Things to take notice of in a procurement process 

Question period

Read over the Document when you first get it.   You may have question and there is a time limit on when you can ask questions during a procurement process.  

Check for instructions and site visits. 

Procurement documents are given with instructions.  Make sure you read the instructions for important information like site meetings, timetables for deliverables, and closing information.  

Check if there are mandatory requirements.   

If you don’t meet mandatory requirements, you may not be evaluated.  Check to see what mandatory requirements are needed for your project.  They will be listed with the project deliverables.   

Note the evaluation method.  

The evaluation section tells you how the County intends to review the submissions.  Evaluation can be solely price based or involve a list of criteria.   

Some projects will indicate minimum thresholds, phase deliverables, and presentations.   These sections will give you more information on what the County is looking for in your response. 

Check for submission requirements 

The County E-Submission portal will guide you through the submission process.   Look at the site after you read the procurement to make sure you understand the submission requirements needed to complete your bid.   

Give yourself time to enter your information.   Don’t leave the entry to the last minute.  We recommend that vendors upload their submissions one day prior to closing.  

Questions 

If you are bidding on a project, please submit your questions through the E-Submission portal.   

Dropping off information or procurement related items at County Offices.  

If you are dropping off any documents at the County, please include your corporate information, contact information (including phone, email and address), the project number you are dropping off documents for.    

What trade agreements are Sturgeon County required to follow? 

Sturgeon County is obligated to post procurement opportunities based on several trade agreements.  In some cases, the value of the procurement will also dictate the length of time an opportunity needs to be posted.  

Sturgeon County, frequently defer to CETA (Canadian European Union Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement), TCA (Canada-UK Trade Continuity Agreement), CFTA (The Canadian Free Trade Agreement) and NWPTA (New West Partnership Trade Agreement) when posting procurement to the Alberta Purchasing Connection (APC).  

Sturgeon County is considered part of the MASH sector.  The dollar values presented above in each agreement dictate various procurement requirements when thresholds are estimated for a project.   

How does Sturgeon County decide what procurement process is required? 

To ensure we follow trade agreement requirements, the County has developed four procurement procedures: competitive, invitational, self-serve, and non-competitive.   

• Competitive – Over $75,000 (CAD) Goods and Services, over $200,000 Construction publicly posted to the Alberta Purchasing Connection (APC) and on the Sturgeon County E-Submission Portal (Bids&Tenders) 

• Invitational – Under trade agreement thresholds, departments may invite three or more suppliers to compete on a quotation or proposal.  

• Self-Serve – Purchases are below $5,000 (CAD) and without a recurrent need.  These are one-time purchases managed by departments.  

• Non-Competitive – Any threshold in relation to emergency situations or where only one supplier is available in the market.  These situations are evaluated as they arise and are rare in nature.  Notices of Award are posted to the Alberta Purchasing Connection (APC) when trade agreement thresholds are exceeded.  

The process selected is often dictated by dollar value, however, risk level, and other special considerations (as an example privacy) may be taken into consideration when selecting the right process.   
 

There are a lot of acronyms in procurement.  What do they all mean? 

Here are the most common procurement-related acronyms uses by the County and the explanation for each:   

• RFPQ - Request for Pre-Qualification: this process is used to predetermine qualifications in categories of work.  There is the potential opportunity to bid on future projects.  

• RFI - Request for Information: as it states, this is a request for information only and does not necessarily lead to a contract.  RFIs are used to obtain marking capabilities, market research, uncover important factors 

• RFP - Request for Proposal: this is a formal request for proposals on a project. Contracts are awarded by evaluation criteria presented in the document.  

• RFT or ITT – Request for Tender or Invitation to Tender: This is an open invitation to suppliers to submit bids. Contracts are awarded to the lowest compliant bidder 

• RFQ – Request for Quote: this is a request for a quote on a specific product and/or service. The contract is awarded by evaluation presented in the document or lowest compliant bidder.