Task and Solutions Professional Services (TSPS)

Task and Solutions Professional Services (TSPS) is a Government of Canada professional-services procurement method with two mandatory methods of supply: task-based and solution-based. It lets federal departments solicit competitive bids from pre-qualified supply-arrangement holders for non-information-technology professional services. Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) administers it. The official description is on the PSPC TSPS page.

TSPS is separate from Task-Based Informatics Professional Services (TBIPS), which covers informatics and IT services. A supplier that qualifies for TSPS holds a supply arrangement. That arrangement is the entry point to individual competitive solicitations, not a contract in itself.

Task-based and solution-based methods of supply

The two methods suit different kinds of work, as PSPC's explanation of how the methods of supply work sets out.

• Task-based: used for specific assignments involving one or more consultants, with defined deliverables and normally a specific start and end date.
• Solution-based: used when a department has a business problem rather than a fully specified list of tasks. The supplier determines, manages and delivers the overall solution and accepts responsibility for the outcome.

Federal departments can use the task-based method for non-IT requirements at or above the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement threshold. Requirements below that threshold must use ProServices. The solution-based method can be used for non-IT requirements regardless of dollar value, according to the main TSPS page.

How TSPS fits into the Centralized Professional Services System

TSPS supply arrangements are part of the Government of Canada's Centralized Professional Services System (CPSS). PSPC establishes the arrangements and manages them through that system. The CPSS page describes the wider framework, including its common business rules and standardized items.

For federal departments, the TSPS methods of supply are mandatory. A department must use them before considering an alternative procurement method, unless it requests and receives an exemption. The exemption guidance for government employees explains that process.

Becoming a pre-qualified TSPS supplier

Pre-qualification runs through a Request for Supply Arrangements (RFSA) published on CanadaBuys. The guidance on becoming pre-qualified lays out the steps. A supplier must:

• Obtain and review the applicable RFSA through CanadaBuys.
• Create or use a CPSS ePortal account.
• Submit the required online response and meet every mandatory RFSA criterion.
• Provide any paper elements requested during evaluation.
• Go through PSPC evaluation, after which a responsive supplier may receive a supply arrangement.

Who buys through TSPS and what the solicitations look like

TSPS gives federal departments across Canada access to pre-qualified suppliers. Government guidance also names client departments, Crown corporations and agencies as users of the supply arrangements. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has reported using PSPC's TSPS supply arrangement to obtain competitive bids from pre-qualified suppliers, as its competitive process document shows.

Solicitations are restricted to holders of the specified arrangement, and they can name a stream, tier and region. One CanadaBuys solution-based tender notice shows this restriction in practice. Shared Services Canada has issued solution-based solicitations under TSPS.

What TSPS means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

If you sell non-IT professional services to federal departments, TSPS is often the route those departments must use first. Holding a supply arrangement is a precondition for bidding on these solicitations. Check the stream, tier and region on each notice against your arrangement before you commit bid resources. Choose your positioning to match the method: task-based bids answer defined deliverables, while solution-based bids ask you to own the outcome. Pre-qualification does not award work, so every contract still depends on winning an individual competitive solicitation.