How the Task and Solutions Professional Services Method of Supply works

The following information is provided for both our federal department clients and suppliers to better understand the Task and Solutions Professional Services (TSPS) method of supply.

Introduction

• TSPS is the mandatory method of supply for non-IT professional services requirements at or above the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) threshold.
• Its categories are identical to those it shares with the ProServices method of supply, but in all cases of contracting via a supply arrangement at or above the NAFTA threshold, TSPS remains the mandatory method of supply. For requirements below the NAFTA threshold, please visit ProServices.
• TSPS is made up of:
  • A Task-Based Supply Arrangement, category-based and divided into two tiers: Tier 1 for requirements valued at or above NAFTA and up to 2 million, and Tier 2 for requirements above 2 million.
  • A Task-Based Standing Offer, category-based, for requirements with a very low complexity up to 250K.
  • A Solutions-Based Supply Arrangement, stream-based and divided into two tiers: Tier 1 for requirements valued at or above NAFTA and up to 2 million, and Tier 2 for requirements valued above 2 million.
• Supply Arrangements (SA’s) allow our client departments to solicit bids from a pool of pre-qualified suppliers for specific requirements. For more information please visit Buy and Sell’s Supply Arrangements page.
• Standing Offers (SO’s) allow our client departments to issue call-ups via a Right of First Refusal (ROFR) list based on set per diem rates. For more information please visit Buy and Sell’s Standing Offers page.
• A task-based requirement is related to a particular service category required to address a specific need and is usually associated with a specified set of responsibilities. A task involves a specific start date, a specific end date, and set deliverables. Tasks are usually not large projects, although they may be subsets of a larger project.
• In a solutions-based requirement, a supplier defines and provides a solution to a client’s requirement, manages the overall solution, phase or project, and accepts responsibility for the outcome.

Pre-Qualifying Suppliers

• Suppliers interested in becoming pre-qualified with TSPS must download and respond to our Request For Supply Arrangement / Standing Offer (RFSA/RFSO) for Task-Based requirements and/or our Request for Supply Arrangement (RFSA) for Solutions-Based requirements. When solicitations are open, links to both notices can be found on the Task and Solutions Professional Services web page.
• The online portion of a supplier's bid response is submitted via the Supplier Module of the Centralized Professional Services System (CPSS) ePortal.
• After a solicitation close date, the TSPS Procurement Team enters into an evaluation period. At the end of the evaluation period, supply arrangement (SAs) and/or a standing offers (SO) will be awarded to suppliers who successfully meet the evaluation criteria.
• All SAs and SOs are replaced when a re-competition solicitation occurs.
• In between re-competitions, refresh periods are available. During these refresh periods, New Bidders may bid to be awarded a SA, or Existing Suppliers may bid to add additional categories or streams to their existing SA.
• Neither a SA nor a SO is a contract and neither party is legally bound as a result of signing a SA and/or SO alone.

Client Contracting Via The Task and Solutions Professional Services Supply Arrangement

• Using the Centralized Professional Services System (CPSS) ePortal, federal department clients search for pre-qualified suppliers that meet their requirements (e.g. category/categories/stream, security status, aboriginal supplier, location of services, etc.) Online Enrolment Instructions for Clients are available in order to get access to training and obtain a User ID for CPSS.
• Important: searches performed within the CPSS ePortal – Client Module are the only acceptable manner in which to contract using the TSPS supply arrangement. A search via CPSS is mandatory to make sure that a given supplier has been pre-qualified against the specific category/categories/stream for your requirement.
• After choosing the TSPS option in the Search Module of CPSS, the Federal Department Client is presented with an optional questionnaire to aid in the determination of how best to proceed (either via supply arrangement or standing offer).
• The search return will list all pre-qualified suppliers who meet the searched-for requirements alphabetically by legal name. Depending on tier and requirement, Federal Department Clients must then proceed via the Bid Solicitation processes as described in either Part B of the Task-Based SA or Part B of the Solutions-Based SA, as applicable.
• A sample and all-purpose Request for Proposal (RFP) template is available to our Federal Department Clients via the Templates page, but the TSPS Procurement Team does not maintain detailed examples of category-specific RFPs.
• A Task-Based RFP must include the applicable Flexible Grid for any and all categories being sought as part of the Mandatory Criteria.

Client Call-Ups Via The Task and Solutions Professional Services Standing Offer

• Using the Centralized Professional Services System (CPSS) ePortal, federal department clients search for pre-qualified suppliers (i.e. “Offerors”) that meet their requirements (category/categories, security status, aboriginal supplier, location of services, etc.)
• The search return will list all Offerors who meet the searched-for requirements in a Right of First Refusal list, based on per diem rates.
• Federal Department Clients must then proceed via the Call-Up Procedures as described in Part B of the Standing Offer
• Client are required to use an Availability Confirmation Form (ACF) when inviting Offerors to submit a response. The ACF can be found on the Templates page. No other version of the form may be used under the SO.
• Additional mandatory criteria cannot be added. Use of additional mandatory criteria beyond the Flexible Grid necessitate the use of the supply arrangement.
• Resumes of the proposed resources are not to be submitted with the Offerors' responses. The information for evaluation submitted by the Offerors will be contained within the ACF.

Task and Solutions Professional Services Contract And Call-Up Reporting

• The Centralized Professional Services System (CPSS) ePortal does not notify the TSPS procurement team of day-to-day searches performed by our federal department clients. Instead, TSPS collects Quarterly Usage Reports from the supplier community. Suppliers should consult the Quarterly Usage Report Instructions page.