16.1.1 This section sets out the Treasury Board policy for service contracts.
16.1.2 Statement of work. The statement of work or requirements description should clearly describe the work to be carried out, the objectives to be attained and the time frame. It should be:
1. explicit about the client's requirements and the contractor's responsibilities so that questions of interpretation can be avoided; and
2. detailed enough to ensure that the client department receives the services or advice that it requires but, at the same time, flexible enough to permit innovation and initiative by the contractor in the interests of the client department.
16.1.3 The statement of work should identify the specific stages of the work, their sequence, their relationship to the overall work in general and to each other in particular. The type, magnitude and complexity of the work will determine the degree of detail required.
The following elements may be included as applicable:
• a background statement outlining the situation leading to the requirement;
• a clear statement describing the objective of the task and the work to be achieved;
• an accurate description of the scope of the work, including its range, extent and bounds;
• details of any constraints imposed, such as government or other policies and standards, current and proposed related activities, security, sensitivity to other interests, employment equity, protection of the environment, conservation of resources and other relevant restrictions;
• availability of relevant existing studies or other resource material;
• the manner in which the output of the contract, such as work documents, progress reports, etc., should be presented or submitted;
• a time schedule for the completion of each stage of the work and for the entire work;
• when the work is being carried out on behalf of another department or agency, details of available client support and responsibilities;
• progress report requirements and other control procedures required by a client agency during the work;
• requirements relating to performance of the several stages and the work as a whole.
16.1.4 Bidding. Section 5 of the Government Contracts Regulations requires that bids be solicited before contracts are awarded. This may include giving public notice, for example by means of the electronic bidding methodology, public notice in advertisements in trade publications and newspapers, or solicitation of bids from suppliers on a list representative of the suppliers of the required services. Section 6 of the Regulations describes when the bidding requirement may be set aside. Paragraphs 6(b)(ii) and (iii) apply specifically to service contracts. Although provision is made for non-competitive procurement of services, an exception to the general government policy and practice of competitive solicitation should not be necessary in these situations. Contracting authorities may use an Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) to satisfy the requirement for competition, which will then allow the use of the higher competitive contracting authority levels if there are no valid challenges to the notice.
16.1.5 Contracting for services has traditionally been accepted as an effective way to meet unexpected fluctuations in workload, to acquire special expertise not available in the Public Service, or to fill in for public servants during temporary absences in certain circumstances. At the same time, excessive or improper contracting for services can result in circumvention of government legislation, regulations and policies covering such matters as the merit principle and bilingualism. As stipulated in article 4.2, Related requirements, contracting authorities are to avoid any contracting situation that would be contrary to or conflict with the Public Service Employment Act and common law principles dealing with master-servant relationships.
16.1.6 As stated in clause 4.2, Related requirements, contracts for the services of former government officials are to bear the closest public scrutiny and reflect fairness in the spending of public funds. Contracting authorities are expected to exercise extreme discretion when contracting with former government officials to ensure that the public interest will not suffer and the Crown will not be criticized. While contracts with former employees may be cost effective, the public perception that these individuals have priority over individuals who are not former public servants should be corrected. Because of its transparency, electronic bidding is an excellent vehicle by which contracting authorities can obtain bids or announce proposed directed contract awards with former public servants.
16.1.7 Categories of service contracts. Distinction has heretofore been made between "consulting" and "non-consulting" service contracts. This differentiation has lost its effectiveness and has been changed so that there is only one category, "service contract." The contracting authority levels have subsequently been adjusted and the generally higher levels for the former non-consulting service contracts now apply to all service contracts (refer to Appendix C for greater detail).