Progress Review Meetings (PRMs)

A Progress Review Meeting, usually shortened to PRM, is a scheduled meeting in which a supplier reports on the status of a project to the Government of Canada. Contracts typically describe it as a meeting the supplier must conduct with Canada to provide updates on the project. It is a contract-management requirement, written into a statement of work or contract annex.

The term is used project by project rather than as a single government-wide definition. The frequency, format and content of each PRM come from the contract that requires it. Suppliers should read the PRM clause in every solicitation and treat it as a delivery obligation.

How Canadian contract wording describes a PRM

A CanadaBuys contract annex requires the supplier to conduct a Progress Review Meeting quarterly with Canada to provide project updates. The same annex allows the PRM to be held jointly with design and technical meetings, and it states that the supplier is not expected to travel. The full wording is in the CanadaBuys annex.

National Defence uses similar language. In its status report on transformational major capital projects, DND describes PRMs as meetings held to formally report project progress to Canada. The DND status report sets out how this works on one major project.

How often PRMs are held

Frequency is not fixed across government. The CanadaBuys annex above sets a quarterly meeting. On the major capital project in the DND report, PRMs were conducted every two months.

A DND statement of work for an improved galley leaves the schedule to the parties. It requires the contractor to coordinate and conduct PRMs with Canada at a mutually agreed frequency. The first PRM must begin one month after the project kick-off meeting, and it must address project status against the matters reviewed at the kick-off review. The requirement is in the improved galley statement of work.

Where PRMs fit among other project meetings

PRMs sit alongside other meetings in the life of a contract:

• kick-off meetings;
• design and technical meetings;
• engineering review meetings;
• final review or project close-out meetings; and
• System Engineering and Integrated Logistics Support Technical Review Meetings on major defence projects.

These meetings are not interchangeable. On the DND major capital project, PRMs ran every two months, while the System Engineering and Integrated Logistics Support Technical Review Meetings were held separately each month. On the CanadaBuys annex, by contrast, a PRM may be combined with design and technical meetings.

Government contract-administration guidance also treats PRMs as a monitoring activity. Library and Archives Canada lists attending progress review meetings as part of monitoring supplier performance, alongside keeping records such as progress reports and meeting minutes. See the acquisition services guidance.

PRMs in Innovative Solutions Canada opportunities

Progress review meetings also appear in Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) opportunities. ISC pages list them as a separate event from the kick-off and final review meetings. They specify that progress meetings will take place by telephone or videoconference. One example is the ISC challenge on AI, space robotics, auto-diagnostics and early failure prediction.

What PRMs mean for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Where a solicitation or contract contains a PRM clause, the supplier must attend or conduct the meeting as specified. That means giving the required progress information, keeping to the stated frequency or timing, and meeting any location or teleconference requirements. The exact deliverables depend on the individual statement of work or contract.

Bid teams should check these points before submitting:

• how often the PRMs are required, or whether the frequency is to be agreed;
• whether the supplier or Canada coordinates the meeting;
• whether the PRM can be combined with other technical meetings;
• whether travel is expected or the meeting is remote; and
• what meeting minutes and progress reports Canada expects to keep on file.

Costing and scheduling should reflect these obligations from the start of the project, since the first PRM may fall as early as one month after kick-off.