• David Attwater, Barrister & Solicitor, Counsellor Law Offices

• Paul Lalonde, Partner, Lawyer, Heenan Blaikie SRL/LLP

• Robert C. Worthington, President, Worthington and Associates Ltd.

This round-table discussion will focus on the decisions of the CITT during the past two years. The effect of these decisions upon Federal Government procurement will be discussed followed by a debate on the need for reform of the CITT’s role in light of its decisions.

• Allen Dares, CASS MM Project Director, Shared Services Project Office, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

• Bruce Deacon, Assistant Secretary of Corporate Administrative Shared Service Initiative, Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat

• Cal Hegge, A/Assistant Deputy Minister, Human Resources and Corporate Services, Office of the Assistant Deputy Minister, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

• Joseph Phillips, CASS MM Project Manager, Shared Services Project Office, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

• Paul Power, Partner, Confluence Consulting

• Bruce Woodruff, Director, Assets and Fleet Management Service Centre, Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Come hear from the stakeholders in the Corporate Administrative Shared Services (CASS) initiative, including the Shared Services Office (SSO), Wave 1 departments and TBS.

The objective of the CASS project is to improve the delivery of corporate and administrative services through the establishment of a SSO, created to realize the benefits of shared investment and allow departmental retention of savings. Improved management, program delivery and efficiency of these services are the expected results.

Work is currently underway to establish baseline data of the current processes, including costs, IM/IT/IS, and performance and volume metrics. This work will then identify the transformation opportunities with the greatest potential for improvement.

• Paul Hession, Director General, Service Qualification and Transfer, Information Communication Technologies, Information Technology Services Branch, Public Works and Government Services Canada

• Deirdre Kerr-Perrott, Director General, Administration Directorate, Finance and Administration Branch, Canada Revenue Agency

Around the world, public and private sector organizations are increasingly adopting shared services as a strategy to reduce costs, simplify business processes, and to enhance service quality and responsiveness. In Budget 2005, the Government of Canada (GC) outlined its commitment to the IT Shared Services initiative – as an element of an overall Shared Services Agenda – to improve the management of IT services across departments, boards and agencies. The initiative rests on the premise that a government-wide coordinated approach to managing IT services can yield better, faster, more cost effective results for clients and taxpayers. Paul Hession will summarize this initiative in terms of business drivers, financial savings and cost reduction opportunities, leadership, vision, change management, development methodology, and adopted implementation as well as deployment strategies.

The pressures of expenditure reviews, the need to enhance client service and the increasing need to ensure compliance to policies and guidelines are factors all government-contracting organizations are dealing with today. In the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), these issues were addressed through the change from a transaction-based environment to a strategic-driven procurement function. Through Dierdre Kerr-Perrott you will find out the challenges and successes of CRA’s Business Transformation initiative and how it revolutionized the Agency’s ability to meet its contracting needs.

• Janet Thorsteinson, Executive Director, Defence Procurement, Public Works and Government Services Canada

• Bill Miller, Procurement Manager, Maritime Helicopter Project, Public Works and Government Services Canada

Improving the military procurement process has been the subject of several recent studies and articles by both the public and private sector. As the lead on the military acquisitions review initiative, Janet Thorsteinson will provide an overview of the issues facing the procurement process at PWGSC. The perception that the process is too complex, too slow and too costly will be discussed in addition to the legislations and policies that can sometimes hinder the process.

The procurement strategy for the acquisition and support of the new Maritime Helicopters being procured by PWGSC for the Department of National Defence fits very nicely into the theme of this year’s Materiel Management National Workshop. This presentation will detail the traditional process of procuring a major system such as a helicopter and then will address how that process was modified to enable the establishment of performance based acquisition and long term support contracts.

Bill Miller will address the procurement strategy and the provisions of the Maritime Helicopter Contracts as they apply to the changes in the way normal Government procurement is addressed. This will include discussion of the procurement goals, how the achievability of these goals was determined, the extent to which they were achieved, and how Contractor performance is being monitored and incentivized both during the initial development period and over the service life of the Maritime Helicopter. As this presentation is related only to the procurement process, it will not discuss the bids, the bidders, or the results of the evaluations.

• Micheline Brunette, Senior Analyst, Professional Development and Certification Program Management Office, Assets and Acquired Services Directorate, Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat

• Roger Pharand, Manager, Personnel Certification Division, Public Works and Government Services Canada

• Colleen Post, Principal Analyst, Professional Development and Certification Program Management Office, Assets and Acquired Services Directorate, Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat

Certification has arrived!
Would you like to be recognized for your expertise by an accredited certification organization? If so, this session is for you! The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Program Management Office and Certification Manager from the Canadian General Standards Board will explain the process to enroll in the Program and apply for professional designation as a Certified Federal Specialist in Procurement (CFSP) or in Materiel Management (CFSMM).

