USNH Procurement Services

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Bid Limit:

In accordance with USNH Policy Procedure: 6-001 purchases over $34,999 require a competitive bid process, unless the purchase is under $150,000 and utilizing competitively bid USNH contracts, contracts from an authorized agency such as the State of New Hampshire or a Group Purchasing Organization contract.

Types of solicitations:

RFB Request for Bid - Used when you know precisely what you need and have precise requirements and specifications

RFI Request for Information - Used when you don't know exactly what you want, or don't know what is available in the marketplace

RFP Request for Proposal - Used when you have a general idea with some specifications and/or it's a large, complex project with potential for multiple solutions

RFQ Request for Qualifications - Not a bid. Used to request firms to submit qualifications to be considered for a project

RFQ/P Request for Qualifications/Proposal - Used as a screening step to establish a shortlist of pre-qualified vendors to provide proposals for specific products or services

Initiating the bid process:

A BSC/department can initiate the bid process by communicating their needs to Procurement by completing a Sourcing Initiation Form in Team Dynamix at the following link: Team Dynamix

Overview of the bid process:

Once the request is received in Team Dynamix, the following process occurs:

A sourcing event number is assigned to all requests (RFB, RFP, or RFI) for tracking purposes. This number should be referenced on all documentation relating to the sourcing event (e.g. bid document, correspondence, email, Banner document)
USNH Sourcing creates the sourcing event solicitation document
USNH Sourcing publishes the sourcing event in UShopNH
When the sourcing event is published, communication regarding the sourcing event between USNH personnel and potential bidders is prohibited
Responses are received in UShopNH
Responses remain confidential until the due date and time
Responses will be opened by USNH Sourcing
All responses are evaluated by USNH Sourcing and the requesting party
An award decision is made in collaboration with USNH Sourcing
If a decision is made to award, the requestor notifies their business unit to initiate a purchase order
When an award decision is made, USNH Sourcing will update UShopNH
If required, USNH Sourcing will collect insurance or bonding from the awarded firm(s), and ensure compliance with all requirements

In general, awards are made to the lowest cost, most responsive and responsible firm meeting the specifications and delivery requirements outlined in the request for bid or proposal. On the more complex purchases, evaluation factors such as past technical experience, years in business, customer references, life cycle costing or other criteria are considered, in addition to price.

Procurement Policy

RFB	Request for Bid - Used when you know precisely what you need and have precise requirements and specifications
RFI	Request for Information - Used when you don't know exactly what you want, or don't know what is available in the marketplace
RFP	Request for Proposal - Used when you have a general idea with some specifications and/or it's a large, complex project with potential for multiple solutions
RFQ	Request for Qualifications - Not a bid. Used to request firms to submit qualifications to be considered for a project
RFQ/P	Request for Qualifications/Proposal - Used as a screening step to establish a shortlist of pre-qualified vendors to provide proposals for specific products or services