INTRODUCTION
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is a national advocacy organization that works to advance the collective aspirations of First Nations.
The AFN hosts at least two Assemblies each year where mandates and directives for the organization are established through resolutions directed and supported by the First Nations-in-Assembly, (elected Chiefs or proxies from member First Nations).
The AFN is also guided by an Executive Committee consisting of an elected National Chief and Regional Chiefs from each province and territory.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to select a bidder to provide a high quality of professionalism, integrity and confidentiality to serve as Chief Electoral Officer for the election of a National Chief at the 2023 Special Chiefs Assembly (SCA).
The SCA will be held on December 5-7, 2023, in Ottawa, Ontario. The SCA will be conducted in a hybrid format, for both in-person and online participation. The “Simply Voting” platform is expected to be utilized for the voting process.
The deadline for submitting a proposal is Friday, September 1, 2023.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On June 28, 2023, the Office of National Chief became vacated, after which an Interim National Chief was appointed.
On July 11, 2023, the First Nations-in-Assembly passed Resolution 34/2023, Appointment of Chief Electoral Officer and Timing of the Election of the National Chief, which set the timing of the next election for December 2023 during the upcoming Special Chiefs Assembly.
The election of the National Chief and the rules respecting the conduct of the election are set out in Article 22 and Appendix A of the AFN Charter. Article 22 of the AFN Charter, states:
- The National Chief shall be elected by the First Nations-in-Assembly by a majority of 60% of the registered representatives of First Nations at an Assembly convened for the purpose of electing a National Chief.
- The National Chief shall be elected for a three-year term and be eligible for re-election but may be removed by a majority of 60% of the registered representatives of First Nations at a Special Assembly convened by the Confederacy of Nations for that purpose.
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
All proposals shall be submitted by email to the AFN no later than Friday September 1, 2023 at 5:00pm EDT.
All proposals will clearly identify the name of the proponent and note “RFP for Chief Electoral Officer” in the e-mail subject line.
Individuals shall indicate whether they identify as Indigenous and what Indigenous community acknowledges their membership. Corporate entities shall do the same for the ownership of the entity and for those who will conduct the work under the proposal.
Late submissions will not be accepted and will be notified of such without exception. The use of the mail or courier services for delivery of a bid will not be accepted, only email submissions will be accepted.
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
All proposals shall include the following information:
1. How they plan to complete the election for National Chief as per Appendix “A” (1990) Electoral Rules for the Office of the National Chief, set out in the Charter of the AFN as follows, but not limited to:
- Nomination process for candidates for the Office of National Chief.
- Translation of all election materials, as required.
- Notifying the names and brief particulars of the candidates to the Chiefs.
- Receiving financial statements from all candidates of all moneys raised and spent for their campaigns, including the names of contributors, and review the accounts disclosed by each candidate and ensure that spending limits are applied fairly and evenly to all candidates.
- Arranging for the All-Candidates Open Forum (and presiding thereat).
- Informing at the All-Candidates Open Forum of the financial record of each candidate including the names of contributors.
- All administrative arrangements in connection with the election at the General Assembly including the destruction of the ballots upon a resolution of the Assembly.
- Announcing the results of each ballot to the General Assembly.
- Reporting back to the AFN including details of results within two (2) weeks after the election.
2. Qualifications: provide a description of the proponent’s capabilities/experience specifically related to the AFN’s Elections requirements.
3. A statement and description of the physical and human resources required to complete the election process including software and intellectual property material.
4. Project Organization: Identify the composition of the proposed team, if any, including:
- Project team members;
- Description of the roles of the team members
- Level of experience of the team members specific to project
5. Cost Breakdown: The Proponent shall provide a detailed cost breakdown for the proposed services, showing the total cost to for the performance of all services, expenses, materials, deliverables, and software/hardware costs (if applicable), to be used for completion of the election. Total cost shall be in Canadian dollars and inclusive of HST.
RIGHTS OF THE AFN
The AFN reserves the right to:
- reject any or all proposals received in response to this Request for Proposals
- enter into negotiation with one or more bidders on any or all aspects of their respective proposals
- accept any proposal in whole, or in part
- cancel and/or re-issue the modified version of a given RFP requirement at any time
- award one or more contracts
- verify all information provided with respect to a given RFP requirement, including the right to request a confirmation of the bidder’s legal status and signed documentation
- award contracts without competition for follow-up work, if any, to the selected bidder for a given project requirement.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
The AFN will select the Proponent(s) which, in the AFN’s sole discretion, best serves the needs of the AFN. The following is a summary of the general considerations that will be used to determine the Proponent(s) that will be selected:
| 1. Overall Experience and Demonstrated Results | 20% |
| 2. Total price: Budget Approach and Cost Effectiveness | 20% |
| 3. Terms and Conditions | 10% |
| 4. Indigenous Organization / Individual | 10% |
| 5. Strategic Thinking and Planning Approach | 40% |
| Total | 100% |
TIMETABLE
The following dates are set forth for informational and planning purposes and may be changed at the AFN’s sole discretion, at any time prior to the Proposal Submission Deadline.
| Description of Deliverables | Date |
| 1. Deadline to receive proposals | September 1, 2023 |
| 2. Review submissions | September 5-8, 2023 |
| 3. Present to AFN Executive Committee | September 2023 meeting (date unknown) |
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Price
Contractors must provide a firm fixed price, including administrative fees, travel, material costs, translation, printing of draft concepts and HST.
Costs pertaining to the retention of additional services to facilitate online voting (should this be necessary) do not need to be included. AFN will evaluate proposed systems and related costs in a separate process, with recommendations from the successful bidder.
Confidentiality
Responses to this RFP will be considered as confidential information by the AFN and will be used solely for the purposes of selecting the successful bidder.
Clarification/Questions
All on-time proposals will be acknowledged.
Requests for clarification and/or questions regarding this RFP should be directed to:
Joyce McDougall
Executive Coordinator
Telephone: (613) 290-7034 mobile
Electronic Mail: [email protected]
Responses/Submission
Only those submissions that meet the deadline will be considered.
Responses to this RFP must be received by the close of business (5:00pm EDT) on September 1, 2023.
Responses are to be sent by e-mail to:
Joyce McDougall
[email protected]