in a subsequent fiscal year.

Request for Tender

• Evaluation

Tenders are evaluated with the objective of accepting the lowest-priced competent tender without negotiations. 

• Content

Detailed specifications for the work of the contract should be provided further to clearly stated criteria.

Request for Proposal

• Evaluation

Proposals are evaluated in a predetermined manner according to a predetermined formula including price and at least one other criterion specified in a written RFP. A contract should be awarded to the responsive tender which potentially will provide the best value to the GNWT.

• Content

The following minimum items should be included:

A Project Description (Terms of Reference) including:

• the purpose of the work, i.e., a very brief general description of the end product;
• the scope of work, i.e., a very brief general statement of the extent of the work;
• the project circumstances, e.g., location, constraints, unusual conditions, etc.;
• investigations and examinations to be conducted by the successful Proponent;
• relevant policies, standards and requirements, e.g., protocol and confidentiality requirements;
• GNWT resources to be made available to the successful Proponent, e.g., personnel, support services and information;
• a time schedule for completion of each stage of the work;
• the requirements for progress reporting, interim approval, final acceptance of the work and the financial controls to be applied by the Government; and,
• instructions to the Proponent.

A description of information to be provided:

• names, qualifications and locations of proposed personnel and their responsibilities in the work of the contract;
• resources to be assigned or made available to the project;
• list of subcontractors and their qualifications and locations;
• proposed methodology or approach to the work of the contract;
• descriptions of relevant work on similar projects and a client list;
• proposed project schedule with comments if varied from the schedule called for;
• hourly personnel rates, estimated total fees and expenses with an explanation; and,
• head and branch office locations and proposed work performance locations.

Required Proposal Content and Manner of Evaluation, including:

• a full description of content and format expectations;
• criteria and formulae to be used in evaluating proposals;
• submission acceptance closing time and location; and,
• statements of critical project requirements and specifications, e.g., "If the Proponent cannot meet stipulated schedule deadlines, it would not be
  appropriate to submit a proposal." 

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