• Cathy Tracey-Teevens, Assistant Director, Strategic Sourcing Section, Canada Revenue Agency

This presentation will begin with a general overview of Strategic Sourcing, followed by the Canada Revenue Agency’s approach to each step of the process:

• Assess the Opportunities

• Profile Categories

• Develop Strategy

• Supplier and Selection Factors

• RFP Process

• Implementation

An up-to-date snapshot of the savings achieved on these commodities will be provided, as well as the changes required to internal business processes and the challenges faced in implementation.

• Anthony C. Taylor, Director, Transportation Energy Use, Office of Energy Efficiency, Natural Resources Canada

This presentation will focus on the Federal Fleet Initiative (FFI), which is managed by Natural Resources Canada and is steered by an interdepartmental committee that includes NRCan, TBS, EC, and PWGSC. An overview of some of the project initiatives, including the Leadership Vehicle Project and Idling Reduction Campaigns, will provide concrete examples of good fleet management practices and environmental stewardship.

• John Lee, General Manager, Enterprise Solutions, Canada Post Corporation

Many SME and even large enterprises have experienced great, and expensive, difficulties in automating all of the paper transactions in their supply chains, customer communications and order processing environments. EDI, a critically important business tool, has remained out of reach for many businesses and business applications. Another approach is possible. A multi-client imaging/digitization service provider can turn your major transactional paperflows into data, delivered into your workflow application systems.

• Ewa Burk, Director General, Organizational Leadership and Innovation, Functional Communities, Design and Development and Certification Programs Centre

The objectives of the presentation are to clearly outline what is involved in the learning strategy; improve knowledge and understanding around the importance of learning in strengthening public sector management; and to communicate the shift in the School’s focus.

• Stephe Cooper, Director, Electronic Acquisitions Business Public Works and Government Services Canada

The Government of Canada Marketplace (GoCM) has been PWGSC’s major procurement transformation project. The strategy has been recently revised and it is now interdependent with The Way Forward – Acquisitions renewal program. At this presentation, you will learn about the latest developments with the GoCM project.

• Angèle Gosselin, Director, Canada Revenue Agency

• Tina McLamb, E-Procurement/Education Outreach Director, Division of Purchase and Contract, North Carolina Department of Administration

• Kosta Joachimides, Director, Global Sourcing, CGI Group Inc.

• Lisa Reynolds, A/Director, Compliance and Business Practices Division, Canada Revenue Agency

This panel will be focusing on discussing lessons learned from organizations that have implemented a fully integrated e-procurement to pay solution. Hear the critical success factors of their implementation, discover the true benefits and, uncover the interesting question of what is life after e-procurement? In addition, each panel member will be presenting their actual numbers as far as transaction volumes, number of vendors enabled, current number of users, etc. Lisa Reynolds will be the facilitator for this session.

• Normand Masse, Director, Commodity Management, Acquisitions Way Forward, Public Works and Government Services Canada

The Government of Canada is undergoing an unprecedented transformation of its approach to procurement targeted at saving the government in excess of $2.5B over five years by reducing costs, increasing internal efficiencies and shortening time to complete transactions. Come hear about the move to a whole-of-government commodity management approach and how engaging our employees and our clients as partners will lead to success.

Together, these initiatives are helping our government work better and cost less. Now with the first year nearing completion, this presentation will identify the progress to date, some of the challenges ahead and our next steps to achieve success in this endeavor.

• Catherine Ella, Senior Director, Investment, Project Management and Procurement Policy Division, Government Operations Sector, Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat

This session will provide an overview of the Treasury Board Secretariat’s policy renewal activities in the area of Assets and Acquired Services. As highlighted at the May 2004 Materiel Management National Workshop, Treasury Board policies on assets and acquired services are being consolidated, redefined and eliminated. Hear about this work and its links to core learning for government managers and the Professional Development and Certification Program for procurement and materiel managers.

• Yves Boutin, Director, IT Procurement, Ministère des Services gouvernementaux

Recognizing an organization's assets and investments. Which factors are to be considered and quantified? Presentation of decision-making examples in managing a software or hardware infrastructure.

• Ken Cierpicki, Director, Corporate Services Division, Canada Revenue Agency

Ken Cierpicki will share the Agency’s experiences with Process Management as a basis for major change.

