Challenges in Post Award Administration April 2019

1. Challenges in Post Award AdministrationApril 2019 Nick Marini – Purchasing Associate, University at Albany Dave Martin – Associate Director of Finance, RF Central Megan Moran – AP/Purchasing Manager, RF Central April Panzer – MWBE Program Analyst, SUNY System Administration Pam Swanigan – Director of University-Wide MWBE Program, SUNY System Administration

2. Topics • Procurement – Check in on new requirements • Planned Enhancements • Jaggaer • P-Card Automation • Travel Expense Tools (exploring options) • MWBE – Goals and hurdles • Questions/Open Discussion

3. Procurement Procurement Policy – effective July 1, 2018 • Updates related to OMB Uniform Guidance • Revised Methods of Procurement • Federal or federal flow-through funds • Non-federal funds • Revised Methods of Procurement • Non-competitive Procurements • Revised Single/Sole Source form

4. Procurement Bids and Proposals Requirements using *Federal or Federal Flow-Through Funds • Up to $10,000 • No requirement for solicitation of bids/proposals • When using same suppliers repeatedly, need to review price/quality of the goods/services and maintain in procurement file • $10,000 to $250,000 • Solicitation of bids/proposals and requires a selection from a minimum of two written or verbal quotes • Over $250,000 • Solicitation of written bids or proposals and requires a selection from a minimum of three written bids/proposals; requires cost or price analysis

5. Procurement Bids and Proposals Requirements using *Non-federal Funding Sources • Up to $50,000 • No requirement for solicitation of bids/proposals • When using same suppliers repeatedly, need to review price/quality of the goods/services and maintain in procurement file • $50,000 to $250,000 • Solicitation of bids/proposals and requires a selection from a minimum of two written or verbal quotes • Over $250,000 • Solicitation of written bids or proposals and requires a selection from a minimum of three written bids/proposals

6. Procurement Non-competitive Procurements • Purchases made under NYS contracts, consortiums, or through campus central stores or service centers • Purchases up to $200K with certified small business or M/WBE • Purchases that qualify as either Single/Sole source procurements

7. Procurement Single & Sole Source Procurements • Single Source • Purchases that qualify because of limited circumstances • Item available only from a single source; • Public exigency or emergency requirement; • Awarding agency or pass-through agency expressly authorizes non-competitive proposals in response to written request; • After solicitation of a number of sources, competition deemed inadequate • Sole Source • Purchases that qualify because the product or service procured is unique to one source or the requirements for the product or service can only be met by one supplier

8. Procurement RF Single/Sole Source Justification form

9. Planned Enhancements • Jaggaer • P-Card Automation • Travel booking/reimbursement

10. Jaggaer • All funds approach (RF, SUNY and local foundations) • Interfaces with the RF business system • Allows for electronic purchasing through online contracts and catalogues and electronic approval routing • Widely used by higher ed

11. Jaggaer • SOA (service-oriented architecture) webservices were uploaded over the February 8th weekend. Items include: • Chart of Accounts • Supplier File sync (all supplier types) • Tech Transfer AP changes • UB and Geneseo go-live February 11th • Other campuses to follow soon after: SUNY Brockport, SUNY Fredonia, and Alfred State • Out of scope • PO modifications – edits need to take place before this can implemented • Workaround – modify PO in Oracle

12. P-Card Automation • Integrate Bank of America Works system with Oracle to allow for electronic P-Card reconciliation • Ease burden of P-Card reconciliation process • Completion goal – July/August 2019

13. P-Card Automation • Charges • Cardholder/designee • PI/delegate • Accts Payable • Approvals (up to 3) • Cardholder/designee • PI/delegate • Accts Payable • Integration into Oracle • Transaction uploaded into Oracle via zero clearing

14. Travel Expense Tool Concur • Demo held on January 9th • Allows for booking and reimbursement • Able to book with various vendors (negotiated and published prices) • Allows for pre-approval • Mobile app – search, book, expense; uses OCR (scan/submit receipts) • Embedded RF Travel policies • GSA download • Multiple approvers • Reporting

15. Travel Expense Tool Ellucian Chrome River • Demo held on February 6th • Awarded contract under SUNY System Admin RFP process • Allows for reimbursement only • Travel Data Integration – flexibility in your choice of partners • Allows for pre-approval • Mobile app – uses OCR (scan/submit receipts), approvals, etc. • RF Travel policies • GSA download • Multiple approvers • Reporting

