Rapid Build Projects - Request for Qualifications and Standing Offer (RFQSO)
In 2020, IO issued a Request for Qualifications and Standing Offer (RFQSO) to pre-qualify vendors to enter into negotiations with IO to deliver rapid construction mandates in Ontario through a variety of construction methodologies and sectors. The RFQSO is intended to create a roster of vendors that have demonstrated ability and capacity to build using modern rapid delivery methodology and innovations (including modular) to respond to the province’s current infrastructure needs.
In 2023, IO expanded the RFQSO to include modular housing solutions in support of the government’s More Homes Built Faster mandate.
IO’s RFQSO process represents a procurement solution that is directly responsive to the immediate infrastructure needs of Ontarians and that taps into the capabilities of firms to deliver more rapidly than traditional procurement practices have in the past.
Highlights of the RFQSO include:
- No deadline for prequalification submissions, allowing firms to submit and have prequalification submissions evaluated and added to a roster of prequalified firms on a rolling basis. This means new entrants to the market can participate in the prequalification process at any time.
- Successful respondents will be eligible to be “called up” from the roster or “standing offer list” to enter into negotiations with IO to provide project-specific rapid delivery construction services on particular mandates.
- Vendors may be invited to attend commercially confidential Project Specific Meetings, the purpose of which will be to discuss particular accelerated build or rapid delivery mandates and allow IO (and its partners) to conduct assessments of those vendors’ suitability to enter into final contract negotiations pertaining to those mandates.
Using the RFQSO process to select firms, IO has successfully delivered several rapid build projects for the province, including:
- Long-term care homes at three Hospital sites within the Greater Toronto Area
- Modular correctional facilities in Northwestern Ontario
- Site preparation for a future VW battery gigafactory in Southwestern Ontario
Firms interested in participating in the RFQSO process can find more information on MERX.
For questions about IO’s RFQSO process, please visit our Contact Us webpage.