NQAA (National Quality Assurance Authority)

NQAA stands for National Quality Assurance Authority. In Canadian defence terminology, it is a military service, government agency or organization within a NATO member state or Partnership for Peace country that is identified as an authority for NATO quality assurance matters. A country may have more than one designated NQAA.

The term belongs to the NATO quality assurance system and is used by the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces. It sits alongside Government Quality Assurance (GQA), the process DND uses to confirm that materiel and services meet contract requirements. For suppliers, the term most often surfaces in the quality assurance clauses of DND solicitations.

Where the NQAA definition comes from

The definition appears in DND's policy on the quality of materiel and services, which draws on the Defence Terminology Bank. You can read it in the DND policy on quality of materiel and services. DND also keeps a definitions listing for its administrative orders and directives.

The same policy states that internationally recognized quality management standards should be used when contracting for materiel and services. It also says Canadian procedures should be harmonized with NATO and other military organizations. The NQAA concept is one of the ways that harmonization works in practice, because it names the national body responsible for quality assurance in each participating country.

Who acts as Canada's NQAA

DND identifies the Director General Materiel Systems and Supply Chain (DGMSSC) as the office that fulfils the NQAA function when a delegation for quality assurance services with an allied nation is involved. In other words, when Canada and an allied country arrange for one to perform quality assurance on the other's behalf, DGMSSC speaks for Canada in that role.

How NQAA appears in DND solicitations

NQAA is a DND and defence term. It is not a general designation used across all federal or provincial purchasing. In CanadaBuys solicitation documents, quality assurance is handled through standard clauses:

• D5510C, Quality Assurance Authority (Department of National Defence), Canadian-based Contractor.
• D5515C, Quality Assurance Authority (Department of National Defence), Foreign-based and United States Contractor.

These clauses are associated with Quality Assurance Code Q. Examples are visible in solicitation W8485-269025 and solicitation W8485-247804.

DND solicitations also state that work may be subject to Government Quality Assurance at the contractor's or subcontractor's facility and at the installation site. That work is performed by the Director of Quality Assurance or a designated Quality Assurance Representative (QAR). Example requests for proposals, such as W8476-256997 and W8485-247842, require the contractor to contact the QAR within 48 hours of contract award. The QAR's details can be obtained from the applicable National Defence Quality Assurance Region.

The NQAA wording comes into play for international or allied work. Where no official mutual GQA arrangement exists, DND may arrange for GQA services to be conducted by a National Quality Assurance Authority acceptable to the Director of Quality Assurance. This language appears in solicitation W8476-236725.

Terms linked to NQAA

• Quality Assurance Authority: the title used in the D5510C and D5515C clauses.
• Quality Assurance Representative (QAR): the person who performs or coordinates GQA and is the supplier's contact after award.
• Government Quality Assurance (GQA): DND's verification that work conforms to contract requirements.
• ISO 9001: an internationally recognized quality management standard that DND policy favours for materiel and services contracts.

The CanadaBuys buyer's guide section on standards and quality assurance gives wider context on how federal buyers define quality requirements.

What NQAA means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Read the quality assurance section of every DND solicitation and the clauses it incorporates. Check whether the contractor is treated as Canadian-based or foreign-based, because that decides whether D5510C or D5515C applies. Plan for GQA access at your facility and your subcontractors' facilities, and be ready to contact the QAR within 48 hours of award where the solicitation says so.

If you are a foreign-based supplier, or the work involves an allied nation, confirm which quality assurance authority will carry out GQA. The solicitation extracts do not establish a universal requirement that every supplier hold ISO 9001 certification, so check each bid for the specific quality system, inspection and reporting requirements it sets.