16. MWBE Changes coming within the Supplier File for classification coding (August 2019)

17. MWBE RF Minority-owned and Women Business Enterprise webpage – revised • http://www.rfsuny.org/doing-business-with-the-rf-/purchasing-staff-home/minority--women-owned-business-enterprise-mwbe/ • Information helpful to both vendors and campuses • Includes new contacts page for RF campuses

18. MWBE • What is NYS Executive Law Article 15-A? • What are Exemptions & Exclusions? • What are Good Faith Efforts? • Preparing MWBE Waivers • Q&A

19. MWBE The MWBE Program • New York State Executive Law Article 15-A § 310-318 (“Article 15-A”) establishes obligations for the Division, state agencies, and contractors in order to enhance opportunities for MWBEs in New York State contracting. The objective of Article 15-A is to promote equitable access to economic opportunities for MWBEs by eliminating barriers to their participation in New York State contracting

20. MWBE MWBE Policy • Create a level playing field on which MWBEs can compete fairly for University procurements; • Ensure nondiscrimination in the award and administration of contracts; • Help remove artificial barriers to the participation of MWBEs; and • Help Expedite firms seeking certification

21. MWBE Contractor’s Good Faith Efforts 5 NYCRR §142.8

22. MWBE Contractors must document their good faith efforts toward utilizing certified MWBEs identified within a utilization plan. Such documented efforts, shall include, at a minimum: • Copies of the solicitation to the MWBES • MWBEs responses • Copies of advertisements • Attendance at any pre-bid or pre-award meetings • Did RF provide relevant plans, specifications or terms and conditions to MWBEs sufficiently in advance to enable them to prepare an informed response • Describe how you structured the SOW to encourage participation • Did you submit an amended Utilization Plan • Actions taken by RF to contact and assess the ability of the certified MWBEs located both inside and outside the region • Did RF offer to make up any inability to comply with the MWBEs goals

23. MWBE Preparing & Packaging Waivers Waivers A State agency shall not grant any automatic waivers of goal requirements on a State contract but may grant a partial or total waiver only upon a waiver form by a contractor, documenting good faith efforts. 5 NYCRR §142.7

24. MWBE Evaluating WAIVER Requests • Contractors are entitled to waivers if they make good faith efforts to achieve an MWBE participation goal established on an RFP • Waiver evaluation may be different based on whether an agency has accepted a utilization plan

25. MWBE Evaluating Pre-Award WAIVER Requests • Good faith effort criteria set forth in regulations: • Mandatory criteria: §142.8(a); …Contractor’s efforts – documented • Discretionary criteria: §142.8(b) • Critical facts in pre-award waiver evaluation: • Did contractor solicit the right MWBEs? • Was notice to MWBEs appropriate? • Were MWBEs rejected for valid reasons?

26. MWBE Elements of Adequate Waiver Request • List of MWBEs solicited by trade/industry; • Copies of solicitations and any responses from MWBEs; and, • E-mail conversation thread • Appropriate documentation of rejecting any proposals/bids from MWBEs

27. MWBE NAICS Code

28. MWBE Narrowing Available Firms • Limit searches to appropriate geographic regions: • For all goods and services, search by work region; • Limit geographically-sensitive work to smaller range • For commodities, consider an NIGP code search

29. MWBE Searching by Region

30. MWBE Geographic Region

31. MWBE Compare Contractor’s Outreach to Available MWBEs • Consider whether contractor has adequately solicited MWBEs in relevant trades/industries: • Adequate number in all relevant trades/industries – more than one but not necessarily most/all; • Must include solicitations to high-value trades/industries, but not necessarily all low-value trades/industries • Determine whether MWBEs solicited perform work in the project region: • Soliciting MWBEs that will not travel to the work region is not necessarily evidence of good faith efforts

32. MWBE Adequacy of Solicitations • Solicitations must be in writing, preferably via email: • Do NOT accept phone logs or other unwritten solicitations unless you are willing to call MWBEs to verify; • Review email addresses used by contractor to contact MWBEs • Determine whether MWBEs solicited perform work in the project region: • Soliciting MWBEs that will not travel to the work region is not necessarily evidence of good faith efforts. • MWBEs must have reasonable time to review project specifications and prepare bid or proposal • Content of contractor solicitations must reasonably describe goods or services required • When in doubt, request outreach to non-MWBE firms and compare

