Security Clearance Pre-Screening

Security clearance pre-screening is the preliminary security screening used to determine whether an organization or an individual may obtain the security status needed to reach protected or classified information, assets, worksites, or sensitive procurement information. It takes place before a supplier bids on, or performs, work that carries a security requirement.

In Canada, this screening is run through the Contract Security Program at Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC). The program states that security screenings ensure that organizations and individuals with a valid need-to-know can access protected or classified information, assets, or worksites. Federal departments and agencies trigger the process by identifying security requirements in their contracts.

Where security screening sits in the Canadian contract process

The Contract Security Program screens suppliers and their personnel when a federal procurement requires access to sensitive material. PSPC publishes a supplier information toolkit that sets out the steps organizations and their employees must follow before bidding on, or working under, a federal contract with security requirements.

The screening has two sides. Organizational screening covers the company, and personnel screening covers named employees or proposed resources. The related Canadian terms are:

• Designated Organization Screening (DOS): organizational screening for lower-level security requirements.
• Facility Security Clearance (FSC): a higher organizational clearance.
• Document Safeguarding Capability (DSC): authority to safeguard protected or classified material.
• Personnel security screening: screening of employees or other individuals.
• Company Security Officer (CSO): the supplier official who administers security requirements inside the organization.

Provisional clearance during bid preparation

Bid teams often need access to sensitive material before a contract exists. PSPC addresses this with a provisional security clearance, described on its levels of security page. It is a temporary clearance for members of an organization who need access to protected or classified information or assets during the pre-solicitation or bid-preparation stage. It is specific to the solicitation concerned.

How solicitations state clearance requirements

Solicitations put the requirement in a security-requirement clause, and the clause varies by contract. Two CanadaBuys notices show the range:

• A Document Scanning and Coding notice required the contractor or offeror to hold a valid DOS with approved DSC at PROTECTED B. Where applicable, it also required an FSC with approved DSC at SECRET, issued by the Canadian Industrial Security Directorate.
• The Open Construction Source List for 22 Wing North Bay warned that solicitations and contracts could carry organizational and personnel security requirements. These included DOS and reliability status, and stricter ones such as FSC at SECRET and personnel secret clearance.

Security can also be a selection parameter among pre-qualified suppliers. PSPC explains in its guidance on methods of supply that an RFP may require the supplier to hold the required security at bid closing. The contracting authority must still validate the clearances of the supplier and the proposed resources before contract award.

Clearance can matter even before bidding. The CanadaBuys standard acquisition clauses and conditions manual requires the supplier's CSO to ensure that representatives hold the required clearance before attending a suppliers' conference. Representatives who do not meet the requirement may be denied access.

NATO usage of the clearance concept

NATO uses the term security clearance, or Personnel Security Clearance (PSC), for the individual authorization. NATO states in its application guidance that the clearance is issued by the candidate's national authorities after a request from NATO. Where a position requires it, the clearance is needed before recruitment is completed.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Read the security-requirement clause before deciding to bid. Confirm which organizational level the solicitation requires (DOS, FSC, or DSC) and which personnel clearances apply to named staff or proposed resources. Check whether the clearance must be active at bid closing, since the contracting authority will validate it before award. If your team needs sensitive material to prepare the bid, ask whether a provisional security clearance is available. Name a Company Security Officer early, because that person administers these requirements and confirms that representatives are cleared for events such as suppliers' conferences.