Getting Work with the Federal Government: A Guide to Figuring out the Procurement Puzzle
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About this ebook
Marion Soublière
Marion Soublière is president of M.E.S. Editing and Writing Services (www.meseditingandwriting.com), and a veteran of the communications, journalism and public relations fields. Since 2007, she has been awarded standing offers with four Government of Canada departments/agencies and today contracts primarily to federal clients. She lives in Ottawa, Ontario.
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Book preview
Getting Work with the Federal Government - Marion Soublière
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. How the Federal Government Shops
• A $20-billion annual market
• Using the Internet to level the playing field
• Standing offers, supply arrangements and other purchasing methods
3. First, Answers to Common Questions
4. Where to Look for Contracts
• MERX
• Office of Small and Medium Enterprises
• PWGSC procurement officers and regional staff
• Departmental materiel managers and managers in your field
• Regional federal economic development agencies
• Firms that already have contracts / Temp agencies
• House of Commons and Senate
5. Getting Started
• The Supplier Registration Information service and the all-important Procurement Business Number
• Other supplier databases and procurement vehicles
SKU-000187292_TEXT-5.jpg Professional Services Online
SKU-000187292_TEXT-5.jpg SELECT
SKU-000187292_TEXT-5.jpg Task-Based Informatics Professional Services and Solutions-Based Informatics Professional Services
SKU-000187292_TEXT-5.jpg Cyber Protection Supply Arrangement
SKU-000187292_TEXT-5.jpg Task-Based and Solutions-Based Professional Services
SKU-000187292_TEXT-5.jpg In-Service Support Supply Arrangement
SKU-000187292_TEXT-5.jpg Learning Services
SKU-000187292_TEXT-5.jpg Professional Audit Support Services
SKU-000187292_TEXT-5.jpg Translation Bureau
SKU-000187292_TEXT-5.jpg Technical, Engineering and Maintenance Services
Supply Arrangement
• Seminars on doing business with the government
• Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business:
Set-asides
6. Preparing a Winning Proposal
• The more proposals you write, the easier it becomes
• Tips for bidders
7. Marketing Yourself
• The importance of having an Internet presence
• Do your research first
• Cold-call key government contacts
• Market yourself even after you’ve been awarded a standing offer
• Subcontract with other companies
• Take advantage of other federal programs
• Some final tips
8. Getting Government Security Clearance
• No clearance? No sweat
• The value of a secret clearance
9. Getting Work with Other Governments
• Tapping into other public sector markets in Canada and globally
10. Important Web Links
Appendix A
• Firms under the Temporary Help Services On-Line System (National Capital Region)
Chapter 1
Introduction
Since 2005, the Government of Canada mantra has been, Deliver services smarter, faster and at a reduced cost.
Accomplishing this means increasing the volume of business that government does with small and medium-sized business owners. The federal government already contracts considerable professional services to supplement the work being done by employees. It will likely do more of that as greater numbers of baby boomers retire from public service.
Industry Canada defines a small business as one with fewer than 100 employees, and a medium-sized business as one with less than 500 staff members.
Micro-businesses—those with only one to four employees—make up a huge proportion of all Canadian businesses. While about 98 per cent of the more than 2.3 million business establishments in Canada can be labelled as either a small or medium-sized firm, a full 57 per cent are micro-businesses.
This handbook is for the little guy. Specifically, for sole proprietors and other micro-businesses offering professional services that could assist the Government of Canada: informatics experts, auditors, business consultants, trainers, writers, editors, translators and others. Micro-businesses are tasked with doing everything to keep their companies afloat, including finding new clients and writing proposals. Yet they have no sales staff and little free time to research a mystifying government procurement process, a process that the Government of Canada vowed in its 2008 Speech from the Throne to make a top priority to fix.
I, too, was once baffled as to how to get contract work with the Canadian government, despite having lived in Ottawa for decades. But after scouring government Web sites and publications, attending business seminars and responding to government tenders, I finally won standing offer awards for English editing and writing services with four federal government departments/agencies. The majority of information in this handbook is publicly available from government Web sites and reports. Hopefully this handbook will save you some legwork as you head down the path toward federal government work.
I welcome all feedback and suggestions for improvements. Please send your comments to [email protected].
Marion Soublière
M.E.S. Editing and Writing Services
www.meseditingandwriting.com
Tip
Need contact info for a federal employee? Search the Government Electronic Directory Services (sage-geds.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca).
Chapter 2
How the Federal Government Shops
A $20-billion annual market
Each year, the Canadian government spends about $20 billion on goods and services.
That’s for everything from paper clips to tanks to professional services. This last category applies to all kinds of professionals: project managers, auditors, human resources consultants, programmer and systems analysts, application developers, writers, editors, architects, engineers, scientists, translators, researchers, technical support staff, benefits consultants, financial analysts, instructors, change management specialists, and many, many others.
It’s the role of Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) to shop on behalf of the Government of Canada, and in fact it does about 85 per cent of all the shopping—especially for goods. PWGSC buys on behalf of more than 100 departments and agencies, spending about $14 billion yearly on roughly 60,000 transactions. According to PWGSC’s 2010-2011 Report on Plans and Priorities, PWGSC spending reached a peak of about $18 billion in 2008-2009, with major military purchases spurring the bulk of the increase.
The majority of high-dollar federal contracts emanate from the National Capital Region. PWGSC also lends departments and agencies its spending savvy and expertise when they do their own shopping. Many departments and agencies buy services directly. PWGSC buys only about 18 per cent of the services required by its client departments and agencies.
In 2005, the federal budget introduced fundamental changes to help the Canadian government deliver its services smarter, faster and at a reduced cost, while showing improved accountability. It would spend taxpayers’ money more efficiently by increasing the volume of business done with small and medium-sized companies. The Government of Canada has to consider other factors as well when settling on a purchase, including government legislation and rules, internal and international trade agreements, environmental responsibility, socio-economic benefits, and accessibility for Aboriginal companies.
Tip
A key Web site not to be missed is Contracts Canada’s site (www.contractscanada.gc.ca), completely revamped as of April 2010.
Delivering services smarter, faster and at a reduced cost hinged on leaving behind the fractured department-by-department habit of buying, and adopting a government-wide procurement approach that consolidates the purchasing requirements of departments. An ambitious PWGSC procurement transformation strategy emphasized ever-greater use of electronic