Glossary of Terms for the Child & Family Service Contract Management Manual
Last updated on June 23, 2016This manual has been broken down into the seven phases of the Procurement Cycle. This Glossary of Terms has been created to help you as your move through each phase.
A
Aboriginal
Pertaining to the ethno–cultural identity of a First Nations, Métis, or Urban Aboriginal individual or group.
Acceptance
The agreement to an offer made by express words or conduct.
Accreditation
Recognition by a third party accreditation body that an organization has met specific industry standards for organizational competence.
Advertise/ Advertising
To publish or post information with the intent to make such information readily available to the public. Generally procurement opportunities for goods and/or services are posted on BC Bid®.
Amendment
An agreed addition to, deletion from, correction, or Modification to a Contract. It must not be used to substantially change the nature, outcome or intent of the original Contract, and can only be used to extend the term of an Agreement when an unforeseen event has delayed the delivery of specific contract outputs. A Modification is used to renew a Contract where an option to renew clause was included in the solicitation and in the Contract. A new Contract is to be developed where no option to renew clauses were included in the solicitation or Contract.
Appropriation
Any authority granted by the Legislative Assembly to disburse money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund. The appropriation will be provided in the Supply Act, the express provision of another Act, or by Special Warrant.
Assets
Money or property such as buildings, equipment, stocks, bonds, cars.
Auditor, External
An individual or firm independent of the agency that is qualified to be the auditor or a reporting company under the Company Act or a reporting society under the Society Act. External auditors perform the financial statements audits for the agencies as well as the specified audit procedures for contracted agencies.
Auditor, Internal
An employee or agency of the Province who is authorized to perform audits in accordance with the Provincial Internal Audit Standards and generally accepted auditing standards.
B
BC Bid®
A procurement site used to advertise opportunities to provide goods and services to ministries and some public sector bodies.
Bid
A price estimate from a prospective service provider. The Ministry of Children and Family Development usually solicits bids from several service providers at a time. A bid is not an offer unless so stated.
Bidder
A service provider who submits an offer to provide goods or services.
Budget
The Budget Address and budget papers that are tabled by the Ministry of Finance, along with the Main Estimates. The Budget is usually presented on the third Tuesday of February each year.
C
Cancellation
A formal procedure whereby the ministry exercises its contractual right to terminate a procurement process or a contract.
Catalogue of Services
Ministry of Children and Family Development specific document representing the current services being delivered through the contracting process.
Claim
A request for payment for an expense or loss.
Client
An individual, child or family eligible to receive a service from the Ministry of Children and Family Development.
Community
Geographical location in which Ministry of Children and Family Development services are delivered and dollars expended.
Compliance
Complete in accordance with established procedures, policies, guidelines, specifications, laws or legislation.
Comprehensive
Of large scope, covering or involving much detail and information.
Conflict of Interest
The actual or potential results of an employee’s participation in an activity where their personal affairs/interest conflict or appear to conflict with official duties, responsibilities, and obligations; a situation which could influence their judgment to act in the best interest of the public whom he/she is employed to serve.
Continuing Services Agreement
A rarely used contract template for the delivery of Community Health and Social Services.
Contract
A binding agreement between parties.
Contract Amendment
See: Amendment
Contract Evaluation
A review conducted on the completion of a contract that measures the degree to which contract specifications were met.
Contract Modification
See: Amendment
Contract Non-Compliance
The degree to which contract specifications are not being met.
Contract Performance Expectations
The desired results of services provided. They are defined in the contract and its schedules.
Contract Renewal
The continuation of an existing contract for an additional term allowable under a renewal clause as written into the contract language.
Contract Schedule
See: Schedule
Contractor
See: Service Provider
Core Policy and Procedures Manual (CPPM)
Government management and financial policy with financial administration procedures in an online document. The CPPM contains Treasury Board financial and general management policy and the Comptroller General's directives on procedures pursuant to FAA sections 4 and 9, except for personnel management policy. CPPM is organized by activity with numerical chapters representing core policy (chapters 1 to 20) and alphabetical chapters for procedures (chapters A to L).
Corporate Accounting System (CAS)
A suite of applications and services that is the Province’s authoritative source for collecting, maintaining, processing, transmitting or reporting on financial transactions.
Corporate Supply Arrangement (CSA)
A global contract established for the use of all ministries and other public sector organizations.
Cost Sharing
Financial arrangement between two or more entities resulting in the funding of a program or service.
Criminal Record Check
Formal reviews of criminal justice systems databases for records of named individuals. Criminal Records Review Act (CRRA) checks are required for all staff who work with children directly or who have unsupervised access to children. There are also regular police records checks. The CRRA check does not include all offenses but the police record check does; the CRRA check has access to records under the Youth Criminal Justice Act whereas the police record check does not.
D
Deficit
Amount by which spending exceeds available funds during a fiscal year.
