Effective date: September 30, 2026
Purpose
Next Level Bids provides services to government institutions, public-sector organizations, suppliers, private businesses, and procurement teams. This policy explains how Next Level Bids identifies and manages conflicts of interest while protecting confidentiality, independence, and procedural fairness.
Core commitment
Next Level Bids will not knowingly act for a government client and a supplier on the same procurement or substantially related procurement where the roles could create an actual, potential, or reasonably perceived conflict.
Next Level Bids may serve government and supplier clients on separate, unrelated procurements.
Types of conflicts
A conflict may exist where:
• Next Level Bids is asked to support both sides of the same procurement.
• Non-public information from one client could benefit another client.
• A prior engagement creates a material advantage or disadvantage.
• A personal, financial, employment, family, or business relationship could affect judgment.
• A fairness-monitoring role conflicts with advocacy or advisory work.
• Next Level Bids helped develop an RFP and is later asked to help a supplier respond to it.
• Next Level Bids advised a supplier and is later asked to monitor or manage the same procurement.
• A reasonable person could question Next Level Bids’ independence.
Conflict screening
Before accepting an engagement, Next Level Bids may request the client name, related entities, government institution, procurement title or reference number, known bidders or suppliers, proposed role, relevant prior engagements, and required confidentiality or independence terms.
Next Level Bids may maintain a confidential conflict register for this purpose.
Same-procurement restriction
If Next Level Bids provides government-side services for a procurement, it will not provide supplier-side proposal, bid, lobbying, advocacy, or response support for that same procurement.
If Next Level Bids provides supplier-side support for a procurement, it will not provide government-side procurement development, evaluation, fairness-monitoring, or award-related support for that same procurement.
The restriction may also apply to a substantially related procurement where confidential information, process knowledge, requirements, evaluation criteria, or strategy could create an unfair advantage or undermine confidence in the process.
Fairness-monitoring independence
A fairness-monitoring engagement must remain independent from advocacy for any bidder or supplier participating in the monitored procurement. Next Level Bids will not provide supplier-side response or advocacy services for a procurement that it is monitoring.
A fairness monitor may identify procedural concerns, ask questions, document observations, and report within the agreed mandate. The fairness monitor does not make the procurement decision or advocate for any participant.
Information barriers
Where appropriate and permitted by the client, Next Level Bids may establish information barriers, including separate personnel, files, access permissions, communication channels, and project records.
An information barrier will not be used to justify work that would otherwise be prohibited because of a direct same-procurement conflict or an independence requirement.
Disclosure
Clients must promptly disclose facts that may create a conflict. Next Level Bids will disclose relevant conflicts to the affected client where disclosure is permitted and does not reveal another client’s confidential information.
Next Level Bids may decline an engagement or withdraw from an engagement where the conflict cannot be managed appropriately.
Consent
Written consent may be considered only where the conflict is manageable, disclosure is appropriate, client requirements permit it, and the arrangement does not compromise independence, confidentiality, or procurement integrity.
Consent will not be used to permit fairness-monitoring work that is incompatible with supplier advocacy or same-procurement representation.
Declining or ending work
Next Level Bids may decline, suspend, limit, or end an engagement where a conflict is identified, required information is not provided, independence cannot be maintained, confidentiality may be compromised, the client’s instructions create a procurement-integrity concern, or continuing would create a significant appearance of impropriety.
No client is entitled to confidential information about another client or engagement.
Training
General procurement training does not automatically create a conflict. However, training tailored to a live procurement, confidential requirements, evaluation strategy, or specific supplier response may be treated as an engagement for conflict-screening purposes.
Policy changes
This policy may be updated as Next Level Bids expands its services, engages subcontractors, or accepts work subject to client-specific conflict requirements.
Contact: contact@nextlevelbids.ca
