GUIDE FOR PLANNING BIDDER DEBRIEFINGS
For public sector organizations
DISCLAIMER
The information contained within this guide is solely advisory, and should not be substituted for legal, financial or other professional advice. This guide is also not a directive nor is it a substitute for legal advice. You are responsible to adhere to all applicable policies, laws or trade agreements.
Introduction
The suggested template content below is meant to assist the key staff involved in the specific procurement, in the planning of a debriefing meeting. You can use this guide and modify the suggestions to align with your organization’soperational policies and processes.
A bidder debrief meeting is an opportunity for the procuring organization to provide feedback to the bidder about their unsuccessful bid. The dialogue is meant to assist the bidder to better understand the process and to provide insight on how they may wish to enhance their submissions in future.
It is recommended that all communicationabout arrangements and scheduling for thedebriefing with the bidder be done in writing andthat any information generated for this meeting form part of the procurement file. You are reminded to meet your organization’s records management obligations.
Debriefings are not to be used for the purpose of providing the bidder with an opportunity to challenge the procurement process.
DebriefMeeting Plan Process:
- Conduct internal review of evaluation results for the respective bidder’s bid
- Pre-debrief meeting with organization’s staff that were involved in the specific procurement and/or participating in the debriefing:
- Review the submission, particularly responses to rated criteria;
- Review comments noted during evaluation;
- Review strengths and weaknesses of the bidder submission;
- Discuss and agree on suggestions for improvement to be conveyed to the bidder;
- Discuss potentially contentious issues and determine responses to them, and where appropriate consult with your organization’s legal counsel prior to the meeting;
- Decide on staff roles and responsibilities at the debriefing meeting such as who will present /respond to questions at the debriefing; and
- Identify your organization's Freedom of Information and Privacy Office contact information as appropriate as it may be requested by the bidder during the meeting.
- Debrief meeting
- Can be conducted in-person or via teleconference taking into consideration the needs of the bidder.
- Interaction between participants must be respectful and professional.
- Agenda should communicate:
- Introduction of all parties in attendance and explaining their role in the procurement;
- Restatementof the purpose of the meeting;
- Review of the bidder submission;
- Opportunity for questions and answers; and
- Formal closing of the debriefing session.
- Post-debrief activities
- Address any issues or questions introduced at the debrief;
- Compile a summary of what was discussed/presented at the debrief, file appropriatelyand provide copies to participants as appropriate.
Debrief Meeting File References:
It is suggested to have the following procurement file materials readily available for the procuring organization participants’ to referenceat the debrief meeting:
Evaluation Scoring Sheets for bidder being debriefed
Summary of strengths and weaknesses of bidder’s submission
Copy of notification sent to bidder regarding result of the bid evaluation
Copy of the procurement file
Copy of the bidder’s bid documents
Copy of any questions submitted beforehand by bidder
Bidder DebriefPlanning Advice:
It is recommended to have a mutually agreed-upon time, place and format for the debrief in accordance with how the debrief process was outlined during the procurement competition.
Procurement File Number and Title:
Date Debriefing Request was received:
Debriefing Date and Time:
Debriefing Location:
Clearly communicate who will be in attendance at the debrief so that all stakeholders are represented equally from your organization and theirs. Ensure that the bidder understands your procurement process clearly and is aware of all opportunities for interaction before, during and after procurement opportunities.
Name of Buying Organization:
Debrief Facilitator from Buying Organization:
Other attendees from Buying Organization:
Bidder Organization Name:
Bidder Attendees: (Name, telephone and e-mail of each)
Names and Contact Information of Other Participants: (Name, telephone and e-mail of each. Indicate relation/role with regards to Procurement File)
Provide a summary of the key strengths and weaknesses of the proponent’s response. It is recommended that you disclose any documented issues with the bidder’s bid (whether process related or content related), but it is recommended to not discuss these points in comparison to any other bids but rather just with respect to what the evaluators were seeking. Any new issues raised during the debrief should be addressed using your organization’s escalation process.
You may wish to include Freedom of Information and Privacy Protection Act contact information. Information concerning other bidders must not be provided during a debriefing as it may contain confidential third-party proprietary information subject to the mandatory third-party exemption under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA).
If the debrief generates discussion beyond an agreed-upon agenda, it is recommend that they be included in detailed minutes taken of the debrief discussions. It is recommended that any questions raised to challenge the procurement process should not be responded to during the debriefing, and should be noted as out of scope based upon the debriefing process agreed to in the procurement documents.
Documents unrelated to the bidder or their submitted bid being discussed should not be brought to the debriefing session.
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