Contractual Debriefing

Contractual debriefing is the post-award process through which a supplier learns the results of its bid evaluation. It focuses on why the bid was or was not selected. The explanation is given while confidential and commercially sensitive information stays protected, so a supplier hears about its own bid and not about another bidder's protected content.

Canadian federal procurement guidance does not use "contractual debriefing" as a defined term. It calls the process debriefing or supplier debriefing, and defines it as giving suppliers the results of the evaluation of their bids on competitive procurements (Office of the Procurement Ombud). NATO uses the equivalent phrase post-award debriefing in its competitive procurement procedure.

How Canadian federal guidance describes supplier debriefing

Federal guidance says a debriefing generally takes place after contract award. It can be held by telephone, in writing or face to face. The Government of Canada's contracting policy states that unsuccessful bidders should receive a debriefing on request. The explanation should normally outline the evaluation factors and criteria, subject to confidentiality. The policy text is in this Public Works and Government Services Canada publication.

The right is not limited to contracts. Guidance from Public Services and Procurement Canada, cited in a federal publication, states that after a contract is awarded, or a standing offer or supply arrangement is issued, a debriefing is provided on request.

Request deadlines in CanadaBuys solicitations

CanadaBuys tells bidders that, after the result of a competitive process, every bidder has the right to request a debriefing from the contracting officer. The page is How to bid on tender opportunities. The time allowed for making the request is set in each solicitation and it varies:

• One federal request for proposals requires the request within five working days of receiving the results.
• A Correctional Service procurement allows 15 working days after the results are received.

Both solicitations direct the request to the Contracting Authority. Both allow the debriefing to be written, by telephone or in person.

How NATO post-award debriefing compares

NATO's procedure requires solicitation documents to describe the post-award debriefing mechanisms that apply. On request, procurement authorities provide a post-award debrief to unsuccessful bidders and protect proprietary or competitively sensitive information.

NATO's procurement manual uses the terms "debriefing" and "debriefs" and refers to debriefing bidders on request. For certain task or delivery orders, the solicitation must state whether a debriefing may be requested and any limitations. The manual example specifies a five-day request period and an intended 30-day timeframe for holding the debrief. Canadian suppliers see these opportunities because CanadaBuys posts tender notices from the NATO Support and Procurement Agency.

A debriefing is not a bid challenge

A debriefing explains the procurement result. It does not reverse the award. A supplier that wants to dispute an outcome must use a separate complaint or bid-challenge process. The sources reviewed here describe the debriefing process but do not set a universal Canadian deadline for filing a complaint, so the applicable process and its timing should be checked on their own.

What contractual debriefing means for a supplier

A debrief is the most direct way to learn how an evaluation team scored a bid. Suppliers should act on it in a few practical ways:

• Read the solicitation for the request deadline, because it differs between procurements.
• Send the request to the named Contracting Authority or contracting officer.
• Identify the solicitation and the bid result in the request.
• Expect an explanation of the evaluation factors, criteria and award outcome, not another bidder's confidential information.
• Keep the debriefing separate from any complaint or bid-challenge steps.

Bid teams that request a debrief on every loss build a record of evaluator feedback they can use in later bids.