Supplier debriefing

A supplier debriefing is a structured feedback conversation a buyer holds with an unsuccessful bidder after an award: what the winning supplier's overall result was, and why your bid fell short against the stated evaluation criteria. In the federal system it is a right, not a courtesy.

What it is

Per CanadaBuys, you can request a debriefing from the contracting officer once you have been notified of the bid evaluation results or that the contract was awarded to someone else — and the right extends beyond competitive contracts to supply arrangements and standing offers too. Debriefings can be done in person, by phone or in writing. CanadaBuys grounds the right in the Directive on the Management of Procurement and certain trade agreements, and federal guidance on debriefings to unsuccessful bidders (historically Supply Manual section 7.40) spells out the buyer's obligations.

What a debriefing includes

Per CanadaBuys, a typical debriefing tells you: the name of the successful supplier; the value of the contract awarded or of the supply arrangement or standing offer issued; the overall evaluation result of the successful supplier; an outline of why you were not successful, referencing the evaluation criteria and selection method; and, where appropriate, very general information on the relative strengths of the successful bid. One hard limit: the contracting officer can only discuss the contents of your bid — never another bidder's.

What it means for vendors

Always take the debriefing — it is free, and it is the cheapest intelligence available on why you lost. It also has a formal function: if you intend to complain about a covered federal procurement to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal, the debriefing is where you get the award details and criteria explanation you need to frame the complaint within the Tribunal's deadlines. Many federal solicitations set a window for requesting the debriefing — commonly fifteen working days from receiving the results — so check the deadline in your solicitation rather than assuming.

Common questions

Will the buyer tell me the winning price?

Debriefings disclose the value of the contract awarded or the standing offer/supply arrangement issued, and the successful supplier's overall evaluation result — not the winning bid document or the losing prices of other bidders.

Can the buyer refuse to debrief me?

The right to request a debriefing flows from Treasury Board contracting policy and trade agreement obligations, and Canada's trade agreements include debriefing obligations for covered procurements — the Canadian International Trade Tribunal has assessed PWGSC's compliance with those obligations in past cases. Scope and depth vary by process and number of bidders, but the request itself is a right for suppliers in covered processes.

Does asking for a debriefing hurt future bids?

No. Debriefings exist to improve supplier performance and, as the Tribunal has observed, explaining decisions to aggrieved bidders is a best practice that helps avoid litigation — buyers expect the question.

Related definitions

Contract award notice · CITT bid challenge process · Evaluation criteria and weighting