When you're reading a federal solicitation, the salient features are the essential technical, performance, or commercial characteristics that define what's actually being bought and how bids will be judged. These aren't just nice-to-haves—they're the core attributes that separate a responsive proposal from one that misses the mark entirely.
How It Works
The Supply Manual doesn't explicitly define "salient features" as a standalone term, but the concept runs through the entire requirements development process. Section 3.45 requires that specifications and the statement of work describe requirements "in sufficient detail so that suppliers can understand the requirement and submit responsive bids and so that the bids can be evaluated and compared on a common basis." That level of detail is where your salient features live.
Here's the thing: these features must be stated clearly and completely, but not so restrictively that they shut out competition. Section 3.35 emphasizes that requirements must be "stated in terms that are not unduly restrictive and that allow for competition." When PSPC or any department drafts a solicitation, they need to identify which technical specs, performance thresholds, or commercial terms are genuinely essential versus merely preferred. If a feature is truly salient—say, a specific security clearance level for personnel or a minimum processing speed for IT equipment—it should appear as a mandatory requirement under Section 3.70, which states that "mandatory requirements must be clearly identified as such."
In practice, departments like DND or SSC often express salient features through a combination of mandatory criteria (pass/fail elements) and heavily weighted rated criteria (where superior performance on key attributes earns higher scores). The Directive on the Management of Procurement reinforces this by requiring that requirements be "defined and documented in a manner that is fair, transparent and accessible" and linked directly to "clearly articulated criteria" for assessment. You can't introduce an unstated essential feature during evaluation. Period. If it matters, it must be in the solicitation.
Key Considerations
- If a characteristic is truly essential to your operational need, make it mandatory in the solicitation. Evaluators cannot disqualify bids based on implicit or unstated features, no matter how obvious they seem.
- Performance-based specifications give you more flexibility than prescriptive technical specs. The archived Treasury Board Contracting Policy encouraged defining requirements "in terms of performance whenever possible"—this approach can capture salient features without limiting how suppliers meet them.
- Above trade agreement thresholds (currently $25,000 for goods under CUSMA, higher for services), your salient features must also comply with non-discrimination obligations. You can't draft essential characteristics in ways that effectively favour domestic or specific suppliers.
- The most common procurement challenges arise when agencies treat features as salient during evaluation that weren't clearly flagged in the solicitation documents. Transparency isn't optional—it's a procedural requirement under both the Supply Manual and the Directive on the Management of Procurement.
Related Terms
Mandatory Criteria, Rated Criteria, Statement of Work, Technical Specifications, Evaluation Plan
Sources
- Supply Manual – Section 3.45: Specifications and Statement of Work
- Supply Manual – Section 3.70: Evaluation Criteria
- Directive on the Management of Procurement – Appendix C
Bottom line: identify your truly essential features early, state them clearly in the solicitation, and tie them directly to how you'll evaluate bids. Anything less invites challenges and delays.