Savoir-Faire

Savoir-faire is a French term meaning practical knowledge, skill or know-how. It refers to the knowledge and experience required to perform a task or carry out an activity. It is not an abbreviation or an acronym. It is an ordinary French expression that English has borrowed.

The term is used in English and French technical, commercial, legal and defence contexts to describe applied expertise rather than purely theoretical knowledge. In procurement, it can describe a supplier's accumulated technical experience, methods, processes, operational competence or other non-public expertise.

How savoir-faire differs from related terms

Savoir-faire sits close to several other terms, but it is not necessarily identical to any of them. Bid teams should keep the distinctions in mind when a solicitation or contract uses the word:

• Know-how: the closest English equivalent, meaning practical knowledge of how to do something.
• Technical expertise: specialized skill in a field, which may or may not include the methods a supplier keeps to itself.
• Experience: a record of work already performed, usually shown through past projects.
• Proprietary information: information a supplier treats as its own and does not share freely.
• Intellectual property: legal rights over creations or inventions, which is a separate matter from the skill of applying them.

The word savoir-faire on its own does not establish a particular certification, security clearance, intellectual-property right or mandatory experience threshold. Its meaning in any document comes from the text around it.

Savoir-faire and NATO terminology

NATOTerm is NATO's official terminology database. It contains military and non-military terminology relevant to NATO, is maintained by the NATO Terminology Office, which is part of the NATO Standardization Office, and is available in NATO's two official languages, English and French. Suppliers who work with NATO documents in both languages can use it as the reference point for NATO terminology: NATOTerm.

NATO procurement opportunities may be issued by NATO Headquarters, Allied Command Transformation, Allied Command Operations, the NATO Support and Procurement Organisation or the NATO Communications and Information Organisation. They are listed on the NATO procurement opportunities page. NATO common-funded procurement is governed by NATO procurement policy and competitive-procurement procedures, described under business and project opportunities.

How Canadian federal solicitations frame expertise

Federal guidance for suppliers is built around the solicitation itself rather than around the term savoir-faire. Suppliers are expected to review the solicitation and its mandatory requirements, follow the prescribed submission format, provide the requested information, demonstrate their ability to perform the work and comply with the applicable standard clauses. The Government of Canada sets this out in its guidance on preparing a bid.

CanadaBuys is the official source for Government of Canada tender and award notices, as explained in the introduction to the procurement process. The platform also provides procurement policy and process guidance in its buyer's guide. Any expertise a buyer wants to see is expressed through mandatory criteria and evaluation criteria in the notice and its attached documents.

What savoir-faire means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

When you meet the term in a Canadian solicitation, read the surrounding definition and the evaluation criteria before you respond. Treat savoir-faire as applied expertise that you must demonstrate in the format the solicitation prescribes, using the evidence it asks for. Do not assume it creates a security requirement, an intellectual-property obligation or a minimum number of years of experience unless the document says so. Address every mandatory criterion, follow the submission format exactly and confirm the standard clauses that apply to the contract.