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Office of Business Affairs
Research Funded Purchasing

Important Documents

Contact Purchasing for the tax exemption certificate.

RF Purchasing Guidelines

The Procurement Process

Before being processed each payment or commitment to purchase is reviewed by the Purchasing office, and in certain instances the Office of Research Programs (ORP), to ensure that the materials or services being ordered comply with the project budget, and are consistent with sponsor regulations and The Research Foundation (RF) policy.

Purchases within the last 30 days of the grant term date are allowed on exception base only. Please contact your ORP administrator for approval. Purchase requisitions with a grant that term within 30 days without ORP approval will be rejected by the Purchasing Office.

In order for ORP and the Purchasing Department to better serve you, please:

  • Review and follow the guidelines provided.
  • Project directors are encouraged to review the award balance prior to submitting the request. The award balance can be viewed via RF's Reporting function. Please contact ORP for access and questions on Oracle Reporting tools.

The Purchase Order Process

To submit a purchase request, please complete The Research Foundation's purchase requisitionThe completed purchase requisition is to be forwarded to the Purchasing Office in 100 Bray for review and approval.

If a formal purchase order is needed, price reasonableness is necessary. Additional sponsor specific requirements may be requested by Purchasing or ORP.

In addition, the following backup documentation is required to be attached to the purchase requisition:

Total Requisition Amount Project Director or Appropriate Operating Location office to obtain
up to $10,000

Discretionary purchasing without formal competition, but requires justification for the selection and reasonableness of price.

When the same suppliers are used repeatedly or on an ongoing basis for various procurements within this range, pricing and quality of the goods and services must be reviewed periodically and the results maintained in a supplier procurement file.

$10,000 to $24,999 Solicitation of bids or proposals required, and procurement requires selection from a minimum of two written or verbal quotes.
$25,000 to $250,000

Solicitation of bids or proposals required, and procurement requires selection from a minimum of two written or verbal quotes.

Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters Form (PDF) signed by vendor Required

over $250,000

Solicitation of written bids or proposals required and procurement requires selection from a minimum of three written bids or proposals.  Also, requires a cost or price analysis which at a minimum should include making independent estimates before receiving bids or proposals.

Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters Form (PDF) signed by vendor Required

When Bids and Proposals are Not Required

Bids or proposals are not required for procurements of any amount made under state contract.

When Bids and Proposals are Required

For all other procurements, bids or proposals are required based on the total dollar amount of the purchase requisition. The above table shows the requirements for the solicitation of bids and proposals.

The Purchasing Department will handle sending procurements out to bid and advertising in the NYS Contract Reporter. Purchasing will also seek additional quotes and check to see if orders are on NYS Contract.

"Sealed Bids or Proposals"

The sealed bid or proposal process includes the following: preparing and distribution of the solicitation using specifications received from the Procuring Department; receiving the bids or proposals; opening and evaluating the bids or proposals in a meeting; and selecting a supplier. This is conducted in partnership by the PI and SUNY ESF's Purchasing Department.

Forms

As a non-profit organization, the Research Foundation is exempt from New York State and local sales and use taxes. Please see instructions.

Industrial and Commercial Supplies and Equipment

The College takes advantage of an online ordering system from a state contract vendor which sells products under Group 39000 titled, "Industrial and Commercial Supplies". You must complete the online Registration Form to gain access to this system. Users are also reminded to contact our sales representative, George Plew, at (607) 743-5566 on any orders over $2,000 to request that better pricing be loaded onto the system if it is available. The entire product offering is available in PDF format on their website and usually has very quick turnaround. When using your Department PCard, no forms are needed but departments are expected to ensure that all items have been received in a satisfactory manner. If items are not received in a satisfactory manner, please notify the Office of Purchasing. Please note that this ordering system is also available through the NYS Funded portion of the Purchasing and Contracts website.

Equipment

Equipment is defined as an item with a value of $5,000 or more that has a useful life of more than one year. The cost of an item includes the cost of any expenses necessary to have the item in working order. These expenses include installation, shipping, modifications, attachments, accessories, or apparatus necessary to make it usable for the purpose acquired. If a sponsor regulation defines equipment differently or with a lower dollar threshold that definition and lower dollar threshold will apply to purchases on that specific award.

The purchase requisition should provide detail such as manufacturer, model number, vendors who can supply the product and it should note any required features/specifications. The information provided on the requisition should be detailed enough to ensure that the award can be made to a vendor meeting all of the features/specifications.

If the equipment is purchased with state and Research funds, the equipment will become the property of the State of New York. A State purchase requisition must be submitted. The State and Research accounts must be noted on the requisition and be accompanied by the appropriate signature for the State and Research accounts. The nature of such an order requires the Office of Purchasing to follow both State and Research procurement regulations and guidelines. A state purchase order will be issued to the vendor with the Research account being referenced. A Research Foundation purchase order is issued to the state for the Research Foundation portion of the purchase.

Section _ .44 of the White House Office of Management and Budget Circular A-110 requires the establishment of procedures that assure the avoidance of “purchasing unnecessary items". Prior to the procurement of items in excess of $25,000, a search will be conducted of campus inventory by the Property Control Officer. The project director is responsible to ensure that purchases are appropriate and necessary to the conduct of their project.

Insurance

Insurance for Research Foundation and sponsor-owned equipment is available through the Research Foundation Central Office. The Research Foundation offers property insurance, project related property insurance and administrative property insurance. Information can be obtained by contacting the Office Of Research Programs.

RF Procurement Card Information

EFB has generously agreed to be our pilot department for the RF Pcard. The pilot process will enable the Business Office to determine the resources needed for a campus wide rollout of the RF Pcard.

Lease Information for Off-Campus Research

Leasing forms, and a review of lease terms, are required to establish any leases funded by the Research Foundation and/or its partners. Lease forms are available by contacting the Procurement Department.

Appliances

Some specific lab situations require the purchase of refrigerators and freezers. Personal use appliances usually found in kitchens cannot be purchased using Research Funds unless certain criteria are met. Kitchen appliances require prior approval by the Purchasing Agent based on a justification that meets established sponsor and/or OMB guidelines.