Contract Scope

Contract scope is the defined extent of the work, goods or services included in a contract. It sets out what the contractor must deliver and marks the boundary between what is in scope and what is out of scope.

In Canadian public procurement, scope is expressed through documents such as the statement of work, specifications, deliverables, work sites, schedules and the contract period. The term is closely related to scope of work, statement of work, deliverables, contract requirements and change control. Suppliers read these documents to decide whether they can meet the requirement, and the Crown relies on them to hold the contractor to it.

How Treasury Board guidance describes contract scope and deliverables

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat uses the phrase "contract scope and deliverables" in its guidance for drafters of Treasury Board submissions. A procurement submission must include a clear description of the contractor's deliverables. That description must also show how the deliverables relate to the relevant program or project and to any associated contracts.

The same guidance lists other information that frames the work: the proposed start date, the work location, the delivery schedule and the completion date. Together these details tell decision makers what is being bought, where it will be done and when it will be finished.

Contract scope in a federal request for proposals

A request for proposals published on CanadaBuys shows where scope sits in a solicitation. The work requirements appear in Annex A, Statement of Work, under Part 1, Scope of Work. That section specifies the work to be performed, the contract period and the work sites. In this solicitation, the work includes activities at buildings at the Morden Research and Development Centre in Manitoba.

The solicitation also states that changes to the contract must be authorized in writing by the Contracting Authority. Scope is therefore a fixed reference point, and it moves only through a formal, documented change.

A defence example: warehouse operations and site management

Scope can also be described in plain terms for a service contract. In its fairness monitoring material on the Weapon Effects Simulation interim in-service support procurement, Public Services and Procurement Canada describes a contract scope that included warehouse operations and site management. The service-support contractor was responsible for performing those activities.

This example shows that scope names the activities a contractor is accountable for, not only a list of items to be delivered.

What contract scope means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

• Read the scope first. Use the statement of work, specifications, deliverables, work sites, schedule and contract period to decide whether you can meet the requirement.
• Price to the scope. Your proposal should be structured around the work as described, including location and timing.
• Check the boundaries. Note what is stated as included, and treat anything not described as outside the contract.
• Do not accept informal changes. Where a solicitation requires changes to be authorized in writing by the Contracting Authority, work outside the stated scope should not begin until that authorization is in place.
• Align with associated contracts. Treasury Board guidance links deliverables to the program, project and related contracts, so understand how your work fits with them.