Direct Award
The award of a contract to a qualified service provider without soliciting quotes or proposals from other service providers.
E
Employee/ Employer Relationship
The Employment Standards Act and Regulations outline the interpretation of if the relationship is that of an Employee or an Employer. There is a number of tests, including:
- Control test
- Four-fold test
- Organizational or integration test
- Permanency test
- Specific Result test
- Economic Reality test
Entitlements
Government transfers that government must make if the recipient meets eligibility criteria. The eligible recipient and the amount of the entitlement are prescribed in legislation and other authorities.
Estimates
The estimates of revenue and expense for a fiscal year presented to the Legislative Assembly.
Evaluation Criteria
Criteria used to qualify and select service providers following a procurement process. Commonly include mandatory requirements, desirable requirements, objective criteria, pricing and references.
Expense Authority
Authority granted to ministry officials to approve expenditures and accounts. It includes, but is not limited to, the authorization of the purchase of goods and services, approval of transfers and entitlements, and approval of financing transactions.
Expense Reimbursement
A travel or other pre-approved out-of-pocket expense that is approved for repayment.
Exposure
A threat or an event that can lead to a loss for an organization.
Extend a Contract
To increase the duration (term) of a contract.
External Auditor
See: Auditor, External
F
Fee
A set amount (price, fee or cost) paid to a person for delivering agreed upon services.
Financial Commitment
An obligation to pay that will result in a charge against an appropriation, or a future obligation of government.
Fixed Price Contract
The cost of a contract is not variable and the total amount payable is a fixed rate without regard to the number of units.
G
Grant
A payment made according to established eligibility criteria for which the government does not directly receive goods or service. The recipient is under no contractual obligation to the government.
H
Holdback
That portion of a payment withheld until certain performance conditions have been met.
Honorarium
A nominal lump sum payment made to members of the public for participating in a Ministry of Children and Family Development-sponsored event or activity.
I
Independent Contractor
A person, partnership, or corporation who enters into a contract and is not controlled by the ministry in terms of work or how the job is to be done, and who supplies their own office space, equipment, secretarial, or other support services within the contracted price. See: Service Provider.
Inputs
Resources dedicated to the realization of a program or service, including human, financial, organizational, and community resources.
Internal Audit
See: Auditor, Internal
Invitation to Quote (Invitation to Tender)
A type of solicitation or request used when the requirement is adequately defined to permit the evaluation of quotes against clearly stated criteria and quotations. The focus of this solicitation document is on price, targeting the lowest qualified bid.
L
Liability
A real or potential obligation or exposure to additional cost or risk.
Local Service Area (LSA)
The smaller geographical areas within each Service Delivery Area (SDA) which the ministry has divided the province into for reporting purposes. Also see Service Delivery Area (SDA).
Logic Model
A systematic, visual way of presenting a planned program that utilizes as key concepts the terms input, output and outcome, and their interrelationships.
M
Ministry
The Ministry of Children and Family Development.
Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD)
The foundation of the ministry’s work is in providing effective services to support healthy and safe environments where children are connected to their family and community. The primary focus is to support vulnerable children and their families using a client-centred approach to service delivery that builds on the family’s existing resources and capacities. Services are delivered in a respectful, compassionate, strengths-based and culturally appropriate manner to achieve meaningful outcomes.
Modification
See: Amendment
N
Negotiate a Contract
To deliberate and communicate in order to reach a contractual agreement.
Negotiator
A Ministry of Child and Family Development employee with appropriate Expense Authority or delegated authority to negotiate a contract.
New Contract
A new contract is for new services or where the services are substantially different then provided in an existing contract. A new contract is issued when an existing contract has expired and the services are still required.
Notice of Intent (NOI)
The method by which a ministry of the B.C. Government declares that it intends to negotiate a contract directly with a specified service provider, without a competitive process. It provides an opportunity for other potential proponents to object to the direct award.
O
Option to renew
A clause included in a contract that allows the Province to extend the contract for additional terms. This clause can only be used in a contract if it was included in a solicitation.
Outcome
Intended results of a ministry program area or a program. Measurable consequence of a program’s outputs, impacts on the clients or public, and the results of the outputs.
Outputs
Services provided to achieve intended outcomes. Measurable direct results of activities, such as products or services provided.
P
Post Contract Evaluation
See: Contract Evaluation
Practice
A sequence of purposeful actions that produces intended results.
Pre-Qualification List (Pre-qualified list)
A list of service providers who have been identified as being capable of providing a particular type of good or service by going through a formal pre-qualification process.
Procurement
The acquisition by any means, including purchase, rental, lease, or conditional sale of goods, services or construction.
Professional Services Contract
A contract for professional or management consulting services where Government is the direct beneficiary of the services.
Program
A cluster of services designed to achieve one or more outcomes for a particular target population.
Program Area
A ministry organizational entity with a leadership structure that reports to an ADM of a Division and is linked to the Chart of Accounts.
