Solicitation

A solicitation is an invitation, verbal or written, for suppliers to submit a bid, quotation, or offer. The Accessibility Standards Canada procurement standard uses this definition. In public procurement, the term covers the competitive stage between defining a requirement and selecting a supplier.

In Government of Canada procurement, solicitation also names the process of inviting and obtaining bids or offers before a contract is awarded. Related terms include bid solicitation, solicitation of offers, request for proposal (RFP), request for standing offer (RFSO), request for supply arrangement (RFSA), invitation to tender, and request for quotation. Federal policy treats choosing a solicitation method and preparing solicitation documents as core procurement activities.

What a federal solicitation must contain

CanadaBuys guidance on the solicitation of offers sets out what a federal solicitation should include at minimum:

• the requirement
• instructions to suppliers
• offer-preparation requirements
• evaluation procedures
• certifications
• security and financial requirements
• the offer-validity period
• the resulting contract clauses
• the process for asking about the outcome

The same guidance identifies the solicitation of offers as suitable for low-, medium-, and high-complexity requirements, and for selection based on either price or best value. The solicitation documents govern the evaluation. Offers are evaluated and the successful offeror is selected according to the criteria and procedures the solicitation sets out.

Solicitation methods: RFP, RFSO and RFSA

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and other federal departments use solicitations to obtain bids and offers for goods, services, and construction. Federal procurement materials, including the PSPC seminar notes on doing business with the Government of Canada, identify RFPs, RFSOs, and RFSAs as common methods.

• RFP: used when proposals are evaluated on best value rather than price alone. Suppliers may be asked to propose solutions to stated needs or objectives.
• RFSO: invites offers to become a standing offer, under which a department accepts part of an already defined and priced requirement.
• RFSA: invites suppliers to join a pool of pre-qualified suppliers. A client department can then solicit bids from that pool for specific requirements, as PSPC explains on its page on supplying services.

The rule to solicit before contracting

The Government Contracts Regulations generally require the contracting authority to solicit bids before entering into a contract, subject to specified exceptions. The CanadaBuys guide on determining a sourcing strategy reflects this. The Treasury Board procurement policy instrument states that the contracting authority is to solicit bids before entering into a contract and that competitive procurement should normally be used.

Where solicitations are published and the $25,000 mark

CanadaBuys publishes tender notices for most goods and services valued at $25,000 or more, as described on its what government buys page. For many procurements below that amount, PSPC may solicit bids from selected suppliers on source lists. A supplier who is not on the relevant list may never see a lower-value solicitation, so registration and source list placement matter.

What a solicitation means for a supplier

The solicitation is the document your bid is measured against. Read the complete solicitation and every amendment, confirm that you are eligible, and prepare a compliant bid, quotation, or offer in the prescribed format. Submit it before the stated deadline, and include all required certifications and any security or financial information. Address the mandatory, technical, and financial criteria exactly as written, because evaluators apply only the criteria and procedures in the solicitation.

The federal Code of Conduct for Procurement applies to vendors and subcontractors that respond to bid solicitations or provide goods and services to Canada. Responding to a solicitation means accepting that standard of conduct.