Synopsis Sheet (SSID)

SSID stands for Synopsis Sheet (Identification). It is a project-approval document used in Canadian defence procurement, where the Department of National Defence (DND) and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) share responsibilities for acquiring goods and services. The document is used to identify a defence capability or project and to obtain operational approval to continue with it.

The term appears in the CanadaBuys responsibility matrix for agreements with the Department of National Defence. The matrix writes it as SS(ID) and lists it beside two related documents, SS(PPA) and SS(EPA). Together with project briefs, these make up the project submissions that DND and PSPC participants prepare.

What the DND and PSPC matrix says about SSID

CanadaBuys publishes the matrix as part of its procurement essentials for buyers. It sets out the specific responsibilities DND and PSPC hold in the acquisition of goods and services. SSID is named in the project-approval portion of that matrix.

The matrix ties three responsibilities to this document and its companions:

• Identifying total rough-order-of-magnitude project cost and schedule estimates for SSID.
• Obtaining operational approval to continue with the project through SSID.
• Preparing project submissions and obtaining approval for SS(PPA), SS(EPA) and project briefs.

The first item shows that an SSID carries early estimates of cost and schedule. Those figures are rough-order-of-magnitude estimates, which means they describe the general scale of a project and not a final price or timeline.

SSID alongside SS(PPA), SS(EPA) and project briefs

The matrix expands each of the related abbreviations. SS(PPA) is Synopsis Sheet (Preliminary Project Assessment). SS(EPA) is Synopsis Sheet (Effective Project Approval). Each is a separate document with its own approval purpose, and the matrix groups them with project briefs when it describes the submissions DND and PSPC participants prepare.

When you see an unfamiliar abbreviation that begins with SS, check the letters in brackets. ID refers to identification, PPA to preliminary project assessment and EPA to effective project approval. The bracketed letters tell you which document is meant.

Where SSID sits relative to public tenders

SSID belongs to the approval work that DND and PSPC carry out when they develop a defence project. It is listed in a responsibility matrix for buyers, not in the guidance for suppliers on responding to a solicitation. Public tenders are published separately on the CanadaBuys tender opportunities page, and the site explains how to find tender opportunities for suppliers who are getting started.

The matrix assigns the SSID responsibilities to DND and PSPC participants. It does not describe SSID as a bid form or as a clause that appears in defence solicitations.

What SSID means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

A supplier will not normally need to complete an SSID to respond to a tender. The value of knowing the term is in reading defence procurement material correctly. If a DND or PSPC document refers to SSID, SS(PPA) or SS(EPA), it is referring to stages of internal project approval, and each stage carries operational approval and cost and schedule estimates.

Bid teams can use that understanding in three ways:

• Recognize the abbreviation when it appears in buyer-facing guidance on CanadaBuys.
• Treat a defence project as one that moves through documented approval steps before and alongside procurement activity.
• Keep the tender notice and its solicitation documents as the source for what must be submitted in a bid.

For requirements, deadlines and mandatory submissions, always rely on the solicitation itself on CanadaBuys.