Adherence to procurement principles is essential to ensure an effective result.
Due diligence must be performed in identifying potential conflicts of interests. This can be done by asking if anyone who is not an employee of CIG is or will be involved in the preparation of the statement of work or requirement, the evaluation criteria, and the evaluation. Do any have connections to the potential suppliers in their personal or professional life, which may lead to suppliers asking questions about favoritism?
Areas with Potential for Conflict of Interest include:
Directed Contracts:
Where a request is made that a contract be directed to a particular individual or company, any potential real or perceived conflict of interest must be declared and reviewed by the appropriate CIG authority.
Contractors:
There are also situations where upon bidding for a contractor in meeting its contractual obligations to the CIG, a contractor may be in a position of potential conflict of interest. The onus is on the contractor to self-declare any potential conflict of interest in these situations to the CIG.
Preparation of Bid Solicitation Documents and Bid Evaluation Process:
Evaluators should declare any connections in their personal or professional life which may lead to suppliers asking questions about favoritism. For all contract requirements exceeding $50,000, a Declaration of an Evaluation Committee Member must be reviewed and signed by each evaluator prior to participating in a bid evaluation.
Bid evaluators must declare that they are not in a situation of conflict of interest that would render them unable to provide an impartial evaluation of the bids, or affect or otherwise impair their objectivity in performing the evaluation of the bids or lead to suppliers asking questions about favoritism.
If an evaluator declares a real or potential conflict of interest exists, that evaluator must not participate in the bid evaluation process.