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REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) – Parliamentary Services – Summary reports of selected Parliament Committees

INTRODUCTION

The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is the national representative organization of First Nations in Canada. The AFN represents and advocates First Nations interests for more than 600 First Nations from across the country.

The AFN invites qualified individuals or companies to submit proposals to provide timely and brief summaries on certain proceedings and studies undertaken in the federal House of Commons and the Senate throughout 2023–24.

OBJECTIVE

The AFN  monitors Parliamentary activities and provides timely updates to First Nations Leadership and the AFN’s Secretariat on pertinent issues affecting First Nations. The AFN requires time sensitive information to keep the Secretariat updated with the latest parliamentary proceedings.

The AFN is seeking the services of an individual/organization to provide timely summaries of parliamentary proceedings, including but not limited to Parliamentary and Senate Committee hearings and the House of Commons Question Period. The summaries will provide a snapshot of parliamentary proceedings to ensure that the AFN is well informed of activities that are of interest to the AFN’s advocacy.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The AFN provides timely information to First Nations on the activities of Parliament, including legislative and committee business. To accomplish this, the AFN’s Strategic Policy Integration Unit conducts extensive federal parliamentary monitoring and analysis on matters which have direct impact on First Nations.

SCOPE OF WORK

The successful proponent will provide summaries of Committee hearings from the start of October 2023 to March 31, 2024.

The AFN will select a bidder to develop summaries of identified parliamentary activities and/or committees. The successful proponent will deliver the summaries to the AFN no more than two business days following the committee’s date. Based on past outcomes of this work, it is expected that there will be a minimum of two meetings at two hours each per week for each identified Committee during the 23 sitting weeks between October 2023 and June 2024. The total number of summaries per committee could vary depending on the issue or topic scheduled on the agenda for the Committee hearing.

The successful proponent is to attend in person or virtually in order to conduct the work.

Project Requirements

The conditions and/or tasks the successful proponent shall complete include:

  1. A committee summary report for each requested committee meeting in a standard format which includes:
    1. Topic(s) of meeting;
    2. meeting highlights with summary of witness testimony and questions raised by committee members;
    3. witnesses in appearance;
    4. witness testimony summary;
    5. questions for witnesses;
    6. committee business;
    7. actions taken by committee and follow-up items;
    8. future business; and
    9. committee members in attendance
  2. The Committee summary report will be delivered to the AFN by no later than two business days following the meeting. An email is the preferred delivery method.
  3. Where identified, a Question Period summary report on discussions related to First Nations and Indigenous Peoples. The format for question period should include:
    1. Topic;
    2. Date;
    3. Time stamp;
    4. MP name and question;
    5. MP name and answer.

Project Time Frame:

The work shall be completed between the start of October 2023 and March 31, 2024.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

All proposals shall be received by the AFN no later than Friday September 8, 2023, at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

All proposals will clearly identify the name of the proponent. The subject title must read: “RFP for Parliamentary Services – ”

Proposal Submissions shall be sent by Electronic Mail to: Amanda Bruce [email protected]

Proposal Submission Requirements:

All proposals shall include the following information:

  1. An Executive Summary outlining the background information of the proponent and/or their organization , including contents of the proposal.
  2. Qualifications: provide a description of the proponent’s capabilities/experience specifically related to parliament committees.
  3. A statement and description of the physical and human resources required to complete the summary reporting of Committees hearings, each production approximately 4-6 pages in length, including transcription, note-taking, reporting, and knowledge of parliamentary committees.
  4. Project Organization: Identify the composition of the proposed project team, if any, including:
    1. Project team members;
    2. Description of the roles of the team members; and
    3. Level of experience of the team members specific to work or knowledge related to parliamentary committees.
  1. Cost Breakdown: The Proponent shall provide a detailed cost breakdown for the proposed services, showing the total cost for the performance of all services, expenses, materials, deliverables, and software/hardware costs (if applicable), to be used for completion of the work. Total cost shall be in Canadian dollars and inclusive of all fees and taxes.

 

  1. Additional work as required: Bidders shall provide a cost estimate per session for any additional hearing from a Committee that is not listed above. At the time of submission, the quote shall include 23 sitting weeks for two committees. An amount should be identified by the bidder for additional Committee meetings identified by the AFN throughout the timeframe.

RIGHTS OF THE AFN

The AFN reserves the right to:

  1. reject any or all proposals received in response to this Request for Proposals;
  2. enter into negotiation with one or more Consultants on any or all aspects of their respective proposals;
  3. accept any proposal in whole, or in part;
  4. cancel and/or re-issue the modified version of a given RFP requirement at any time;
  5. award one or more contracts;
  6. verify all information provided with respect to a given RFP requirement, including the right to request a confirmation of the Consultant’s legal status and signed documentation; and
  7. award contracts without competition for follow-up work, if any, to the selected Consultant for a given project requirement.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The AFN will select the Proponent(s) which, in the AFN’s sole discretion, best serves the overall 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. Expertise of Firm/Organization submitting the proposal

20%

2. Experience in working with First Nations on advocacy

20%

3. Proposed Work Plan and Approach

20%

4. Experience in communications, writing, punctual, relationship building, problem solving, and budgeting

5. Invoice process

15%

 

5%

6.Total price

   20%

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

 Price

Contractors must provide a firm fixed price, including administrative fees, travel, material costs,  and HST.

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:

Amanda Bruce

Senior Policy Coordinator

Assembly of First Nations

55 Metcalfe Street, Suite 1600 Ottawa, ON K1P 6L5

Telephone: (613) 402-7200

Electronic Mail: [email protected]

Submission of Proposals

Only submissions that meet the deadline will be considered. Responses to this RFP must be received by the close of business (5:00pm EST) on September 8, 2023.

Submissions shall be sent by Electronic Mail to: [email protected]

 

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