Bid solicitation

In Canadian federal procurement, a bid solicitation is the formal document by which the government invites suppliers to submit bids for a contract — a Request for Proposal is a form of bid solicitation, not something separate from one. The term is defined and governed by section 4.10.15 of the (archived) Supply Manual.

What it is

Per the archived Supply Manual, chapter 4 (section 4.10.15), a bid solicitation may be used for low dollar value (Simple), medium complexity (MC) and higher complexity (HC) requirements, whether bidder selection is based on price or best value. It states that an RFP "is a form of bid solicitation" used when selection is based on best value rather than price alone — i.e., the ITT, RFP and similar competitive instruments are all species of bid solicitation. Bids must be evaluated and the successful supplier selected in accordance with the specific criteria and procedures set out in the solicitation itself.

How it is issued

A bid solicitation can be used to solicit bids three ways: through public advertisement on the Government Electronic Tendering Service (GETS — today CanadaBuys), through direct invitation of selected suppliers by means of a source list where permitted, or by invitation of one source only if the conditions for a non-competitive process have been met. Two-step solicitations (letters of interest and qualifications first, detailed bids from the short list second) are permitted and must then follow the trade-agreement procedures for selective tendering and prequalification.

What it must contain

The Supply Manual lists the minimum contents of a bid solicitation: a clear definition of the requirement; bidder instructions; bid preparation instructions; clear evaluation procedures; certification requirements; security and financial requirements; validity of the bid; the resulting contract clauses; and instructions telling bidders they may request feedback on how their bid was evaluated. Contracting officers establishing bid solicitations must use the standard procurement templates and the Standard Instructions 2003 and 2004 of the SACC Manual. Any solicitation that results in a contractual obligation requires confirmation of funding before publication.

What it means for vendors

The bid solicitation is the contract-with-rules you are bidding into: only the criteria and procedures written into it can be used to evaluate your bid, and negotiations before award can occur only when the solicitation itself states the right to negotiate under the applicable trade agreements or the CFTA. Read the evaluation and certification sections as closely as the statement of work — a bid that misses a mandatory criterion or certification cannot be fixed after the solicitation closes.

Common questions

Is a bid solicitation the same as an RFP?

No. "Bid solicitation" is the umbrella term for the competitive solicitation document; the RFP is one form of it, used for best-value selections. An ITT (used for lowest-price selections) and RFQ are other solicitation methods described in chapter 4 — see our ITT vs. RFT comparison for the terminology trap.

Is a bid solicitation the same as a Notice of Proposed Procurement?

No. The Notice of Proposed Procurement (NPP) is the public notice advertising the procurement; the bid solicitation is the full document set (instructions, statement of work, evaluation criteria, contract clauses) issued with it. The NPP's stated closing date must be consistent with the solicitation's own closing date.

Where are bid solicitations posted?

Publicly on the Government Electronic Tendering Service, which is now CanadaBuys; historically on MERX and other platforms. Our MERX overview covers the private platform side.

Related definitions

RFP · Notice of Proposed Procurement · Evaluation criteria weighting · ITT vs. RFT