Thank you, Madam Chair.
I am pleased to be here with colleagues to discuss the ways in which Public Services and Procurement Canada is responding to the Auditor General of Canada's audits of the “Procurement of Complex Information Technology Solutions”, tabled this past winter.
As the Government of Canada's purchaser of goods and services, PSPC is committed to ensuring that our procurement processes achieve the desired results while being fair, open and transparent. We are also modernizing our procurement practices so that they're more efficient and effective, both for our clients and for those we do business with.
This approach is particularly important when it comes to complex IT solutions such as those cited in this report, namely, the Next Generation pay system, the modernization of benefits delivery and the government's telecommunications network. It should be noted that the Auditor General made three recommendations in the report that relate to our work at PSPC. We accept all three recommendations and we are following through on them.
I should offer a brief explanation of what agile procurement is and how it relates to our complex IT projects in government. Unlike traditional procurement processes, which are linear and result in the awarding of one large contract, the agile procurement process is iterative, meaning that there are opportunities to make course corrections in the various phases of the process. This can potentially result in working with multiple vendors on one project.
Agile procurement involves establishing close collaborations between procurement experts, private sector suppliers, end-users and clients and maintaining this collaboration throughout the project. This is especially important in complex projects when it is not clear at the outset what kind of solution will address business needs.
The first of the Auditor General's recommendations is for our department to work with Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and Shared Services Canada to develop more comprehensive guidance and training for employees on agile procurement for complex IT projects. To respond to this recommendation, PSPC has established an innovation and agile procurement centre to support contracting officers and their clients in delivering agile procurement processes. Furthermore, we have established a working group to lead efforts on creating training and guidance documents. This has led to the publishing of a playbook that explains agile procurement principles and collaborative methods of procurement, as well as when and how to use them.
As to the third recommendation of the Auditor General on data analytics, PSPC has committed to finalizing a formal plan to operationalize the existing data analytics and data mining function by the end of December 2021. We will need to consult with stakeholders to develop and implement guidelines for addressing anomalies detected through data analytics by the end of this fiscal year. This will help us to strengthen procurement integrity within PSPC by identifying—and therefore preventing—potential issues.
To help fulfill the fifth recommendation from the Auditor General on improving our information management practices, PSPC has held virtual events on procurement information management for procurement officers. We are also continuing to update our existing guidance on information management.
In the longer term, as we move to our electronic procurement solution, we have been updating the supply manual to provide guidance on how to maintain electronic files for contracts. This content will be part of mandatory training for procurement officers. We are developing a strategy on information management for long-term, complex projects and procurements to ensure that the records we keep can demonstrate the fairness of our procurement process.
Fulfilling these recommendations will be made easier as we transition to our new electronic procurement solution called CanadaBuys. CanadaBuys. This paperless, cloud-based system allows registered businesses to bid more easily on opportunities and to manage contracts and orders for goods and services from the Government of Canada. This transition to CanadaBuys has been iterative and gradual so that we can make adjustments as needed. This project has started, it's on scope and within budget and should be fully implemented by the fall of 2022.
To conclude, Madam Chair, the Auditor General found that we have made good progress towards adopting agile procurement for large IT system. By focusing on areas where we can make improvements, PSPC will be better positioned to increase the use of agile procurement and project management to advance complex and transformational IT projects.
Thank you. I look forward to your questions.