Professional Services

In Canadian federal procurement, professional services are services obtained through a contract to meet a specific government need. The category covers technical, scientific and other professional expert advice, certain health-care, welfare and training services, and contracted operational and maintenance services, as set out in Treasury Board guidance.

Typical examples include assistance and advice from architects, engineers, medical personnel, management consultants, auditors, financial consultants and business consultants. The term is a general procurement category, and it is also the name Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) uses for several of its methods of supply.

What federal guidance counts as professional services

The category is broad. It is defined by the nature of the need rather than by a single trade or profession. A department that needs expert advice for a defined activity or initiative, or contracted help to run or maintain something, is buying professional services.

Departments and agencies define their own requirements. They also decide whether to hire public servants or to procure professional services, based on factors such as the nature and duration of the activity and the availability of specialized skills or knowledge. PSPC acts as a common service provider, as described in PSPC briefing material.

ProServices, TSPS, TBIPS and SBIPS

PSPC runs its professional services methods of supply through pre-qualified supplier lists. The main ones are:

• ProServices, for professional services requirements below the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA) threshold. Its categories include IT services, non-IT services, alternative dispute resolution, health services and learning services, listed on the PSPC professional services page.
• Task and Solutions Professional Services (TSPS), for non-IT services such as human resources, business consulting, change management and learning services.
• Task-Based Informatics Professional Services (TBIPS), for IT professional services such as application services, geomatics, cyber-protection and telecommunications.
• Solutions-Based Informatics Professional Services (SBIPS), for comprehensive IT solutions.

ProServices is a government-wide mandatory tool for requirements below the CKFTA threshold. Buyers can compete those requirements by inviting at least two pre-qualified suppliers, according to PSPC's ProServices page.

How the Centralized Professional Services System works

Federal procurement officers use the Centralized Professional Services System (CPSS) to identify pre-qualified suppliers for professional services requirements. A supplier responds to the supply arrangement solicitation, may need a procurement business number, and must identify and substantiate the categories it wants to qualify for. Its bid is evaluated before it is pre-qualified for one or more methods of supply.

ProServices is a supply arrangement, not a standing offer. Signing it does not legally bind either party to a contract, and call-ups cannot be issued against it. Work is awarded only when a buyer issues a bid solicitation for a specific requirement, as explained in how a ProServices supply arrangement works.

Directed contracts and larger professional services contracts

A ProServices directed contract may be issued below $40,000 when the stated conditions are met. The amount includes applicable taxes, travel and living expenses, and anticipated amendments. The conditions are set out on the PSPC directed contracts page.

Professional services contracts, amendments and task authorizations above $40,000 fall under Treasury Board mandatory procedures. These are published in the Treasury Board procedures and the related mandatory procedures.

What professional services means for a supplier

Check whether your services fit a ProServices, TSPS or TBIPS category, and pre-qualify through CPSS before you expect to see invitations. Pre-qualification gets you onto the list of suppliers buyers can invite, but it does not create a contract. You still have to respond to each bid solicitation that follows. Watch CanadaBuys for solicitations and for updates to the requirements that apply to professional services procurement.