CVRIS Initiative: Updates

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Ontario announced a COVID-19 Resiliency Infrastructure Stream (CVRIS) initiative in late 2020. In April 2021, OECM began collaborating with School Boards to support their procurement needs in relation to this initiative. We established the OECM Facilities Support Team (OFST) to help School Boards maximize the use of and access to the time-limited funding for education-related projects focused on protecting the health and well-being of students and staff.

OECM led the coordination of procurement activities, securing supply on time-sensitive CVRIS product categories, coordinating all aspects of the procurement process – including negotiations, enabling School Boards to focus on core maintenance/facilities priorities, ensuring collaborative procurement consistent with Provincial Government’s direction; and leveraging existing OECM supplier partners.

Products and services under CVRIS

• 16 existing Agreements were identified as eligible to CVRIS Funding
• 4 accelerated agreements were executed within two months, and include:
  • Automatic Door Operators, Electromagnetic Door Holders and Hands-free Switches/Sensors for Doors
  • Commercial Air Treatment Technology, Related Products and Optional Services
  • Commercial Ductwork Sealing and Related Services
  • Unit Ventilators

Customer-Supplier Agreements (CSAs) and purchases under CVRIS initiative

• Since the establishment of the initiative on April 1, 2021, OECM has received 62 net new CSAs under agreements applicable to CVRIS funding…and this number is growing!
• School Boards spent $26M through agreements applicable to CVRIS funding, as of August 2021. We anticipate this upward trend to continue as additional spend in CVRIS categories will be reflected in future reporting.
• OECM’s Plumbing Products agreement has seen the highest increase in brand new CSAs for School Boards since April 1, 2021.

Communications and Engagement

• From March until August 2021, OECM distributed 11 dedicated bi-lingual CVRIS newsletters, sharing with School Boards the latest updates related to the initiative and key procurement activities.
• Built and enhanced relationships with Facilities and Operations departments through ongoing collaboration in order to identify and support their needs and requirements.
   

The CVRIS initiative has been a catalyst for the Facilities Priority Projects (FPP) team to continue to work with the sector and expand OECM’s Facilities and Operations agreements. As for CVRIS, we anticipate the upward trend to continue with additional purchases in the CVRIS categories, which will be reflected in future reporting. Stay tuned for more updates and results in the next issue of the OECM Facilities and Operations Spotlight!