Indigenous Technical Writer for Review Panels

1.0 ADVANCE CONTRACT AWARD NOTICE (ACAN) # HICC-2025/26-PS5940 An ACAN is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services or construction to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier. 2.0 DEFINITION OF THE REQUIREMENT 2.1 Title: Indigenous Technical Writer for Review Panels 2.2 Objective: The Policy and Results Branch at Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (the “Client”) is seeking a Firm (the “Firm”) to provide specialized human rights technical writing services to review panels established by the National Housing Council. This includes: thematic analysis of written submissions and reports; documenting oral hearings; summaries of emerging themes for internal use; an interim report summarizing what was learned through oral and written hearings; a final report and recommendations; and communications materials to support dissemination. 2.3 Background: Canada’s Parliament passed the National Housing Strategy Act in 2019. It recognizes housing as a human right and commits the federal government to help make this a reality. The Act established the National Housing Council, Review Panels, and the Federal Housing Advocate. The National Housing Council is an advisory body to the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities. It was launched on November 22, 2020, when its first members were appointed. Its purpose is to further the housing policy of the Government of Canada and the National Housing Strategy. The Council helps promote participation and inclusion in the development of housing policy by engaging with communities. Review Panels are a unique, made-in-Canada participatory human rights accountability mechanism. At the request of the Federal Housing Advocate, the National Housing Council appoints three members to a Review Panel to examine a systemic housing issue and provide a report to the federal Minister responsible for housing, setting out their opinions on the issue and their recommendations for measures to address it. Review Panels must conduct a hearing that enables participation by the public, especially members of communities directly affected by the issue, and experts in human rights and housing. The current review panel, Neha, is examining the right to safe, adequate and affordable housing for women, Two Spirit, Trans, and gender-diverse people, and the government's duty to uphold this right. The Neha review panel is an Indigenous-led process. Neha is a Kanien'kéha-Mohawk word meaning "our ways". It describes a way of life that is open, peaceful, supportive and healing. Neha is conducting written and oral dialogues between November and July 2025. Evidence gathered during the hearing will inform an interim What Was Learned report, and the final review panel report and recommendations to be provided to the Minister in late 2025. Neha will conduct written and oral dialogues to gather evidence on this issue from a wide range of stakeholders, including researchers, civil society organizations, service providers, and persons with lived experience of inadequate housing and homelessness. Dialogue participants will share information on highly sensitive topics including gender-based violence, child apprehension, and the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Project personnel require a high degree of sensitivity, knowledge, and lived expertise related to the issues of focus, and familiarity with communities directly affected. The Client requires an Indigenous technical writer possessing the following qualifications: - Direct knowledge and experience of Indigenous engagement protocols, and demonstrated prior experience documenting, and preparing reports for, Indigenous-led engagement processes; - Subject matter expertise in relevant areas such as the human right to safe, adequate, and affordable housing; gender-based analysis plus (GBA plus); Indigenous rights; and government policies and programs relating to housing and homelessness; - Demonstrated ability to understand and communicate complex concepts relating to human rights, Indigenous rights, and intersectional gender equity in relation to housing and homelessness; housing conditions of Indigenous peoples and disadvantaged groups; and policies and programs related to housing and homelessness in Canada; - Extensive prior experience documenting in-person and virtual engagements with a wide range of stakeholders including senior officials at all levels of government; civil society organizations, national Indigenous organizations and Indigenous-led organizations; persons with lived experience of homelessness and inadequate housing, and members of disadvantaged groups; - Extensive prior experience preparing reports that draw upon diverse forms of expertise including lived experience, and presenting findings in a manner that is true to the experience of Indigenous people, disadvantaged groups, and people experiencing homelessness and inadequate housing; - Strong interpersonal communication and collaboration skills; - Demonstrated ability to succinctly and persuasively present information and recommendations relating to governments’ programs, policies, and human rights obligations; - Understanding of information privacy policies, and access to required IT for the secure collection, storage, use and disposal of personal information. - Proven ability to write plain-language reports for a non-academic audience. 2.4 Tasks and deliverables: Deliverable dates are tentative and may be subject to change. Any changes to deliverable dates will require mutual consent of Client and Firm. The Client will be responsible to return comments within 10 business days of receiving drafts for comments, and within 5 business days of receiving revised drafts for review. Deliverable 1: Neha oral dialogue thematic summaries, June to August 2025 Using de-identified raw notes from in-person oral dialogues, and published recordings of virtual dialogues, produce brief periodic summaries of key themes, learnings, and solutions from the oral dialogues, for internal use by Neha and the NHC secretariat. - Three periodic summaries, based on dates of oral dialogues Deliverable 2: Neha written dialogue overview, July 2025 Using de-identified text of written submissions, reports and report summaries, and preliminary analysis provided by NHC Secretariat, produce a brief overview (