Canadian Forces Contractor Augmentation Program II (CANCAP II)

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 Canadian Forces Contractor Augmentation Program II (CANCAP II) for the Department of National Defence, undertaken by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) through Solicitation Number W848C-119001/E. 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 Information (RFI) through the review of a Request for Proposal (RFP), 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 the Canadian Forces (CF) with operational flexibility through a contractor augmentation capability in support of deployed operations abroad.

The CANCAP II contract will be a Task Authorization-based contract for deployed services, as well as a ceiling price component for program management services in the National Capital Region. The deployed services will be required on an "as and when requested" basis.

The scope of services to be provided will cover the areas of Program Management Services, Food Services, Materiel Management and Distribution, Communications & Information Systems, Equipment Maintenance (Land), Transportation, Accommodations Management and Support, Construction Engineering, Power Supply and Distribution, Water Supply and Distribution, Waste Management, Facilities Operation and Maintenance, Roads and Grounds, Fire Protection Services, Geomatics Support, Environmental Services, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Security Services, Airfield and Aircraft Services, and Mortuary Services.

Attestation of Assurance

The FM hereby provides the following unqualified assurance statement concerning the procurement process to select a company to provide the Canadian Forces (CF) with operational flexibility through a contractor augmentation capability in support of deployed operations abroad:

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 Information (RFI);
• 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 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

FM Activities and Specific Findings Concerning the RFI Phase

During the period March 8, 2011 to June 1, 2011, we reviewed draft versions of the RFI and provided fairness related comments. Appropriate action was taken by project officials.

The RFI was published on MERX on June 14, 2011 (Document 1), Amendment 1 to the RFI was published on June 21, 2011 (Document 2). Notices were published on MERX concerning the RFI and Draft RFP on December 2, 2011, March 1, 2012 and April 23, 2012 (Documents 3, 4 and 5 respectively). We reviewed these documents and provided fairness related comments. Appropriate action was taken by project officials.

During the period June 15, 2011 to August 8, 2012, we observed industry consultation meetings including one-on-one meetings with suppliers, reviewed draft versions of the RFP, and provided fairness related comments. Appropriate action was taken by project officials.

FM Activities and Findings during the RFP Phase

The RFP was posted on MERX on August 29, 2012 (Document 6). During the period August 29, 2012 to November 16, 2012, we reviewed the RFP as published, Questions and Answers (Qs and As) concerning the RFP, Attachments 1 to 12 (Documents 7 to 18) and Amendment 1 (Document 19), and provided fairness related comments to the Contracting Authority. All comments were addressed appropriately by project officials.

(It is noted that project officials used "Attachments" instead of Amendments, with the exception of Amendment 1, to address questions from bidders or to change the provisions of the RFP.)

FM Activities and Findings during the Evaluation Phase

During the period November 2 to 8, 2012 we reviewed and provided fairness related comments on the Evaluation Guidelines document. Appropriate action was taken by project officials. During the period November 21, 2012 to December 3, 2012 we observed consensus evaluation meetings on the technical requirements and provided fairness related comments. Appropriate action was taken by project officials.

On February 26, 2013 we reviewed the results of the evaluation of proposals and the selection of the recommended bidder as specified in the RFP. We were advised that the calculations and results had been double checked through an independent peer review. No fairness deficiencies were identified.

Reference Documents

The following documents are referenced by number in the attached report. Unless otherwise indicated, these documents are available through the CANCAP II 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	RFI	Released on MERX June 14, 2011
2	Amendment 1 to RFI	Released on MERX June 21, 2011
3	Notice Re: RFI & Draft RFP	Released on MERX December 2, 2011
4	Notice Re: RFI & Draft RFP	Released on MERX March 1, 2012
5	Notice Re: RFI & Draft RFP	Released on MERX April 23, 2012
6	FP as published on MERX	Released on MERX August 29, 2012
7	Attachment 001 to the RFP	Released on MERX August 29, 2012
8	Attachment 002 to the RFP	Released on MERX October 1, 2012
9	Attachment 003 to the RFP	Released on MERX October 9, 2012
19	Attachment 004 to the RFP	Released on MERX October 17, 2012
11	Attachment 005 to the RFP	Released on MERX October 17, 2012
12	Attachment 006 to the RFP	Released on MERX October 19, 2012
13	Attachment 007 to the RFP	Released on MERX October 24, 2012
14	Attachment 008 to the RFP	Released on MERX October 25, 2012
15	Attachment 009 to the RFP	Released on MERX October 29, 2012
16	Attachment 010 to the RFP	Released on MERX November 2, 2012
17	Attachment 011 to the RFP	Released on MERX November 5, 2012
18	Attachment 012 to the RFP	Released on MERX November 6, 2012
19	Amendment 1 to the RFP	Released on MERX November 8, 2012

Addendum to the Final Report
September 30, 2013

Addendum to Fairness Monitor Contractor's Final Report dated February 26, 2013 concerning Canadian Forces Contractor Augmentation Program II (CANCAP II)

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.

The CANCAP II Project Office advised us on September 9, 2013 that a contract had been awarded to the successful bidder. During the period September 12, 2013 to September 17, 2013 we observed the face to face debriefings of the unsuccessful bidders. The debriefings provided information to assist each bidder in responding to new opportunities as well as explaining the evaluation results. 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.