Procedures for Professional Services and
Consultants
Process
a. Describe the services needed,
including any required reports or other deliverables, desired outcomes,
the time frame for work to be completed, and any insurance requirements.
Insurance requirements may be obtained from the UMS Risk Manager.
b. Identify possible providers (a minimum of 3, if possible) of the
service. A legal advertisement in an appropriate newspaper is one way to
identify viable providers.
c. Solicit proposals in writing from all identified providers. The
solicitation should include one due date for all proposals, the
description of services needed, time frames of work to be performed,
minimum qualifications required, selection criteria (qualifications,
cost, references, etc.), the insurance requirements and a copy of the
Contract for Professional Services in Attachment 1 (for information only
- not to be filled out). Obtain from each provider a summary of their
qualifications, references, the cost of obtaining the service, and any
other pertinent information.
d. Select the desired provider, using the stated criteria, from among
those submitting proposals. Retain documentation of the selection
process.
e. Fill out the Contract for Professional Services. You may elicit the
assistance of University Counsel for wording specific to your contract.
Once completed, have the contractor sign the contract. The signature for
the University should be that of a person authorized by APL 32 to sign
such documents. Submit a requisition and the completed Contract for
Professional Services to your purchasing office for a purchase order,
which will be issued to control multiple payment contracts and to
encumber funds.
Miscellaneous Notes
a. Contracts funded fully or in part by
federal or state agencies shall meet all applicable standards and shall
contain all necessary clauses required by federal or state statues,
rules and regulations. The burden of complying with the requirements of
the funding source rests with the Account Administrator.
b. If the services will cost less than $5,000, the project may be
exempted from this process with the approval of the Chief Financial
Officer (or designee) of the University. A contract still needs to be
written.
c. If a competitive process is not used there must be documentation in
support of the contract, which includes:
Why the service is restricted to the particular contractor,
A description of any efforts taken to identify other sources,
A cost comparison to determine that the charge is not out of line with
current market pricing for similar services, or
If the provider is sole source, a statement to that effect, and that
availability of other providers has been thoroughly researched.
d. The party with whom the University unit wishes to contract may have a
contract they prefer to use over the one provided herein. Any alternate
contracts must be reviewed and approved by University Counsel.
e. Any changes to a signed contract should be in writing and signed by
all parties. If the change affects the dollar amount of the contract, a
change order in the purchasing system should be issued as well.
f. In some cases, the University unit contracting for professional
services may wish to use a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) process as
described in section V.
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