CAC (Contract Awards Committee)

CAC means Contract Awards Committee. NATO's official glossary of acronyms and abbreviations defines it as a committee specific to the NATO International Staff, the permanent secretariat that supports NATO's member-country delegations and committees. You can read the entry in the NATO glossary of acronyms and abbreviations.

NATO's Procurement Manual describes the CAC as a standing board that serves as the Organization's Source Selection Authority for high-value contracts. It also acts as a deciding authority when a bidder protests a procurement decision. For a Canadian supplier, the CAC is a NATO term. You will meet it in NATO solicitations and contract documents, not in Canadian federal or provincial tender notices.

What the CAC does in NATO International Staff procurement

The NATO Procurement Manual gives the CAC authority over contract awards and contract modifications, within the limits set by the solicitation and any applicable source-selection plan. Its work is tied to NATO's Financial Regulations and Financial Rules and Procedures, which include the financial thresholds that require committee review.

• It ensures that source-selection processes comply with applicable procurement principles, regulations, waivers and authorisations.
• It reviews or approves source-selection plans for competitive procurements that use best-value procedures.
• It acts as the Source Selection Authority for high-value contracts.

CAC proceedings are not public. Bidders do not sit in on deliberations and should not expect to see how the committee discussed a file.

The CAC as a protest-resolution authority

The Procurement Manual also names the CAC as a deciding authority in the protest-resolution procedure used by NATO International Staff. A supplier that disagrees with a procurement decision therefore deals with the same type of body that makes the award. Follow the protest steps set out in the solicitation and the manual, and keep to the stated process and timelines.

How CAC appears in other NATO solicitations

The glossary ties the CAC to the International Staff, but the same abbreviation turns up across NATO procurement documents from other bodies. These documents set out how each body applies it.

• A NATO procurement document on the Joint Force Training Centre site states that contracts above specified financial levels are awarded by a CAC. It also describes the committee's composition and how unsuccessful bidders are notified after an award.
• The NATO Defense College standard bidding specifications state that, when applicable, the Contract Award Committee awards the contract under NATO procedures. Its sessions are closed to NATO personnel.
• NATO Allied Command Transformation solicitations, such as this invitation for international bidding, state that the CAC evaluates technically compliant proposals or awards contracts under the stated evaluation method.

Read each solicitation on its own terms. The wording on thresholds, composition and evaluation method comes from the issuing body, so confirm those details in the bid documents you are answering.

What the CAC means for a supplier bidding on contracts

CAC is NATO terminology. It is not the name of a Canadian federal or provincial procurement body, so you will not usually see it in Canadian tender documents. If you bid on a NATO solicitation, whether from the International Staff or another NATO body, the following steps apply.

• Follow the submission, eligibility and evaluation requirements in the solicitation.
• Understand that the CAC may evaluate proposals or award the contract under the stated NATO procedure.
• Meet the closing date. One NATO solicitation states that late bids may be considered at the CAC's discretion, but only under specified conditions, so do not plan around that exception.
• Wait for the contracting authority's notification. NATO procurement guidance states that unsuccessful bidders are notified after the CAC makes an award.

For background on the body the CAC belongs to, see NATO's page on the International Staff.