Public Sector by Bianca Cicilini

Public Procurement

b_mastrorosacicilini — 2025-01-22 21:25:45 UTC

How public companies get its goods or services? Which money is used? These are interesting questions because Canada has a lot of public companies that provide services to the public and they need materials and people to help the population. The companies can be municipal, provincial or federal and the majority is in areas like health care and education. The money comes from taxes, transfers from the federal government and fees for licenses. Many of these companies work with other public companies making a cooperative agreement to purchase materials that they need. This provides better negotiations and consequently better prices, however, they also reach some challenges with some partners. All the material comes from suppliers that recognize the importance of each sector to provide the goods that each buyer requires to attend the population.

Risk

b_mastrorosacicilini — 2025-01-30 12:40:27 UTC

Every day we go through several situations that pose some kind of risk. Because of that, we should be prepared to recognize, identify and try to minimize any harm. Risk management classify all risks in according to the potential or severity of the harm and the probability of the harm. Depending on the severity and probability of an event occurring, risks can be avoided (trying to avoid the event from happening), transferred (contractually shifting the risk to another party) or managed (when the risk is considered manageable).

Public Sector SCM

b_mastrorosacicilini — 2025-02-06 00:29:05 UTC

This term I will learn about how public companies get their goods and services. And a very important thing is about the money, where does the money come from. I hope to understand how the public sector makes decisions and which is the best way to find a good supplier to provide quality products and services.

Broader Public Sector Agencies

b_mastrorosacicilini — 2025-02-06 01:31:39 UTC

Beside the public companies already known, many other sectors receive funds from the government, however they are not public, they are part of The Broader Public Sector Agencies (some hospitals, universities and colleges, school boards, Community Case Access Corporation, Children's Aid Society). The Principles of BPS include accountability, transparency, value of money, quality service delivery and process standardization. BPS Procurement Directive includes 25 mandatory procurement requirements, however some entities are exempt from the BPS directive: municipalities, local boards, long-term care facilities, broads of health, funds provided from non-governmental sources. Through Trade Agreements, it is possible to make exchanges with other provinces or countries, getting lower tariffs, access to other markets and to have strengthened ties with trading partners.

Law in Public Procurement

b_mastrorosacicilini — 2025-02-06 15:43:38 UTC

Laws are a set of rules that the government puts into practice that citizens live well in society. There are some types of laws but none of them cover public procurement. However, companies must follow some laws to guarantee their rights and know about their duties. Common Law is based on previous decisions called "precedent", and it is widely used. The Law of Agency says an agent (an employee) is authorized to act on behalf of the principal (the employer) to create a relationship with a third party (like a supplier). In public procurement this would be a procurement employee (agent) entering into an agreement with a supplier (third party) acting on behalf of the public entity that they work for (principal). In most cases, companies and people use a Contract Law. For companies, a procurement contract is an agreement from the public agency to buy goods or services from a supplier where we can find 6 requirements: intention, consideration, offer and acceptance, legal purposes, individuals with legal capacity. Canadian competitive procurement results in two contracts: Contract A – the rules for the competitive process and Contract B – the contract that is entered into by the agency and the successful bidder(s).

Executive Summary

b_mastrorosacicilini — 2025-02-19 22:02:59 UTC

Last week we made an executive summary for our case analysis. We work in a group in class and the last part was to develop an executive summary to complete our assignment. My three colleagues and I had the same ideas for a better alternative that this case required. So, we could develop a good executive summary that clearly explained our ideas and suggestions.

Requisition and Specification

b_mastrorosacicilini — 2025-03-03 16:43:37 UTC

Public companies also need goods or services to develop their functions. The first step is a formal requisition form, where the company will explain the need of purchasing. This form contains specifications about the good or service required. These specifications describe physical/functional/performance characteristics. Some of specifications are: design, performance, brand names, technical specifications, etc. The scope of work and specification describe the entity's procurement requirements and standards and are key elements of an RFP. The scope of work helps to ensure that the product or service meets the stated outcome and stablishes the parameters of the resulting contract. A well-written scope of work provides supplier with a clear understanding of the entity's needs to ensure a successful procurement.

Study Break

b_mastrorosacicilini — 2025-03-03 16:52:09 UTC

Last week was the Study Break. As the name says, it is a week to dedicate to the books, slides, assignments, projects, etc. However, I was so tired and I was sick (sinusitis) and I needed a time for me, to relax. So, the only thing I did referent to studies was studied to a test. I spent my week sleeping, taking Thylenol and watching Netflix. Despite my indisposition, it was a great moment to be at home.

