Government Conference Centre Rehabilitation Prime Consultant Procurement

Table of Contents

1. Background and Introduction
2. Project Requirement
3. Attestation of Assurance
4. Objectives of the Fairness Monitor Assignment and Methodology
5. Fairness Monitor Specific Activities and Findings
6. Reference Documents

Background and Introduction

Knowles Consultancy Services Inc. and Hill International Inc. in Joint Venture was engaged as the Fairness Monitor (FM) to observe the competitive procurement process for the Government Conference Centre Rehabilitation – Prime Consultant Procurement undertaken by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) through Solicitation Number EP764-140495/A and Solicitation Number EP764-140495/B. Knowles Consultancy Services Inc. and Hill International Inc. in Joint Venture is an independent third party with respect to this activity.

We hereby submit the Final Report covering our activities commencing with the review of a Request for Proposal (RFP) through the evaluation of proposals and the selection of the recommended bidder.

This report includes our attestation of assurance, a summary of the scope and objectives of our assignment, the methodologies applied, and specific activities and relevant findings.

Project Requirement

The Government of Canada identified a requirement for the services of a company to provide PWGSC with a Prime Consultant to oversee the rehabilitation of the Government Conference Centre. PWGSC intends to retain an architectural firm in the capacity of Prime Consultant, supported by a multidisciplinary team of Sub-Consultants, in the design and implementation of the Government Conference Centre Rehabilitation project. The Prime Consultant will review all of the related documentation, recommend further examination as required, prepare the design, construction tender documents, construction and contract administration including resident site services, cost, scheduling and project control, commissioning and risk management services required for this project.

Attestation of Assurance

The FM hereby provides the following unqualified assurance statement concerning the procurement process to select an architectural firm in the capacity of Prime Consultant to oversee the rehabilitation of the Government Conference Centre.

It is our professional opinion that the competitive process we observed, was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.

Note: For all references in this report concerning fairness related comments being provided to project officials, it is confirmed that, as necessary, project officials provided clarification to the FM or took appropriate action to address the comments, and as a result no fairness deficiencies were recorded.

Objectives of the Fairness Monitor Assignment and Methodology

The overall objective was as follows: provide PWGSC with independent observation of project procurement activities; provide fairness related comments to project officials as early as possible so that appropriate action could be taken to resolve the concerns before fairness was impacted; bring any potential fairness concerns to the attention of the Operational Integrity Sector if there is no timely resolution with project officials; and attest to the fairness of the procurement process, including its execution.

To accomplish the objective we undertook the following activities:

• became familiar with the project governance structure;
• reviewed the Request for Proposal (RFP);
• reviewed all amendments and addenda to the RFP including questions submitted by bidders and answers provided;
• reviewed the procedures to be used for the evaluation of responses and the guidance provided to the evaluation team;
• observed the evaluation of responses to the RFP and the presentations by bidders to ensure that the specified evaluation and contractor selection procedures and departmental policy were followed and consistently applied during the evaluation and selection process; and
• observed the debriefing of unsuccessful bidders. (This activity will be reported on in an addendum to this report after any debriefings.)

Fairness Monitor Specific Activities and Findings

Fairness Monitor Activities and Findings during the Development of the RFP and Posting on the Government Electronic Tendering System (GETS)

During the period May 15, 2013 to July 4, 2013, we reviewed draft versions of the RFP and provided fairness related comments to the Contracting Authority. Appropriate action was taken by project officials.

The RFP was posted on GETS on July 22, 2013 (Document 1).During the period July 26, 2013 to August 26, 2013, we reviewed Amendments 1 to 5 (Documents 2 to 6) in draft and final form including questions from interested suppliers and answers provided. Fairness related comments were provided and appropriate action was taken by project officials.

Phase One of the RFP closed on September 9, 2013.