Program Logic Model
See: Logic Model
Proponent
See: Bidder
Proposal
A formal written document submitted by a prospective Service provider in response to an advertised contracting opportunity.
Public Funds
All money received, held, or collected, for or on behalf of the government, by a public officer or by a person authorized to receive, hold or collect the money. Includes government revenue, special funds, proceeds from the issue of government debt and sale of securities and trust funds but does not include money collected, received or held by a government corporation other than by way of taxes or license fees under an enactment.
Q
Qualified Receiver
A Qualified Receiver inspects/reviews the goods and services received, and complete the electronic receipt or approve the direct invoice to enable payment.
Quote
A written offer, from a prospective service provider for consideration to provide goods or services at the stated price.
R
Recipient
Individual or group to whom service is provided.
Records
As defined in the Interpretation Act includes books, documents, maps, drawings, photographs, letters, vouchers, papers and any other thing on which information is recorded or stored by any means, whether graphic, electronic, mechanical or otherwise.
Renewal
See: Contract Renewal
Request for Expression of Interest (RFEI)
A tool that can be used to confirm which vendors are interested on competing for a project. An RFEI can also be used to pre-qualify potential and interested vendors, who will then be invited to respond to a Request for Proposal. No contract awards are made directly from a request for expressions of interest.
Request for Information (RFI)
A procurement procedure where vendors are provided with a general or preliminary description of a problem or need, and are requested to provide information or advice about how to better define the problem or need, or alternative solutions. It may be used to assist in preparing a solicitation document. No contract awards are made directly from a request for information.
Request for Proposals (RFP)
A request to service providers to submit proposals on how, and at what price, they would provide a good or service in response to an identified problem, requirement, or objective. Service providers are requested to submit detailed proposals in accordance with pre-defined criteria. The selection of the successful proposal is based on evaluation criteria including the effectiveness, value and price of the proposed solution.
Request for Qualification (RFQ)
A procurement document used to invite vendors, if they meet the required qualification criteria, to register on a permanent source list or on a particular source list intended for a specific competition.
Risk
The potential for loss. Refers to the probability of an event occurring that will cause damage, injury or other type of unwanted consequence.
Risk Management
Structured and disciplined efforts undertaken to identify and mitigate risk and to reduce uncertainty in the achievement of organizational goals and objectives.
S
Schedule
A document which forms a part of a contract that contains additional terms used to define inputs, outputs, activities, fees, expenses, insurance and other requirements.
Service
Series of sequenced activities, in relation to a recipient, designed to contribute to an outcome.
Service Agreement
A Ministry of Children and Family Development specific contract template that was created to replace the Third Party Service Agreement and Subsidiary Component Agreement Templates. This contract template is used where government is not the direct beneficiary of the services, however has significant control over how the funding is to be spent.
Service Contract
See: Contract
Service Delivery Areas (SDA)
The large geographical areas the Ministry of Children and Family Development has divided the province into for reporting purposes. Also see: Local Service Delivery Area (LSA).
Service Provider
An individual, company, partnership or non-profit society selling goods or services.
Service Standards
Performance targets and measures for the quality of service that are outlined in the contract.
Services
What is required, furnished, produced, or delivered by a service provider in the satisfactory performance of a Ministry of Children and Family Development contract.
Shared Cost Arrangement
A contract or formal written agreement. It is a non-exchange transactions (i.e., government is not the direct beneficiary of goods or services) however government has significant control over how the funds are to be spent.
Short Form Request for Proposal (SRFP)
The SRFP is a two-page, short-form request for proposals procurement template that was developed to help ministries acquire goods and services valued at less than $250,000 where the opportunity meets specific criteria. Vendors are requested to submit detailed proposals in accordance with pre-defined criteria. The selection of the successful proposal is based on evaluation criteria including the effectiveness, value and price of the proposed solution.
Solicitation
To invite service providers to submit offers to the ministry through advertising, pre-qualified lists, or directly.
Subcontractor
The primary service provider enters into a contract with a secondary contractor to perform all or part of the specified services as outlined in the primary service provider’s contract.
Surplus
The amount of revenue that exceeds the expenditures. Significant surplus is defined as five percent or more of the total annual contract value.
T
Third Party
A person who is not directly involved in a transaction; not a party to a proceeding.
Third Party Service Agreement (TPSA)
A Ministry of Children and Family Development specific contract template, formerly used for contracts where government was not the direct beneficiary of the services. The TPSA template is no longer in use and has been replaced with a new Ministry Service Agreement Template.
U
Unearned Revenue
Payments that have been dispersed to the service provider for a purpose that was not fulfilled in the manner and/or timelines set out in the contract.
V
Value For Money
Contracts should be economic, effective and efficient. It should have positive cost benefit analysis, reached the set goals and provide the least input for given output.
Vendor
See: Service Provider