111 - Preparation of Specifications and Response Evaluation Criteria

Procurement Services 111: Preparation of Specifications and Response Evaluation Criteria

Purpose

To establish responsibility for preparing specifications and developing evaluation criteria for bidder responses

Reference

University of Alaska Procurement Manual (not available online) Board of Regents Policy 05.06 Alaska Statute 36.30

Definitions

Specifications: Descriptive information used to procure specific goods or services that may include performance, qualifications, delivery requirements, physical characteristics, packaging requirements, and operating parameters of goods.

Policy

General

Procurement Services is responsible for issuing solicitations for the procurement of goods and services. Solicitations include Invitation for Bid (IFB), Requests for Proposals (RFP), Request for Quotes (RFQ) or any other requests for prices, including all supporting preparing documents. Procurement Services and the requesting department share responsibility for specifications (a component of the solicitation), as well as developing evaluation criteria.
 
Areas of Responsibility
Terms and Conditions
Procurement Services is primarily responsible for the terms and conditions of the solicitation.
 
Specifications
Although Procurement Services and the requesting department share responsibility for the specifications, the requesting department is primarily responsible for developing the technical or performance specifications of a solicitation. Specifications must be written with a view to securing goods or services with the appropriate quality for the particular procurement. Specifications must, to the extent practicable, emphasize function or performance criteria and limit design or other detailed physical descriptions to those that are necessary to adequately describe the item. Only the grade or degree of goods that will meet, but not exceed, the requirements will be purchased by the university.
Fairness
Specifications must be written fairly and equitably and must not be:
  1. Unduly restrictive
  2. Prejudicial to any supplier or
  3. A basis for just complaint from any competitive bidder
Specificity
The descriptor “brand name or equal” may be used in specifications as a means of defining performance or other salient requirements of a procurement. When the descriptor “brand name or equal” is used, the specific features of the named brand that are required must be clearly identified so that it is clear what would make a competing product an “equal.” Where brand name only is desired, the requestor shall justify in writing the reasons for specifying a particular brand name to Procurement Services. This document will be retained in the bid file. 
Response Evaluation Criteria
Procurement Services and the requesting department share responsibility for developing the evaluation criteria for the responses to an RFP. The evaluation criteria should include a method for scoring vendor responses against specific criteria. A method for scoring each evaluation criterion will simplify the evaluation process and enable the response evaluators to explain why any responding vendor was or was not selected.

Effective: 10/25/2005