Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

To Bid Or Not To Bid?

  • By Duff Erholtz
  • 06/01/17

With all due respect to Mr. Shakespeare, the real question is determining whether or not to do your own bid or to utilize another public agency’s cooperative agreement. Here’s what you need to know to be strategic in your use of cooperative agreements. It starts internally with your campus. Ask the following: Do you understand your legal authority? Is your legal counsel familiar? Has your campus utilized cooperative agreements before? Does your Board or Council need to approve the use? What does your political landscape look like? Can social goals or local preference initiatives be achieved?

Next, evaluate the various cooperative organizations: How long has the cooperative been operating? Does your campus need to join the cooperative? Is there a fee? Was the solicitation advertised? Where and how? What procurement laws does the cooperative follow in soliciting, evaluating and awarding contracts? Has the cooperative received third-party audits, peer review or awards? What is the level of the cooperative’s customer service? Does its website contain accessible and thorough documentation?

Finally, and most importantly, analyze the actual contract: Does the awarded contract contain the specific solution you need? When was the contract awarded, and when does it expire? What are the qualifications, capabilities and financial health of the awarded supplier? How is pricing addressed (i.e., percentage discount, ceiling-based pricing)? Are the terms and conditions of the contract amendable? Is there a rebate on the contract? How is it paid?

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

About the Author

Duff Erholtz serves as a Membership Development administrator at National Joint Powers Alliance. Contact him at [email protected] or visit njpa.co/NCPProadmap.

Featured

  • T&T Construction Management Group Completes Pasco High School Expansion

    Pasco High School in Dade City, Fla., recently announced that it has completed an expansion project in partnership with T&T Construction Management Group, Inc., Harvard Jolly Architecture, and Williams Company.

  • Preparing for the Next Era of Healthcare Education, Innovation

    Across the country, public universities and community colleges are accelerating investments in healthcare education facilities as part of a broader strategy to address workforce shortages, modernize outdated infrastructure, and expand clinical training capacity. These projects, which are often located at the center of campus health and science districts, are no longer limited to traditional classrooms.

  • Different Starting Points, Same End Goal

    Higher education campuses can enhance student experience by implementing mobile credentials to streamline building access, on-campus payments, and access to other amenities. This enables students to connect to their campuses through the technology they use most: their mobile devices.

  • Photo credit: Elkus Manfredi Architects

    University of Virginia Selects Design-Build Team for New Residential Complex

    The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., recently announced that it has selected a design-build team for a new upper-class residential development on campus, according to a news release. Capstone Development Partners—in partnership with Elkus Manfredi Architects and the Hoar Construction/Hourigan construction team—will move forward with the three-building, 310,000-square-foot housing facility.