UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH POLICY 05-02-17

CATEGORY:              FINANCIAL AFFAIRS
SECTION:                  Purchasing
SUBJECT:                 Directed or Sole Source Purchase Justification
EFFECTIVE DATE:   August 4, 2004
PAGE(S):                   2

I.    SCOPE

      This policy permits, under certain conditions, purchases of goods or services from a

      directed or sole source without soliciting bids from multiple sources.

II.   POLICY

      The University recognizes that special circumstances may not support the use of

      competitive bidding.  In these situations, directed or sole source purchases may be an

      acceptable alternative.

      Directed or sole source purchases are an exception to the University of Pittsburgh

      Competitive Bidding Policy, and must always be in writing.  The Purchasing Department

      will approve a directed or sole source purchase on a case-by-case basis.

      Directed source is a term used to designate that a product or service, for specific and

      justifiable reasons, will be purchased from one specified supplier.  Following are examples

      of acceptable directed source purchases.

      -     The requested product is an integral part or accessory to existing equipment.

      -     The service requested is for existing equipment which can only be completed by the

            original manufacturer or manufacturer’s designated service provider.

      -     The requested product or service has unique design, performance, and/or quality

            specifications that are essential to a particular research protocol or teaching needs

            and are not available in comparable products.

      -     The requested product or service is essential in maintaining research continuity.

      -     The requested service or system requires a supplier with unique skills or experience.

      Sole source is a term used to designate that only one supplier exists that is capable of

      providing a particular product or service.

      For directed and sole source purchases, University departments are responsible for

      evaluating alternative sources of supply and documenting the reasons that the purchase

      will be directed to a particular supplier or service provider when alternative sources are

      available.  University departments also are responsible for verifying that prices paid for

      directed and sole source purchases are fair and reasonable.

      Under no circumstances shall a supplier be advised that a contract will be awarded on a

      directed or sole source basis before approval by the Purchasing Department.

III.  EXCLUSIONS

      Guest speakers, honoraria, subscriptions, dues, memberships and other similar items will

      be treated as sole source, and do not require sole source justification documentation.

IV.  REQUIREMENTS FOR RESEARCH GRANTS AND CONTRACTS

      University purchasing policies and procedures cover the purchasing requirements under

      OMB Circular A-110 for grants and cooperative agreements.  For research contracts,

      however, there may be additional contractual requirements related to purchasing.
      Research Administrators and Principle Investigators are responsible for identifying and

      complying with any additional purchasing provisions, such as the Federal Acquisition

      Regulations (FARs), that may be included in the terms of their research contracts.  The

      Purchasing Department is available to provide assistance in complying with any additional

      research contract purchasing provisions.

V.   REFERENCES

      Policy 05-02-02, Conflict of Interest and Procurement Relationships

      Policy 05-02-03, Code of Ethics

      Policy 05-02-14, Authority for Management of Procurement

      Policy 05-02-15, Required Use of Contracted Suppliers

      Policy 05-02-16, Competitive Bidding

      Directed or Sole Source Justification Form