IPI Purchasing Guidelines

1.  Indigenous Business

2.  Indigenous Procurement Criteria

• The requirement is culturally specific to Indigenous people (ex: Indigenous art, cross-cultural awareness workshops), or
• The requirement is primarily designated for Indigenous people (ex: a study on diabetes within the Indigenous community, an Indigenous event planner for an Indigenous event, an Indigenous conference or event, focus of the requirement is Indigenous in nature).
• Exception: goods or services already on established contracts holding a legal requirement to use the contract.

3.  Indigenous Business Set-Aside

• Set-Asides may be used when Indigenous Procurement Criteria is met.
• A Set-Aside must be supported by an assessment conducted by the Administrator of the competition and capacity which must be sufficient to be able to reserve the entire requirement for competition among Indigenous Businesses only.
• Sufficient competition and capacity exist with Indigenous Business.
• Where only one Indigenous business exists, a single source Indigenous Business Set-Aside is permissible, with quality, cost and value for money an important consideration.
• Where government specifications or standards exist (at the department or government-wide level), the same specifications or standards must be incorporated into the requirement whether an agreement exists or not.
• Subcontractors (if applicable) must also meet the definition of an Indigenous Business under the Indigenous Procurement Initiative (IPI).
• When the Set-Aside option is used, any Bidder / Proponent that offers less than 100% participation by Indigenous Business will be considered non-compliant.

4.  Mandatory Indigenous Business Participation

• The portion of Indigenous participation is determined by the Proponent. 
• Mandatory Indigenous Business Participation may be used when Indigenous Procurement Criteria is met but the Administrator believes that Indigenous Business capacity is unknown or is known to be insufficient to provide the entire requirement without the participation of non-Indigenous business.
• To achieve Indigenous Business participation, the use of partnerships, and/or subcontractors is expected and encouraged.
• Mandatory Indigenous Business Participation is a mandatory condition of a tender and Proponents who submit a Proposal without any Indigenous Business participation shall be disqualified and receives no further consideration.

5.  Desired Indigenous Business Participation

• Desired Indigenous Business Participation is used when the requirement does not meet Indigenous Procurement Criteria but the Administrator believes that the requirement may provide an opportunity to encourage Indigenous Business participation.
• Desired Indigenous Business Participation is not a mandatory condition of a tender, but is encouraged. Proposals that offer Indigenous participation will receive additional points scored during the evaluation. Proponents who submit a Proposal without any Indigenous Business participation will not be disqualified, but will not receive additional points scored in the evaluation for this component.

6.  Indigenous Business Standard

• Indigenous Business Standard is used when the requirement does not meet Indigenous Procurement Criteria and the requirement if for goods only, or is primarily for goods with a minor service component and subcontracting is not possible.
• Indigenous Business Standard is not a mandatory condition and no points are assigned in the tender for Indigenous participation. Bidders will not be disqualified if no Indigenous Business participation is provided in a tender submission.

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