Procurement reform and small business

Summit, Apr/May 2005 by Newman, David

Parliamentary secretary Walt Lastewka recently submitted to Public Works and Government Services Canada Minister, Scott Brison, his task force's final report on the government-wide procurement review (www. pwgsc.gc.ca/prtf/text/final_report-e.html). The comprehensive, thoughtful and controversial report basically says the 'feds' should operate more like big market players and make the most of the advantages that size, capacity and expertise offer.

One of the issues the report raises has generated more than a little heat-the impact of proposed IT procurement reforms on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Some of that he has recently been defused by the announcement of a new SME facilitation bureau at PWGSC. Discussions also relate to the role of procurement in Canada's innovation agenda. A few old demons were unleashed as well - everything from policy set asides to omnibus contracting, to leveling competitive playing fields. This Chatroom includes three key, non-government luminaries in this debate, and the Chatroom will no doubt engage in debate other major government players in procurement reform as it evolves. Let us know what you think, too. So ... let's chat.

Does anybody really know what time it is?

Reid: After doing the only extensive polling of the [hi-tech] industry regarding vendor procurement, we were invited to meet Minister Brison. Following that consultation, we launched the VendorACT campaign to link any procurement policy change that affects the hi-tech sector to Canada's innovation agenda and to evaluate what PWGSC has done in terms of that overall goal. We're pleased with where we are ... but we now need agreement on goals and setting up an accountability matrix that measures how a particular partner or agency is meeting targets. The CATA team, is establishing the actual measurement criteria to benchmark progress. We will: look at issues raised by the vendor community and track what has been addressed; look at the number of opportunities provided to SMEs; and measure the dollar amounts and the performance of mechanisms used to involve the community in procurements.

Whyte: CFIB met with Minister Brison, three separate times with Parliamentary secretary Walt Lastewka, and had a lengthy meeting with Deputy Minister David Marshall. CFIB focused on key governing principles. Consolidating purchasing, looking for single suppliers and taking a commodity approach make sense from the federal government's point of view and from the perspective of saving taxpayers' dollars. But the government needs clear procurement objectives that balance value-formoney and other economic development objectives. Currently, there is a lack of congruent objectives, performance measurement against objectives and a focus on outcomes. We need greater accountability, transparency, consolidation, simplicity and efficiency in procurement. There are currently 15 Arts of Parliament, over 35 different policies, the Fair Wages legislation - many are outdated or contradictory and central agency micromanagement of procurement.

Courtois: PWGSC is committed to aligning its practices with private sector practices. They consulted with ITAC and identified an array of commodity councils. These will identify and implement best practices in the procurement of a number of commodity groupings, the first of which are professional services and microcomputers. Some very small businesses participated in our consultations on professional services. We conducted workshops and participated in PWGSC town halls to help bring a broader representation of industry concerns to the process and we identified a few areas that will greatly assist small business participation. For example, there should be a procurement stream that includes small to very small consulting firms that are the best in their field and, with a slight change to the parameters, it appears these specialized consulting firms will now be included.

Just you and me

Whyte: We will follow closely the evolution of the announced office of SMEs at PWGSC. It is important that it takes an enabling stance, not one of paternalistic positioning. SMEs can, and want, to compete head to head. This office will need a strong capacity to measure how, and how many, SMEs are accessing government contracts. Right now we are flying blind. We don't have data, analysis or information and without better and more relevant data collection and a common database on suppliers, the government will be unable to track SME participation in procurement over time. Strong monitoring and analysis provide the opportunity to address impacts of procurement policies. CFIB also hopes for a watchdog function that can enforce SME-friendly policies.

Courtois: ITAC members - a broad array of small, medium and large companies - worked closely with PWGSC and Treasury Board over the last decade to achieve improvements in federal procurement. ITAC always represented and defended the interests of Canadian SMEs. On the procurement initiatives, ITAC invited representatives from small business associations to attend with us and openly shared our input documents. As we initiate the next stage of procurement reform, internalizing the objectives of the Expenditure Review Committee and final recommendations of the Lastewka task force, this representation will continue.