Becoming a CIDA Consultant

Table of Contents

• Information Needed to Prepare Your Registration Application
• Goods and Services Tax (GST) Registration Number
• Minimum Acceptable Daily Rate (Per Diem)
• How to Apply to Register

To make it easier to enter into low-cost contracts, CIDA has set up a database of private-sector consultants. This database contains only consultants who specialize in international development.

To register, you must have at least two (2) years of experience in international development assistance. Your degrees/diplomas and/or experience must support your ability to help manage (plan, monitor, evaluate) international development assistance projects.

Visit "Sample Services" for a more detailed list of the professional services required.

Information Needed to Prepare Your Registration Application

It will be easier to register if you have the pertinent information below. You will be asked for the following items:

• Indicate your name, address, and other necessary information (references, security clearance, etc.) on an online form for your consultant profile.
• Do you have a security clearance? If so, at what level? To secure a contract, you must have a valid security clearance equivalent to the level of security required.
• Are you a former employee of the Public Service of Canada? If so, do you receive a pension? If so, when did you leave the Public Service?
• Are you an Aboriginal individual or firm?
• Specify your qualifications. Database searches are done mainly on the basis of qualification criteria.
• Add any special comments.
• Attach a resume.

Be sure that this information is up to date before you apply to register.

Please note that file attachments must be in Rich Text Format (.rtf).

Goods and Services Tax (GST) Registration Number or Procurement Business Number (PBN)

To secure contracts with the Government, you must obtain one of these two registration numbers. You must provide one of these two registration numbers when you apply to register. If you do not already have this information, please obtain a registration number by visiting the Canada Revenue Agency website.

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Minimum Acceptable Daily Rate (Per Diem)

A minimum per diem is the rate you are prepared to accept from CIDA as a daily fee for professional services. Per diems for professional services should normally correspond to the per diems you have previously charged CIDA or other clients in Canada's public sector for similar or related work.

You must complete this field by indicating the per diems you are prepared to accept. If you indicate a range, such as $0-$9,999, your registration application will be deemed incomplete.

Per diems used will be confirmed/negotiated when a contract is prepared. CIDA follows this procedure to consider the history of a consultant's per diems and his/or experience in CIDA's work environment. You may be asked to provide supporting documentation that will corroborate the per diems proposed.

As a benchmark, consultants charge CIDA the following average per diems:

• $150-$325 for junior consultants
• $325-$500 for intermediate consultants
• $500-$675 for senior consultants

Where warranted, CIDA prepares contracts with per diems beyond these limits.

CIDA often uses the per diem as a criterion when seeking consultants. Thus, if you indicate $75 per day or $1,200 per day, you may be excluded from search results.

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How to Apply to Register

Do you think you have the qualifications and experience needed to make a professional contribution to managing CIDA's development assistance projects? If you do not already have a consultant profile, please create one by taking the following steps:

• Read the Privacy Notice
• Read the Categories and Criteria Document
• To create your consultant profile, log into the website and follow the instructions.