Over the last year the CRA has utilized a process management approach to develop process maps for current activities and their related costs. This, combined with making process improvements, resulted in number of measurable and positive changes including the implementation of standard, national processes in the Agency’s administration activities.

• Allen Frost, Director, Economic Development Programs Directorate, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

This presentation will focus on the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business (PSAB). This year marks the tenth year celebration of the implementation of the PSAB. This is an ideal opportunity for individuals to learn what successes have been achieved under the PSAB during the past ten years and the lessons learned. Has the program been successful? Has the emerging Aboriginal small and medium sized businesses benefited from this Strategy? Has the Aboriginal business community grown since 1996 as a result of PSAB? Who has benefited most - Urban or rural Aboriginal owned businesses? Will the Strategy be enhanced or strengthened as we move into another decade of PSAB implementation?

• M. Neil Maxwell, Principal, Sustainable Development Strategies, Audits and Studies, Office of the Auditor General

• Berny Latreille, Director, Environmental Affairs, Environment Canada

• Elizabeth Hopkins, Director, Policy Development, Public Works and Government Services Canada

The scope of spending on goods and services provides a real opportunity for the federal government to use its purchasing power to support environmental sustainability and help drive Canadian competitiveness. The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development made federal green procurement the focus of one its 2005 reports. This panel presentation will provide an overview of the Commissioner's findings and recommendations, and what the government has been doing to respond to these recommendations. The presentation will highlight the main features of the new federal green procurement policy, implementation progress to date, and what this could mean for you.

• Larry Lashkevich, Director General, Materiel Systems and Supply Chain, National Defence

This past year has been extraordinary for Materiel Management in the Department of Defence due to new Treasury Board and PWGSC programs as well as internal DND initiatives, most significantly the Transformation of the Canadian Forces and the related Institutional Realignment. In his presentation Larry Lashkevich will highlight the major initiatives, the challenges that they have represented for the Department, the successes and lessons we have learned. Topics will include:

• Materiel Acquisition and Support implications of the Canadian Forces Transformation

• Getting Acquisition Right – Formation of a Departmental Major Project Delivery capability

• Operationalizing the Supply Chain

• Strategic Inventory and Asset Management and Accrual Accounting

• Materiel Acquisition and Support Optimization Project – a Success Story in Supply Chain Transformation

• PWGSG Way Ahead – What does it really mean?

• Green Procurement – It is a lot of work but it is also an exciting opportunity

• Information Management – Love it or hate it you cannot live without it. Making Information Management work for you.

• Jérôme Thauvette, Senior Director, Informatics and Telecommunications Systems Procurement Directorate, Public Works and Government Services Canada

• Sylvain Cyr, A/Director, Software and Shared Systems Procurement Directorate, Public Works and Government Services Canada

This presentation will focus on PWGSC Way Forward Procurement Reform initiatives and government-wide procurement vehicles for the acquisition of IT goods and services.

Jérôme Thauvette will address telecom procurement initiatives such as converged network services, wireless services and the acquisition of networking equipment. Expansion of the Professional Services Online (PSO) tool and developments in the implementation of a new method of supply for IT professional services will also be explored, as well as the renewal of the hardware standing offer arrangements.

Sylvain Cyr will discuss the latest developments in the acquisition of software products and solutions.

• Lisa Reynolds, A/Director, Compliance and Business Practices Division, Canada Revenue Agency

• Sharon Chamberlain, Director General, Corporate and Shared Services, National Defence

• Marc Beaulne, Senior Account Executive, BMO Financial Group

Performance measurement is a key component of any successful organization. Having a comprehensive performance measurement system requires a good understanding of what you need to measure, having the tools required to gather and interpret information as well as the ability to use the information to facilitate change where required or celebrate accomplishments. Hear Lisa Reynolds discuss CRA’s approach to measuring performance and how the system has supported its business transformation initiatives.

Sharon Chamberlain will look at service delivery from the point of view of the client and their expectations. Client expectations will be positioned within a model for client service delivery and will be broken down into its core components. Upon understanding how client expectations are formed, strategies for determining client expectation gaps will be uncovered, followed by the building blocks for addressing client expectation gaps. Finally, the interdependencies between client expectations and other components of the service delivery framework will be highlighted.

Marc Beaulne will address eCommerce performance indicators adopted by high performance organizations. What are successful Public Sector departments and agencies doing to create successful acquisition card programs? How do clients measure their success, and what are the success strategies that they establish to achieve their goals? Please join this panel discussion for answers to these questions, and more insight into best practices utilized in monitoring successful acquisition card programs.