Profile of contacts

Document Navigation for Office of the Procurement Ombudsman Annual Report 2015 to 2016

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Diagram 1
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This diagram identifies the number of total contacts received by the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman in the 2015-16 fiscal year as 399. This total number is then broken down below into procurement-related contacts (283) and non-procurement-related contacts (116).

In 2015-2016 the Office registered a total of 399 contacts. This represented a decrease of 31% from the previous year, from 577 total contacts in 2014-2015 to 399 in 2015-2016. The Comparison in Total Monthly Contacts chart shows a decrease in the number of contacts to the Office starting in August and continuing to the end of the fiscal year. Potential reasons for the decline in total contacts include:

  • The 2015 election period (August-October) resulted in the Office postponing supplier-related outreach events and advertising activities until after the election.
  • The number of solicitations issued or federal contracts awarded may have been affected by the election period.
  • The period without an Ombudsman limited some of the functions the Office could undertake between December 2015 and the end of the fiscal year.

Of the 399 contacts, 283 (71%) contacts were procurement-related, ranging from general inquiries to specific complaints. While the number of overall contacts decreased from the previous fiscal year, the percentage of procurement-related contacts remained steady. The rest of this report provides details on how the Office handled these 283 procurement-related contacts.

The remaining 116 (29%) contacts were non-procurement related and consisted of inquiries from members of the general public attempting to reach a government organization, experiencing difficulty with a government program and not knowing where to turn, or raising concerns that fall within the expertise and mandate of other governmental organizations. Regardless of the nature of the non-procurement issues raised, OPO staff worked diligently to provide useful information to re-direct individuals who contacted the Office.

Diagram 2
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Years April May June July August Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. March
2014-2015 36 28 46 20 41 50 63 49 42 72 59 71
2015-2016 38 29 32 34 27 32 42 27 32 35 33 38

This table depicts the number of monthly contacts to the Office in 2014-2015 and 2015-2016.

Educate, Facilitate and Investigate

Our approach to promoting fairness, openness and transparency in federal procurement focuses on three pillars:

  • Educate: Raise awareness of procurement issues and exchange information
  • Facilitate: De-escalate disputes and help resolve issues
  • Investigate: Examine and review procurement issues

These three pillars—Educate, Facilitate and Investigate—provide the structure for understanding OPO's activities and how the Office handled the 283 procurement-related contacts in 2015-2016.

Document Navigation for Office of the Procurement Ombudsman Annual Report 2015 to 2016

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