If you are only looking at the public procurement portal, you are seeing less than 20% of the market. The real economy of government contracting happens in the data that is not on the homepage.
Our research shows that 80% of Nova Scotia RFPs are written with a specific vendor already in mind. By the time you see the posting, the deal is often already done. The only way to compete is to be in the room before the RFP is written.
The most successful suppliers do not just react to RFPs. They have built a Go-to-Market Graph of the entire public sector. They know which contracts are expiring next year, exactly what their competitors are charging, and how every proposal is being scored. They are not guessing; they are executing a strategy based on hard data.
This intelligence is legally public, but it is buried in filing cabinets across dozens of government offices. This guide shows you exactly how to extract it.
Why Government Spend Data Isn't Already Public
Here is something most suppliers do not realize. If you wanted to know what a given municipality, health authority, or provincial department is spending, that information is not actually publicly available. The only way to get government spend data for most public bodies is to submit a FOIPOP request.
Why is this information not public by default? A few reasons:
Historical precedent: Freedom of information laws were designed with sensitive documents in mind, like security matters. Over time, businesses lobbied to have commercial information treated similarly.
Fragmented systems: Every department, health authority, and municipality maintains its own records. There is no central database of all government spending.
No political incentive: Making spend data transparent opens up scrutiny. The current system benefits incumbents and insiders who know how to navigate it.
The result? Government is technically a public market, but it is the most obscure market in the world. The going cost of getting transparency is unbelievably high unless you know how to use FOIPOP strategically.
What FOIPOP Can Reveal
FOIPOP (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy) gives you legal access to government records. For competitive intelligence purposes, the gold is in these four areas:
Contract Expiration Dates
Know exactly when competitor contracts end so you can start conversations 6 to 12 months before renewal. Public procurement rules often obligate buyers to market test before renewing.
Vendor Spend History
See how much departments are paying your competitors, by vendor and by category. Think of it as a transaction history of everything the government is spending.
RFP Evaluation Criteria
Get the actual scoring sheets and weightings from past RFPs to understand what buyers really prioritize.
Sole-Source Justifications
Learn why contracts were awarded without competition, and whether those justifications still hold when you offer an alternative.
Why this matters
The Auditor General found $2.4 billion in contracts awarded without public tender over 5 years. If you are only watching the procurement portal, you are seeing a fraction of the market.
The Hidden Barrier to Entry
Winning government contracts is not just about writing a better proposal. It is about understanding the entire ecosystem.
If you are a founder or sales leader, you need more than just a list of open RFPs. You need a Go-to-Market Graph of all your competitors across the entire market.
Build Your Go-to-Market Graph
Imagine seeing every competitor, every contract, and every expiration date visualized in one place. This data is unbelievably useful because it moves you from reactive bidding to proactive account planning. It is not about winning one impossible battle against an entrenched incumbent. It is about identifying the 50 other opportunities where the incumbent is weak, the contract is small enough to fly under the radar, or the buyer is desperate for a change.
The FOIPOP Playbook: 4 Types of Requests That Win Deals
The most effective FOIPOP requests target four categories of intelligence. Each costs roughly $5 and takes 30 days to process. The intelligence you get back allows you to build that ecosystem map.
Contract Expiration Intelligence
This is your most valuable request type. It tells you exactly when to start your sales outreach. Knowing when competitor contracts expire is invaluable.
What you will get: A list showing when every competitor contract expires, so you can time your outreach 6 to 12 months before renewal conversations begin.
Competitor Spend Analysis
Want to know how much a specific competitor is making from government? These requests reveal exact dollar amounts broken down by project.
What you will get: Exact dollar amounts your competitor has received, broken down by department and project type.
Evaluation Criteria Discovery
Lost an RFP and do not know why? Request the actual scoring breakdown from past procurements. This shows you exactly what buyers prioritize.
What you will get: How proposals were scored, what criteria mattered most, and where winning bidders excelled.
Sole-Source Contract Discovery
Many contracts never go to tender. These requests reveal them and the justifications used. The "compatibility" or "sole source" justification often does not hold when buyers know alternatives are available.
What you will get: A list of non-competitive contracts, and ammunition to challenge "sole source" claims when you offer a viable alternative.
How to File Your Request
Identify the public body
Each department, health authority, and agency handles its own FOIPOP requests.
Submit online
Go to novascotia.ca/foipop and submit your request.
Wait 30 business days
They are required to respond within 30 business days. If they do not, follow up.
Turning Intelligence Into Closed Deals
When you have a complete map of the ecosystem, you are no longer relying on luck or last minute RFP responses. You are running a sophisticated go-to-market strategy.
Contract expiring in 12 months?
Start relationship building now. Request an informational meeting. Offer insights on industry trends. Do not pitch, position.
Found a sole-source competitor?
Contact the department proactively. Demonstrate that alternatives exist.
Got evaluation criteria from a past RFP?
Use it to structure your next proposal. If "local employment" was worth 15% of the score, lead with your Nova Scotia hiring plans.
The Challenge: FOIPOP Is Slow and Fragmented
The downside of FOIPOP is time and complexity. Each request takes 30 to 60 days. To build comprehensive intelligence on your market, you would need to file dozens of requests across multiple departments.
There's also the fragmented landscape to consider. Different public bodies have different processes. Some are more responsive than others. Some charge additional fees for complex requests. Navigating this system effectively requires developing relationships and understanding the specific procedures for each organization.
And even when you get the data, it's rarely actionable out of the box. FOIPOP responses arrive as raw spreadsheets, PDFs, or scanned documents. Turning that into clear buy signals, knowing which contracts are actually up for renewal, which departments have budget, and who to contact, requires hours of manual processing and cross-referencing across multiple data sources.
Finally, there's the timing problem. A contract expiration date buried in a spreadsheet doesn't help you if you forget to check it. The real value comes from transforming static contract data into proactive alerts, notifications that tell you when to reach out, 12 months before expiration for relationship building, 6 months out for positioning, 3 months out when the RFP is being drafted. Without a system to trigger these alerts, even the best intelligence sits unused.
Most suppliers don't have time for this. That's why contract intelligence typically stays with incumbents and large firms who can afford dedicated bid teams.
What if the work was already done?
ScotiaSignal continuously files FOIPOP requests and aggregates contract intelligence across Nova Scotia's entire public sector. Instead of waiting 30 days per request, you get:
- Real-time alerts when competitor contracts are expiring
- Vendor spend data across all departments in one dashboard
- Decision-maker contact information attached to every opportunity
The Bigger Picture: Why Transparency Matters
Beyond competitive advantage, there is a broader argument for making government spend data more accessible. Transparent spending leads to better outcomes:
- •More competition means better value for taxpayers
- •Local suppliers can compete on a level playing field with large incumbents
- •Innovation flourishes when barriers to entry are lower
- •Accountability improves when spending decisions are visible
Until spend data becomes truly public, FOIPOP remains the most powerful tool suppliers have to level the playing field. Use it strategically, and you will see opportunities your competitors miss entirely.
Resources
- →Nova Scotia FOIPOP Portal — Submit requests online
- →Nova Scotia Procurement Portal — Active tenders and award notices
- →Office of the Auditor General — Audit reports on government spending
- →Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner — Appeal denied or over-redacted requests
Seva Skvortsov is the founder of ScotiaSignal, helping Nova Scotia suppliers win government contracts with pre-RFP intelligence.
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