When you're buying complex services or technical solutions, you need to know if a bidder can actually do the work before you look at their price. The savoir-faire approach—though you won't find this exact term in the Supply Manual—describes the two-envelope evaluation method where technical proposals get assessed completely separately from financial ones. Only bidders who meet your technical requirements get their price envelopes opened.
How It Works
Here's the thing: this isn't officially called "savoir-faire" in federal procurement documentation, but the process itself is well-established in Chapter 3.5 of the Supply Manual under general bid evaluation criteria. You set up mandatory criteria that are strictly pass/fail, often combined with point-rated criteria that let you score technical merit. Financial proposals stay sealed until technical evaluation is complete.
In practice, your procurement specialist handles this in stages. First comes the technical envelope: evaluators assess whether bids meet each mandatory requirement, documenting compliance with simple yes/no determinations. According to guidance from PSPC's centralized professional services system, any bid that fails a mandatory technical criterion receives no further consideration. Period. For bids that pass, evaluators then score point-rated criteria—maybe you're rating experience, methodology, or proposed key personnel. Only after technical scoring is finalized do you open financial envelopes.
The separation matters because it prevents price from influencing technical judgment. As noted in the Procurement Ombudsman's review of bid evaluation processes, Treasury Board Contracting Policy section 10.3.1 requires that assessment and award criteria be clearly spelled out in your solicitation. You can't change your mind about what matters technically after seeing who bid low. The financial evaluation typically follows a stated basis of selection—lowest evaluated price among technically compliant bids, or best overall value if you're combining technical scores with price.
Key Considerations
- Document everything before opening price envelopes. Your technical evaluation must be complete and signed off. Canada Revenue Agency's contracting audit found that procurement specialists who mixed technical and financial evaluation stages created problems down the line—keep these phases separate.
- Minimum response times apply. According to PSPC assessor guidance, you need adequate bid response times, and anything shorter requires written justification. Don't rush the technical evaluation phase just because you're eager to see pricing.
- Transparency in your solicitation is non-negotiable. Bidders need to know exactly what technical requirements are mandatory versus rated, and how you'll weight different factors. The two-envelope approach only works when evaluation criteria are crystal clear upfront.
- For procurements at or below $40,000, informal processes are allowed—but you still need documentation confirming suppliers received the statement of work and understood evaluation criteria, even if you're not doing a formal two-envelope process.
Related Terms
Mandatory Criteria, Point-Rated Criteria, Basis of Selection, Technical Evaluation
Sources
- Supply Manual, Chapter 3.5: Bid Evaluation Criteria
- PSPC Assessor Guidance for Supply Arrangement Requirements
- Procurement Ombudsman: Review of Bid Evaluation Processes
The two-envelope method protects the integrity of your technical evaluation and gives you defensible procurement decisions. Just make sure your solicitation documents clearly explain the process to bidders.