Federal Contracts $150,000 and above

A purchase for services, supplies, and equipment for any item or group of similar items over $150,000 should be processed as a formal solicitation in the form of an Invitation to Bid (Bid) or Request for Proposals (RFP).  Public advertisement is required by the Federal /Acquisition Regulations (FAR), as such Procurement must handle the solicitation. In order to begin this process, a requisition in the budgeted amount of the contract, along with a completed Requirements Document and a list of suggested sources (if known) should be sent to Procurement.

Sole-Source or non-competitive awards are procurements through the solicitation of a proposal from only one source.  

In accordance with the FAR, Section 6.1, Contracts may be awarded under Other than Full and Open Competition when one or more of the following circumstances apply:

1. When the supplies or services required are available from only one responsible source, (6.302-1)

2. Unusual and Compelling Urgency (6.302-2)

3. Industrial Mobilization; Enginering, Developmental, or Research Capability; or Expert Services  (6.302-3)

4. International Agreement (6.302-4)

5. Authorized or Required by Statute (6.302-5)

6. National Security (6.302-6)

7. Public Interest (6.302-7)

If an award is to be made from a single quote or proposal at this dollar level, A Justification and Approval Form must be completed along with a requirements document and/or Scope of Work. 

When publicly advertised, Sealed Bid(s)/RFP(s) shall be received until the date and time indicated in the document for the return of Bids/Proposals. Any Bid/Proposal received after the designated time shall neither be accepted nor considered for evaluation, recommendation and award. 

Once a request for Bid/RFP is released, the university is under a “cone of silence.” Individuals should not discuss the requirements of the solicitation or in any way offer additional information to suppliers outside of a formal addendum to the solicitation documents. If a supplier contacts a school/department directly, that potential supplier should be referred to the appropriate representative issuing the solicitation. No verbal or written information obtained other than by the Bid/RFP documents or by an addendum to the Bid/RFP is binding on the university. 

Unless otherwise noted in the Special Conditions section of a Bid/RFP, responses received to Bids/RFPs shall not be publicly opened. Bids/RFPs will then be evaluated, tabulated, and an award recommendation made. A supplier may not proceed with filling the requirement of the Bid/RFP until a contract has been executed or a Purchase Order released to the supplier.

See the Procurement Manual for further information on Bids and  RFPs and their associated procedures.

Irrespective of the process followed, the above required information should be attached to a requisition within EAS (Oracle R12) and be forwarded it to Procurement for further action.  Once received, a Procurement representative will contact you with a timeline for the procurement to occur.

If you have questions on how to proceed with your procurement, please call 202-994-2500 and ask for a Contract Services representative.