Waiver of Bidding Requirements Over $35,000

306.02

Northern Arizona University
Purchasing Policy and Procedure

Waiver of Bidding Requirements Over $35,000

POLICY:

The Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) Procurement Code requires goods and/or services shall be procured with the maximum practicable competition. As provided by ABOR 3-803B (Competitive Sealed Bidding) and 3-803C (Competitive Sealed Proposals), all procurements costing more than $35,000 require competitive sealed bids. Under certain circumstances, the formal bidding procedures may be waived. The University President or designee(s) may authorize procurements without competitive bidding if a particular situation qualifies for one of the following (Sole Source, Matching Existing Equipment, or Emergency Procurement)..

SOLE SOURCE (ABOR 3-803D.2)

Procurement for goods and/or services may be awarded, without competition, if the Director of Procurement determines, in writing, that there is only one source for the required goods and/or services. Sole Source procurement shall be avoided except when no reasonable alternative source exists. Construction services may not be procured under this subsection.

Federal Grants: independent contractor(s) and/or professional service(s) may be considered sole source procurement if the Federal Grant approval requires and specifically identifies, within the Grant, by name, the individual and/or company providing said services. The requisitioner shall submit a copy of the Grant or sub-contract agreements with the “Waiver of Bidding Requirements Greater Than $35,000” form.

MATCH EXISTING EQUIPMENT

Procurement for goods and/or services may be awarded without competition, if the Director of Procurement determines, in writing, the use of another offeror would result in incompatibility with existing equipment; the product shall be used in continuing experiments; University personnel have specialized training and/or extensive experience with the product and the use of another product shall require considerable training, time, and money; and/or other investigators have used this product in similar research and, for comparability of results, it shall be required

EMERGENCY PROCUREMENT (ABOR 3-803D.3)

Notwithstanding any other provisions of the ABOR Procurement Code, a University President or the President’s designee(s) may make emergency procurements if there exists a situation that:

Threatens public health, welfare or safety,

-or-
2. makes compliance with the competitive bidding requirement (ABOR 3-803 Subsection B and Subsection C) impractical, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest.

Emergency procurements shall be made with such competition as is practical under the circumstances. Waivers shall be requested only under the most extreme circumstances. A personal preference for certain products shall not constitute justification for requesting a waiver.

PROCEDURE:

To request a procurement waiver, the requisitioning department shall submit to Purchasing Services the “Waiver of Bidding Requirements Greater Than $35,000” form. The appropriate section shall be completed outlining the rationale for the request in specific terms and accompanied by any/all supporting documentation which shall include an original written quotation from the offeror. Prior to submitting to Purchasing Services, the form shall be signed by the department Dean, Director, or Chair and the Area Vice President/Provost.

PROCESSING:

When the responsible buyer receives the “Waiver of Bidding Requirements Greater Than $35,000” form, he/she shall verify the following:

Request for procurement qualifies under the above cited criteria for waiver and the justification is sufficiently detailed to clearly establish and substantiate the goods and/or services specified shall meet the needs of the university end-user.
2. Price offered for the goods and/or services is reasonable and in the best interest of the University.

The responsible buyer shall sign the “Waiver of Bidding Requirements Greater Than $35,000” form and submit all supporting documentation to the Director of Procurement for approval. When the “Waiver of Bidding Requirements Greater Than $35,000” form is approved, a purchase order shall be issued. The requisitioning department shall be notified if the waiver is not acceptable.

A copy of the purchase order and the “Waiver of Bidding Requirements Greater Than $35,000” form shall be filed in the contract file.