Fairness Monitor Activities and Findings during the Evaluation of Responses to Phase One of the RFP

During the period September 12, 2013 to September 23, 2013, we reviewed clarification questions to bidders and answers provided. We observed the evaluation of the Phase One proposals on September 24, 2013 which resulted in a list of qualified bidders and associated scores obtained and provided fairness related comments. Appropriate action was taken by project officials.

During the period September 27, 2013 to September 30, 2013, we reviewed draft letters to the qualified bidders advising them of the results of the Phase One evaluation, as well as draft letters concerning security clearance matters. We provided fairness related comments on the draft letters and appropriated action was taken by project officials. The letters advising bidders of the results of the Phase One evaluation were issued on September 30, 2013.

Fairness Monitor Activities and Findings during the Phase Two Proposal Solicitation Period

During the period October 10, 2013 to October 30, 2013, we reviewed Amendments 6 to 10 (Documents 7 to 11) in draft and final form and provided fairness related comments. Appropriate action was taken by project officials.

Phase Two of the RFP closed on November 6, 2013.

Fairness Monitor Activities and Findings during the Evaluation of Responses to Phase Two of the RFP

On November 18, 2013 we observed the consensus evaluation of proposals received for Phase Two of the RFP and provided fairness related comments. Appropriate action was taken by project officials.

On November 19, 2013 and November 20, 2013, we observed the individual presentations by bidders to the evaluation team and on November 20, 2013 we observed the consensus evaluations of the presentations. We provided fairness related comments during the consensus evaluations and appropriate action was taken by project officials.

On November 22, 2013 the Contracting Authority advised us that the combined technical and financial evaluation had been completed and verified by a second official and that a recommended bidder had been identified. No fairness related issues were identified.

Reference Documents

The following documents are referenced by number in the attached report.Unless otherwise indicated, these documents are available through the Government Conference Centre Rehabilitation Prime Consultant Procurement project office.

Table Summary

The following table includes a list of documents referred to in the report such as the Request for Proposal (RFP), amendments, clarification letters, debriefing letters, etc. Each row is numbered, followed by the document title, then a document identifier such as a date or document number.

Reference Documents

No.	Document	Additional information
1	Request for Proposal (RFP)	Published on GETS on July 22, 2013
2	Amendment 1 to RFP	Published on GETS on July 26, 2013
3	Amendment 2 to RFP	Published on GETS on August 8, 2013
4	Amendment 3 to RFP	Published on GETS on August 13, 2013
5	Amendment 4 to RFP	Published on GETS on August 21, 2013
6	Amendment 5 to RFP	Published on GETS on August 26, 2013
7	Amendment 6 to RFP	Issued to Bidders on October 11, 2013
8	Amendment 7 to RFP	Issued to Bidders on October 18, 2013
9	Amendment 8 to RFP	Issued to Bidders on October 23, 2013
10	Amendment 9 to RFP	Issued to Bidders on October 28, 2013
11	Amendment 10 to RFP	Issued to Bidders on October 31, 2013

Addendum to the Final Report
July 14, 2014

Addendum to Fairness Monitor Contractor’s Final Report dated December 6, 2013 concerning Government Conference Centre Rehabilitation Prime Consultant Procurement

This Addendum to the Fairness Monitor Contractor's Final Report covers the period following the conclusion of the evaluation phase and includes the debriefings of bidders.

On March 5, 2014 we reviewed written debriefings that were to be provided to the bidders. The debriefings provided information as to why the contract was not awarded to the bidder. No fairness deficiencies were identified. Six bidders requested further information concerning their responses and we observed the requested debriefings on April 16, 2014, April 23, 2014, April 24 and April 28, 2014. No fairness deficiencies were identified.

Fairness Monitor Attestation of Assurance

It is the opinion of the Fairness Monitor that the post evaluation activities, including the debriefings, were carried out in a fair manner. In this context, fairness is defined as decisions made objectively, free from personal favouritism and political influence, and encompasses the elements of openness, competitiveness, transparency and compliance.