CMC-Ontario: Government of Ontario Responds to CMC-Ontario/CMC-Canada's Feedback on Draft RFP for General Management Consulting Services

In 2006, CMC-Ontario and CMC-Canada responded to the Government of Ontario's "Draft RFP for General Management Consulting Services." The Association concluded that the CMC designation should be included as a desired skill in the updated RFP and proposed additional changes in the areas of pricing evaluation, service categories and insurance coverage requirements.

The Association's response was motivated by a desire to ensure that in the future as many management consultants and management consultancy firms are able to participate in the VOR RFP process as possible in order to generate the best outcomes for the Government of Ontario and the management consulting profession in Canada. The Government of Ontario recently posted the updated RFP on MERX - with the CMC designation included as a desired skill. The Government also released a document outlining the changes that were made to the final RFP as a result of feedback from CMC-Ontario, CMC-Canada, members of the organization and others.

Changes include:

Stage III Pricing Evaluation - The original RFP stated per diem rates more than 25 per cent above the average rate would receive zero points and be disqualified. CMC-Ontario/CMC-Canada advocated increased flexibility in this area. In the final RFP, it is stated that "Any Maximum Per Diem Rate that is higher than 50% above the Average Rate will receive a score of zero (0) for Stage III and will be disqualified" (as per page 17 of the RFP or section 3.1.3).
Service Categories - CMC-Ontario/CMC-Canada noted some inconsistency and overlap in the individual categories (as per page 3 of the response to the governments Draft RFP). As well, we proposed reducing the number of service categories from ten to six. In the final RFP, seven categories are named and virtually all of our recommendations are included in the list. Please see page 112 of the RPF for a complete listing of the service categories.
Insurance Coverage Requirements - The original RFP had two levels of insurance coverage for high and low risk projects. CMC-Ontario/CMC-Canada held that a two-tiered approach may cause considerable confusion and the tiers may be nullified in actual implementation. In the updated RFP, different levels for insurance coverage are removed.

To view our submission, please click here. (Dated December 2006)

To view the Ministry of Government Services' response, please click here. (Dated July 2007)

CMC-Ontario and CMC-Canada are committed to a long term strategy to influence the Government of Ontario on procurement reform. Further changes are needed and the Association intends to continue to advocate on behalf of our members and build on the positive relationships it has developed with the government to ensure improved procurement processes. In addition, the Association and Institutes are committed to enhancing procurement processes at the federal government level and throughout the Canadian private sector.