Report on Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business 2015 to 2018

PSAB as a catalyst for Indigenous businesses success

ISC has focused on strengthening PSAB by improving data and performance measurement. It is also working to develop integrated, partnership-based approaches to major contracting opportunities and to leverage partnership agreements and strategies to increase participation of Indigenous businesses in contracting opportunities with the federal government.

From 2015 to 2018, ISC assisted federal departments in using PSAB by participating in the Procurement Review Committees (PRC), assessing Indigenous business capacity, and identifying opportunities for set asides. Notifications were sent to members of the PRC for federal contracts valued over $2 million.

Outreach

ISC participates in outreach activities such as conferences, conventions and presentations on the federal procurement process to facilitate federal procurement opportunities for Indigenous businesses. PSAB provides awareness and training sessions to both internal and external stakeholders on an ongoing basis. In 2016, ISC renewed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and work plan with the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (OSME), to co-ordinate the delivery of information and training regarding Indigenous procurement opportunities and to explore new approaches to maximize Indigenous business participation in federal and other potential opportunities.

Promotion and outreach activities are necessary to inform both Indigenous businesses and federal officials on the benefits of PSAB. The goal therein is to raise awareness not only of PSAB, but of Indigenous business capacity and the procurement opportunities taking place through different vehicles in the federal procurement system. In 2015, PSAB staff participated in several conferences and trade shows, including:

• the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Convention
• Women Entrepreneurs Forum
• Northern Lights Conference
• Infrastructure Conference

Through its participation in national conferences, ISC supports framework objectives, promotes procurement-readiness training, and facilitates the network of opportunities between Indigenous businesses and government.

Memorandum of Understanding with Public Services and Procurement Canada

PSAB and the OSME have continued to coordinate the delivery of educational PSAB material at outreach events and activities pursuant to the MOU established between the 2 in 2011. Under the MOU, OSME and PSAB have coordinated the delivery of PSAB presentations to industry and government stakeholders, informing them on the processes and policies of the strategy.

PSAB Coordinators Network

In 2009, ISC created the PSAB Coordinators Network in order to establish a closer relationship with the federal departments and agencies involved with PSAB. There are currently over 80 PSAB coordinators across government. Quarterly meetings were held with PSAB coordinators from 2015 to 2018 to provide updates and ensure the continuous availability of the team to all federal entities involved with PSAB. ISC continues to work towards increasing departmental awareness about PSAB and to increase the number of representatives within the federal departments and agencies.

Indigenous Business Directory

ISC maintains an online Indigenous Business Directory (IBD). The IBD is a national database of Indigenous business profiles, with search engine capabilities to help with determining the capacity of Indigenous businesses in various sectors.

ISC has maintained the integrity of the database with data collection and verification methods, while also increasing awareness of the IBD. The IBD has been an effective tool for non-federal stakeholders such as provincial government and the private sector. This is demonstrated by the cooperation of partners sharing hyperlinks to the IBD on their respective websites, including partners such as ISED and the Canada Business Network, non-government organizations (NGO's) such as University of British Columbia and private sector including Hydro One, Union Gas and Businesslink.ca. Efforts will continue to expand and enhance the sharing of the IBD with partners such as the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, Native Women's Association of Canada and Indigenous Works.

The maintenance and continued modernization of the directory is a key, ongoing objective as there is significant work to do as a result of the ever-changing participation of Indigenous business.

On average, each year there have been 1,767 registered Indigenous businesses registered in the IBD. With current engagement ISC is expecting that number to grow.

Text alternative for Figure 3 – Registered businesses by region in the IBD

Number of registered businesses in the Indigenous Business Directory

	2015	2016	2017	2018
Alberta	181	173	218	195
British Columbia	343	327	355	281
Manitoba	202	178	187	140
New Brunswick	26	23	28	29
Newfoundland and Labrador	56	58	60	43
Northwest Territories	93	86	84	91
Nova Scotia	39	34	36	28
Nunavut	75	69	72	62
Ontario	479	472	614	441
Prince Edward Island	2	3	3	2
Quebec	206	203	147	200
Saskatchewan	82	79	95	78
Yukon	26	21	27	19

Departmental breakdown

In 2015, set aside contracts totalling more than $93 million were awarded by 26 federal departments or agencies (Figure 4). The total accumulated values for the contracts ranged from $14,000 to more than $32 million, with the bulk being awarded by Health Canada, Correctional Services Canada and Public Works and Government Services. These 3 departments awarded over 68% of the total value of the contracts, with a combined value of almost $64 million.

In 2016, set aside contracts totalling more than $99 million were awarded by 23 federal departments or agencies (Figure 4). The total accumulated values for the contracts ranged from $894 million to more than $36 million, with the bulk being awarded by Health Canada, Correctional Services Canada, and Fisheries and Oceans. These 3 departments awarded over 65% of the total value of the contracts, with a combined value of almost $65 million.

In 2017, set aside contracts totalling more than $128 million were initiated by 30 federal departments or agencies (Figure 4). The total accumulated values for the contracts ranged from $3,204 to more than $37 million, with the bulk being awarded by Public Works and Government Services, Health Canada and Citizenship and Immigration Canada. These 3 departments awarded almost 64% of the total value of the contracts, with a combined value of over $82 million.

In 2018, set aside contracts totalling more than $170 million were initiated by 31 federal departments or agencies (Figure 4). The total accumulated values for the contracts ranged from $2,758 to more than $40M, with the bulk being awarded by Health Canada, National Defence and Indigenous and Northern Affairs These 3 departments awarded almost 54% of the total value of the contracts, with a combined value of over $91 million.

Industry

Set aside contracts for 2015 to 2018 were awarded for a wide variety of industries. As demonstrated in Figure 5, the greatest amounts spent were on information processing and related telecommunication services and health and social services, followed by diverse purchases such as construction work for civil engineering, furniture, health equipment and agriculture and forestry services.

There were numerous contracts of which the values were not significant and these were grouped together in a category named "Other". The industries represented in this category largely included services in the environmental, natural resource, air transportation services and education sectors.

The PSAB program has demonstrated impressive returns on investments. While there has been some fluctuation in year to year contract values, ISC remains committed to implementing and improving PSAB.

PSAB continues to evolve, as demonstrated by its engagement with not only the federal government, but other levels of government as well as the private sector.

ISC will continue to showcase the success of PSAB by increasing Indigenous participation in the economy and continue to improve policies and practices with respect to procurement.

The PSAB team continues to work with its partners within the Economic and Business Opportunities Branch to advance economic participation of Indigenous businesses across departmental and federal partners, which will extend to improved community wellbeing.

As a result of PSAB efforts, the program has created a beneficial environment for Indigenous businesses by building Indigenous business capacity. This is demonstrated by the favourable results of Indigenous businesses compared to non-Indigenous business in the Small and Medium Enterprise sector.