33. MWBE Validity of MWBE Rejections • Contractors may validly reject MWBE bids/proposals if: • MWBEs propose providing goods or services at unreasonable prices or cannot meet reasonable project timelines; • MWBEs lack required licenses or certifications; • MWBEs cannot perform a commercially useful function; • MWBEs cannot provide materials or goods set forth in agency RFP • Invalid reasons for rejecting MWBE bids/proposals: • MWBEs are not low bidder; • MWBEs are physically located outside of project region • If in doubt, request documentation of non-MWBE firm selected

34. MWBE The purpose of a Waiver is to recommend to the Governor’s office that state regulation 15-A be suspended in a specific circumstance Good Faith Effort Must Provide Evidence of the Specific Circumstance Verified Information from the Marketplace!

35. MWBE Waiver Preparation Package for Selected Bidder • NOD Letter • Waiver Preparation Instructions • 7557-114 Waiver Request Form • 7557-106 Proposal Cost Estimate • 7557-105 MWBE-EEO Work Breakdown • Good Faith Effort Documentation: • 7557-101 Notice • 7557-102 Bid • 7557-103 Decline • Sample Vendor Letter to Summarize Good Faith Efforts

36. MWBE Evaluating Bidder’s Waiver Rationale • Why are there no subcontracting opportunities for this specific contract? • Single Source Commodities Purchase • Purchase of Exclusively Intellectual Product • Manufacture Specifies Authorized Distributors • Legitimate barriers based on Contract specifics – Proprietary, highly Specialize, Security, etc. • “We typically self-perform 100% of the work” • Why are there few or no MW partners for the subcontracting that does exist? • MW Firms lack Capacity &/or Capability • MW Already Engaged • MW Directory Inaccurate or Out-of-Date • Work Scope Reduced from RFP to Contract • Labor Agreements • “We’ve already partnered with the subs we always work with”

37. MWBE Evaluating Bidder’s Waiver Request Package • The Program Coordinator should Evaluate the Bidder’s Waiver Request Package and be satisfied in the GFE prior to completing form 7557-114a and submitting the Waiver Request Package to the program Office. Some Important Questions to answer are: • Did the Bidder Solicit Enough Scopes of Work to Meet the Participation Goals? • Was the Outreach Letter adequate? • Did it contain enough information to bid? • Did it provide enough time to bid? • Did the Bidder solicit in a wide geographic area? • Did the Bidder provide validating information why they had to self-perform certain scopes of work?

38. MWBE • Waiver Submission Package to ESD • Vendor Waiver Request • 7557-114 Waiver Request Form • 7557-106 Proposal Cost Estimate • 7557-105 MWBE-EEO Work Breakdown • Good Faith Effort Documentation: • 7557-101 Notice • 7557-102 Bid • 7557-103 Decline • Vendor Letter to Summarize Good Faith Efforts • Campus Waiver Request • 7557-114a Campus Waiver Request on behalf of Awarded Bidder • MWBE Utilization Plan (7557-107) marked Deficient & Signed • Solicitation Tech Spec & Bid Tab

39. MWBE Submit Waiver Package to Program Office • Using the following subject line • Solicitation Waiver [your campus] [procurement title] • WAIT for Waiver Approval • (allow 30 days in procurement time line for Waiver Approval)

40. MWBE Solicitation Quiz • How many MWBE Firms should the Prime Vendor Reach out to? • 10 per scope • Over 200 • All Firms physically located in the Region • All Firms that will work in the Region • All Firms within 75 miles of the work

41. MWBE Solicitation Quiz • For how many Scopes of Work should Prime Vendor Solicit Subcontractors? • 2 • Enough Scopes to equal 30% of the solicitation • Enough Scopes to equal 60% of the solicitation • All Scopes of Work

42. MWBE Solicitation Quiz • How many days should the Prime Bidder give MWBE Firms to respond to a subcontracting Solicitation? • 2 • 15 • 7 • 10

43. MWBE Sample Waiver Requests

44. Questions/Open Discussion

45. Contacts RF Contacts SUNY Contacts Pamela Swanigan, Director Pamela.Swanigan@suny.edu (518) 445-4095 April Panzer, MWBE Program Analyst April.panzer@suny.edu (518) 445-4060 Dave Martin, Associate Director David.Martin@rfsuny.org (518) 434-7033 Megan Moran, Accounts Payable/Purchasing Manager Megan.Moran@rfsuny.org (518) 434-7136