Ethics and Fraud

b_mastrorosacicilini — 2025-03-11 22:20:25 UTC

When I think about ethics, the first thing that comes to mind is how a person behaves. Does this person act correctly, is he/she fair? It is not easy to say what is ethical and what is not, and in the case of companies, especially public ones, they seek to be transparent, fair and open. Public procurement have ethical issues: scandal, fraud, misuse of public funds, patronage, corruption, bribery, local preference, bid-rigging, collusion. I think corruption is the word we hear many times when we are watching TV or reading about the news. I am from Brazil, and Brazil is well know as a country of corruption. It is too sad to know that the taxes we pay go to the politics pockets and the sector that need more help are not attended. Because of that, we need responsible people (mainly high positions like politicians, directors, managers) that work ethically and show to others how to act correctly. It is necessary disciplinary actions against those act unethically and it is necessary to follow Code of Conduct rules.

Evaluation Criteria

b_mastrorosacicilini — 2025-03-11 22:40:24 UTC

When public companies need to purchase goods or services, they need a qualified supplier that meet the requirements they are looking for. Competitive bidding documents will indicate what a supplier needs to complete the purchase. By responding to the solicitation, the supplier indicates that they are able to provide the requirements. Companies use the evaluation criteria when price is not a principal factor and is unique to each scope of work. A prepared team will command this evaluation and then decide which supplier best attend the requirements. In addition to showing how the responses will be evaluated, agencies will provide specific information about what they require the proponents to submit. Agencies need to identify the minimum and mandatory requirements.

Competitive Bidding

b_mastrorosacicilini — 2025-03-11 23:18:41 UTC

Competitive bidding is a formal process used to request products/services that an agency needs. Used extensively through public procurement as it allows for fair and transparent competition which leads to auditable results. There are six types of competitive bidding documents: Request for Information (RFI - formal process for gathering information about potential suppliers, goods, or services. No pricing and binding), Request for Expression of Interest (REOI or RFEI - used to assess supplier interest in a project/availability of goods or service and to solicit information from suppliers. Can be a formal invitation inviting suppliers to submit proposals. Not binding), Request for Pre-Qualification (RFPQ - first stage in a multi-stage process. Responses received by interested suppliers and are then evaluated against prequalification criteria. Second stage is open to respondents that were deemed prequalified), Request for Quotations (RFQ - formal invitation for companies to submit pricing for identified goods or services. Price-based, lowest price wins. Companies must be deemed as qualified to provide the goods or services before they can be awarded), Request for Tenders (RFT - formal invitation for companies to submit pricing for identified goods or services. It is also price-based, lowest price wins.

Companies must be deemed as qualified to provide the goods or services before they can be awarded), Request for Proposals (RFP - formal invitation for companies to submit a response to an agency’s requirement. Used when agency’s requirement is general and not specific. Proposal submissions will often explain how the company will complete the work. Pricing plays a factor but the methodology is valued higher and involves evaluation of proposal responses).

Silex Project

b_mastrorosacicilini — 2025-03-22 16:55:42 UTC

This week was reserved to work on our Silex Project. In my opinion this project is complicated and difficult because we are working for a real company and they expect a good job from us. However, I think we developed a good report, tried to find the best solution for the company. But it was tiring...it was not easy to find information on internet, but in the end, we got to put all the research, our ideas, and brainstorming on the paper. I hope the teacher and the company HealthPRO can see our effort and give us a good feedback.

Silex Presentation

b_mastrorosacicilini — 2025-03-27 11:25:17 UTC

This week we had to present in class our research about more flexible procurement models to HealthPRO Canada. That was not a easy project. Since the elaboration of the report until make the slides, there were a lot of work and effort to try to delivery a quality project. I am happy because this was our last big assignment for this semester and now I feel less pressure and less stressed. One more month to the end...

Contract and Supplier Management

b_mastrorosacicilini — 2025-04-03 11:32:03 UTC

Contracts are present in our day-to-day and I think we do not have an idea how many contracts we accept and sign during our lives. Companies make a lot of contracts. A contract is an agreement between parties that contains an offer and acceptance, intent, consideration, made by people with legal capacity and for a legal purpose. Supplier management is performed to ensure that suppliers provide the goods and services as agreed. The procurement department can measure anything that is important to their purchase, including quality, delivery, cost, continuous improvement and communication. Then it is made a supplier evaluation that helps the agency to choose the best supplier. In public procurement, a procurement professional can create a supplier development, helping a supplier to understand how to work with the agency to complete bid requests and providing feedback on bid submissions through a debrief process.

Last day of class

b_mastrorosacicilini — 2025-04-08 20:14:47 UTC

Today we had our last public sector class. It was a very productive semester, full of teaching. Professor Kimberly showed great knowledge in the area of public procurement and knew how to transmit her knowledge to the students. Through this padlet, I was able to summarize the semester and it was very useful and fun. I thought it was a good idea to post our thoughts and concepts every week here on this page, because it helps us with our studies and especially on exams. We didn't have an exam for this subject, but we did a lot of quizzes and dedicated ourselves a lot to a project (Silex). It was interesting to know that the Canadian government is very dedicated to using public money for the public. Unlike my home country, where politicians only care about their own interests.