Individual 65353's submission
Procurement professionals can include: i. supply specialists; ii. the contracting authority; iii. contracting officers; iv. materiel management specialists; and v. procurement officers.
I suggest moving this to definitions section and say “Procurement professionals as defined in Clause X”.
This level of detail may lend itself better to the definitions section.
A client is responsible for:
Remove this from the Introduction and add it to Clause 10.1.2 a) Roles and Responsibilities.
This is a requirement which should go in the body of the Standard.
"Binding agreement"
Consider removing from the Definitions section.
This term is not used anywhere else in the body of the Standard.
Policies and procedures shall state that accessibility requirements: a. be included throughout the procurement process including: i. all phases of procurement (planning, bidding and contract award, and contract management and closeout); and ii. any competitive or non-competitive solicitation and resulting method of supply such as contracts, standing offers, or supply arrangements; b. be included in the specifications for the procurement of goods and services including: i. developing evaluation criteria and throughout the evaluation process; ii. identifying testing requirements at the solicitation and contract phase; iii. developing solicitation and contract documents; and iv. delivering industry engagement activities; and
I would suggest reworking the clause to regroup all process-related elements together in a) and all specifications together in b).
Right now b) has a mix of both process and specifications when it should strictly be specifications (i.e. evaluation criteria, testing requirements, solicitation and contract documents) according to how the clause is written.
Policies and procedures shall state that accessibility requirements:
Policies and procedures need to state that accessibility requirements shall:
The "shall" is misplaced here so the text doesn’t quite flow as smoothly with the bullets that follow.
The ordering of requirements in this Clause.
The justification form shall: a) provide the reasons why accessibility requirements were not included in the procurement. Note: It is not sufficient to state that accessibility was "not appropriate" or " not applicable." b) provide information on the decision-making process to exclude accessibility requirements including the following activities, if applicable: i. consulting with end-users, including people with disabilities, to determine the functionality of the good, service or construction; ii. identifying accessibility standards, guidelines, and best practices; iii. consulting with subject matter experts; iv. engaging with industry to determine market capacity; v. developing a flexible procurement approach complying with Clause 10.1.3; and vi. conducting a risk-assessment for not including accessibility; and c) be signed by the client with the delegated responsibility and kept on the procurement file.
The only requirement that is directly tied to the policy is a) and everything else is tied to the written justification.
provide the reasons why accessibility requirements were not included in the procurement and provide information on the decision-making process to exclude accessibility requirements, including the following activities, if applicable:
This should be a sub-bullet under point a).
Policies do not provide reasons accessibility requirements are excluded it is the responsible party (i.e. client, procurement professional, contractor) and I believe they do so as part of the written justification
c. be signed by the client with the delegated responsibility and kept on the procurement file.
This requirement should be a sub-bullet under a) rather than as part of the policies opening statement.
The written justification (or Justification form) must be signed by the client, not the policy.
Providing clear information in an accessible format helps individuals involved throughout a procurement process, including:
Needs a “should, shall or may” otherwise if it is just background information it needs to be a note. See CSA B651 6.4.1 General to see how general clauses are drafted.
There needs to be clarification about whether this is a requirement or just general guidance.
The following requirements help clients and procurement professionals to plan accessible and inclusive engagement activities for both in-person and virtual events. Consistent, coherent, and well-coordinated engagement activities improve procurement outcomes.
“The following requirements should help clients and procurement professionals to plan accessible and inclusive engagement activities for both in-person and virtual events. Consistent, coherent, and well-coordinated engagement activities shall improve procurement outcomes.”
Need to include a should shall or may sentence here or turn this into a note.
The objective of the following requirements is to expand on the need to ask attendees about accommodation requirements. Following requirements for facilities creates accessible in-person events that are inclusive for all.
“The objective of the following requirements shall expand on the need to ask attendees about accommodation requirements. Following requirements for facilities shall creates accessible in-person events that are inclusive for all.”
Needs to be drafted as a requirement or included as a note.
There are additional considerations for organizers to consider when delivering virtual engagement activities. This includes accounting for digital accessibility and different accommodations to create virtual events where everyone can participate.
“There are additional considerations for organizers to consider when delivering virtual engagement activities. These activities shall account for digital accessibility and different accommodations to create virtual events where everyone can participate.”
This should contain a requirement otherwise it should be a note.
Procurement professionals can include: supply specialists; the contracting authority; contracting officers; materiel management specialists; and procurement officers.
Remove separate bullets for different types of procurement professionals, and generally simplify the intro.
