Open Tendering

Open tendering is a procurement method whereby all interested suppliers may submit a tender. That is the wording used in the Canada–Panama Free Trade Agreement, and it captures the core idea: no supplier is shut out at the invitation stage, and any business that meets the stated requirements can respond.

In Canadian federal procurement guidance, open tendering means the buyer publishes a notice of proposed procurement that invites all interested businesses to submit offers. CanadaBuys, the Government of Canada's tendering service, treats it as the preferred approach to sourcing under trade agreements. For a supplier, it is the route in which the opportunity is visible to everyone and the bid is judged against the requirements set out in the solicitation.

How the Canada–Panama agreement defines open tendering

Chapter 16 of the Canada–Panama Free Trade Agreement, which covers government procurement, defines open tendering as a method whereby all interested suppliers may submit a tender. The chapter requires procuring entities to use open tendering except where specified exceptions apply. Open tendering is therefore the default under the agreement, and any other method needs a basis in the exceptions.

The text is published by Global Affairs Canada: Canada–Panama Free Trade Agreement, Chapter 16.

Open, selective and limited tendering compared

CanadaBuys identifies three tendering approaches used under trade agreements: open, selective and limited. Open tendering is characterized by publishing a notice of proposed procurement that invites all interested businesses to submit offers. CanadaBuys states that open tendering is the preferred approach. Selective and limited tendering are the other two approaches, and buyers choose between the three when they determine their sourcing strategy.

The buyer guidance is available on CanadaBuys under Determine sourcing strategy.

Notice and tender period requirements

The Canada–Panama agreement requires a procuring entity to publish a notice inviting suppliers to submit tenders, or applications to participate. The notice must appear in an electronic or paper medium that is widely disseminated and readily accessible to the public. This publication requirement is what makes a tender open in practice.

The agreement also sets a minimum tender period. In the ordinary case for open tendering, suppliers must have at least 40 days to submit a tender, measured from publication of the notice of intended procurement. The details are in Chapter 16 of the agreement.

Open tendering at CMHC and NATO

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recognizes open, limited and selective tendering as procurement methods in its procurement policy. It describes open (public) tendering as a method under which all interested suppliers may submit a bid in response to stated requirements, and it says CMHC publishes a notice of intended procurement.

NATO's procurement opportunities page does not define the term. It explains that NATO publishes centralized opportunities from NATO HQ, ACT, ACO, NSPA and NCIA, and that eligibility requirements are stated in each opportunity's documentation. Suppliers can review the listings on NATO's procurement opportunities page.

What open tendering means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

• Locate the published notice of proposed procurement. Because open tendering is the preferred approach, many opportunities are advertised this way.
• Review the solicitation and its eligibility requirements before committing to a bid.
• Prepare a compliant bid or tender that responds to the stated requirements.
• Submit by the stated deadline. Where a trade agreement applies, the ordinary minimum tender period is 40 days.
• Take the precise submission, security, certification and evaluation requirements from the particular solicitation, since each one sets its own.