5. Procurement/Property Requirements

Competition

Based on Federal standards, all procurement transactions, regardless of amount, must be conducted in a manner that provides, to the maximum extent practical, open and free competition. This means that, even if it seems like a "good deal," grantee agencies cannot make the purchase until other vendors also are given consideration.

Soliciting competitive bid prices from vendors might be done in different ways. For example, a grantee agency could get vendor prices by advertising in newspapers, sending letters to prospective vendors, telephoning prospective vendors, or even by comparing prices in office supply catalogs. Solicitations for bids should clearly state all the requirements the vendor must fulfill in order for the bid or offer to be evaluated by the grantee agency.

The procurement should be given to the vendor whose bid or offer is responsive to the solicitation, and is the most advantageous to the grantee agency (considering price, quality, and other applicable factors). Any and all bids or offers may be rejected when it is in the grantee agency's interest to do so. This means that grantees do not have to accept the lowest bid received because other factors, such as quality of the product or service record of the vendor, also may be considered by the grantee in making the decision.

Grantee agencies must, whenever possible, make positive efforts to use small businesses, minority-owned firms, and women's business enterprises, and should take all of the following steps to further this goal:

• Ensure that small businesses, minority-owned firms, and women's business enterprises are used to the fullest extent practical;
• Make information on forthcoming opportunities available and arrange time frames for purchases and contracts to encourage and facilitate participation by small businesses, minority-owned firms, and women's business enterprises;
• Consider in the contract process whether firms competing for larger contracts intend to subcontract with small businesses, minority-owned firms, and women's business enterprises; and
• Encourage contracting with consortiums of small businesses, minority-owned firms, and women's business enterprises when a contract is too large for one of these firms to handle individually.

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