Clarity
This includes individuals responsible for procurement, employees who support these processes, and businesses who bid on these processes or sell their products.
Rather than list these could we remove this line and merge it with the line below to say “including the following user groups”.
It might raise questions like: a) Is “individuals responsible for procurement” the same or different than “procurement professionals?” b) Why are “employees who support these processes” not explicitly listed below.
A client is responsible for: defining the required capabilities, intended business outcomes, and benefits of a project, procurement, or program at its outset; and the achievement of business outcomes and benefits following implementation. A client could also commonly be referred to as: the project authority; the technical authority; and the requisitioner. Procurement policy and program service and delivery teams within organizations by ensuring that the user experience and accessibility requirements are incorporated when developing web and non-web content, websites, forms, and digital applications. This also includes, but is not limited to services such as: usage tutorials; frequently asked questions; and help desk support. End users by ensuring that individuals who use or interact with the goods or services procured are consulted throughout the procurement process to identify and remove barriers. Businesses by ensuring that the procurement process is accessible to those involved in businesses, including those owned by persons with disabilities, or where employees with disabilities support procurement processes. Businesses are also expected to demonstrate how they will meet accessibility requirements and implement them. This will be monitored and evaluated no differently than other contractual obligations.
Remove all text from "A client is responsible for;" until "This Standards aligns with the Canadian Charter..."
It’s not clear why this is in the intro. It sounds like a requirement which should go into the body of the Standard. Also, if there are all these points for what a client does then you may want to define client or do a subheading pertaining to client. Why is this important in context of the standard intro?
roles and responsibilities for clients and procurement professionals;
You could have separate part further down about roles and responsibilities for clients and professionals after the scope and the definitions section which outlines what you mean by client.
This bullet is a better segue way for the paragraph about client (from the Introduction).
the principles should be adapted to other procurement contexts.
More detail or specification.
Lacks clarity.
it shall be to the edition listed below:
it shall be to the most recent edition of the publication listed below, including all amendments published thereto.
Keeps it current
The selection of terms defined or omitted.
Consider why certain terms have been defined here while others have been omitted. You define some terms (tender) but not others (quotation, proposal).
Is there a reason for this and are your definitions based on industry standard language?
Person — includes an individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, limited partnership, unincorporated association, unincorporated syndicate, unincorporated organization, trust, body corporate, and an individual in his or her capacity as trustee, executor, administrator or other legal representative.
person means an individual, partnership, association, body corporate, or personal representative; (personne) personal representative means a person who stands in place of and represents another person including, but not limited to, a trustee, an executor, an administrator, a liquidator of a succession, an administrator of the property of others, a guardian or tutor, a curator, a receiver or sequestrator, an agent or mandatary or an attorney; (représentant personnel)
If you define “unincorporated” entities then you should define company - unless you adopt our suggested definition from Canada Business Corporations Act. We would propose to use a definition from legislation (Canada Business Corporations Act) to ensure the term person captures different stakeholders as defined in business law. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-44/page-1.html#h-108371
Bidder — a legal entity, person, joint venture or company that has submitted a bid in response to a solicitation.
Inclusion of the term "person" in this definition links it to a new suggested definition for that term below: person means an individual, partnership, association, body corporate, or personal representative; (personne) personal representative means a person who stands in place of and represents another person including, but not limited to, a trustee, an executor, an administrator, a liquidator of a succession, an administrator of the property of others, a guardian or tutor, a curator, a receiver or sequestrator, an agent or mandatary or an attorney; (représentant personnel)
As stated in the comment about the definition of the word "person": If you define “unincorporated” entities then you should define company - unless you adopt our suggested definition from Canada Business Corporations Act.
Service — a service is obtained through formal arrangements such as contracts, memoranda of understanding, and letters of agreement, to support the realization of specific outcomes.
“the provision of goods, services, or construction obtained through formal arrangements such as contracts, memoranda of understanding, and letters of agreement, to support the realization of specified outcomes.”
Unclear. You don’t define what a service is only how it is obtained. Is this industry standard language?
Supplier — a person or legal entity that provides or could provide goods, services or construction.
Supplier — a person or legal entity that provides goods, services or construction.
Including "or could provide" is not necessary.
Tender — a proposal, bid or offer that is submitted in response to an Invitation to Tender, Request for Proposal, or Request for Quotation from a contracting authority.
Suggest to combine this with definition of "bid".
This duplication adds confusion, unless this is the industry standard definition.