Clients only have so many resources, and if they're competing for a particular type of business, maybe in both federal and provincial markets, they have to select their priorities. If these things take too much time, they may decide to place those priorities elsewhere. |
There's some hesitation for government officials to engage in meaningful dialogue with the community, which could be done in place of more bidders' conferences. There has to be more open dialogue, because only with that will the government get a statement of requirements that is closer to what is actually needed. If they don't get that part correct, then contract amendments have to be issued, and those cost money. |
We're working on a couple of bids right now where, in both cases, the procurement cycle has extended beyond what we normally would have thought it would--we're talking months in terms of slippage of this particular type of procurement. There's a lot more checking and double checking, and making sure that all the regulatory issues that we have to be concerned about are properly addressed. |