Senior Project Advisory Committee (SPAC)

A Senior Project Advisory Committee, known as a SPAC, is an interdepartmental senior-level forum used in Canadian federal project governance. The Treasury Board glossary defines it as the body that determines the appropriate steps to orient a risky project toward relevant national objectives. Its French equivalent is Comité consultatif supérieur de projet (CCSP). Treasury Board glossary entry

A SPAC can initiate agreements between the sponsoring department and the participating departments, resolve issues, and review project objectives, requests for proposals and other key project instruments. It can also carry out the procurement-review role that a Procurement Review Committee would otherwise perform. The SPAC is a government body, and suppliers do not join it or apply to it.

Where the SPAC requirement came from

The SPAC comes from federal project-management and procurement-governance policy, in particular the former Management of Major Crown Projects policy, the former Project Management Policy and the former Procurement Review Policy. Under the Project Management Policy, forming a SPAC was required for procurement review on projects over $100 million. Project Management Policy

The former Procurement Review Policy applied the same threshold to departmental procurements. It required a SPAC for procurements over $100 million that were not part of a Major Crown Project. Procurement Review Policy

The Auditor General has described the same practice. Projects over $100 million establish an interdepartmental SPAC to perform procurement-review functions and to review requests for proposals and other project instruments. Auditor General report

Who sits on a SPAC

The former Major Crown Projects policy required a SPAC made up of senior representatives of the departments participating in the project. The committee advises the project leader, who chairs it, and conducts the project's procurement review. Management of Major Crown Projects

The membership level varies with the organization. The Department of National Defence headquarters-move project used a SPAC of assistant deputy ministers and directors general. Its purpose was to keep overall project direction aligned with departmental commitments and expectations. DND headquarters-move review

How departments use the term

The Department of National Defence and Public Services and Procurement Canada use the term when they describe acquisition responsibilities and governance arrangements. CanadaBuys: agreements with the Department of National Defence

Other departments use the same name for their own project governance. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency uses SPAC for Tier 1 projects. Its Vice-President-level committee gives direction on project oversight, gating and change requests. CFIA project management report

What a SPAC means for a supplier

A SPAC is an internal government governance and procurement-review body. No general supplier registration, certification or submission requirement is attached to it.

Its effect on bidders is indirect. On large or risky projects, a senior interdepartmental committee reviews the project objectives, the request for proposals and other procurement instruments before and during the procurement. Bid teams should treat the solicitation as a document that has been through senior review, and should read its objectives and requirements closely. Questions go to the contracting authority named in the solicitation, not to committee members.

• Expect the largest federal projects to have formal senior-level review of their procurement documents.
• Align your bid with the stated project objectives, since the SPAC reviews these.
• Use the contracting authority named in the solicitation as your only channel for questions.