1214 DHS Office of Procurement Services Process

In compliance with the rules of the State Purchasing Office, all purchases made by a state agency should be based on competitive bidding whenever possible. Purchases less than $25,000.00 may be made without competitive bidding (O.C.G.A. 50-5-69). All contracts that are $25,000.00 or greater shall be bid, unless it is with another governmental entity, fits the definition of a professional service contract, or is processed and approved as a sole source under the conditions listed below for sole source contracts. All contracts $999,999.99 or less are processed through the Office of Contract Administration (OCA), under the delegated authority granted to the Department, utilizing State Purchasing Regulations.

All solicitation tools, including Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quote (RFQ), Request for Qualified Contractors (RFQC), Statement of Need (SON), Sole Source Verification, Consortia etc., shall be posted on the DOAS Procurement Registry website. All contracts greater than $1,000,000.00 shall be processed through OPS, with the bidding processes facilitated by DOAS. OPS works with each Division/Office to ensure the appropriate solicitation tool is utilized and that the procurement effort complies with State Purchasing rules and regulations; and facilitates submission to DOAS. All communications with DOAS during the procurement process must be channeled through OPS.

Divisions/Offices with procurement needs containing an IT component, shall request technical assistance from the DHS Office of Information Technology (OIT) in routing the request through the GTA, developing the technical specifications for the project, and creating the acquisition documents. The Division/Office shall contact OIT, advise them of the scope of the project, and schedule a consultation between the Division/Office, OIT, and OPS. OIT will assist the Division/Office to ensure the project has ETSC endorsement and complies with GTA guidelines. OPS will determine the appropriate procurement method or tool to be used to award the contract, assist the Division/Office in collaborating with OIT in developing the solicitation document (i.e., RFP, RFQ, RFQC, etc.), and will route the document through State Purchasing. OIT will coordinate the routing of the document and approval process by GTA prior to releasing to OPS.

All IT procurements, regardless of cost, must meet GTA standards and policies. Instructions regarding the GTA technology request process are available on the GTA website at www.gta.georgia.gov. Click on 1) Policies & Programs, and 2) Policies & Standards, and Guidelines (PSGs). Links are available within the GTA Technology Review Policy for agencies to access the necessary forms to submit to GTA for project requests (i.e. Agency Project Request Checklist.doc, Agency Project Request Instructions.doc, and Agency Project Request Template.doc.). OIT will lead and provide technical assistance in all issues regarding GTA’s involvement. OPS will ensure the appropriate solicitation tool is utilized, and the procurement effort complies with State Purchasing rules and regulations, before submission to DOAS.

For technology procurements, OIT will support its customers with the development of evaluation materials that represent the full spectrum of the proposed solution and will assist in facilitating evaluation sessions and assisting the customer in preparation for contract negotiations.

A Request for Information (RFI) is a formal process for soliciting information from vendors who have knowledge, experience, or information about the products or services required for a project. The RFI method is not intended to result in a contract award but is designed to allow for the collection of industry information that may be used to determine if a RFQ, RFP, or other solicitation method is appropriate.

The RFI should be used if there is not enough information or knowledge about the product or service needed to develop a Statement of Work for a RFQ, RFP, or other appropriate solicitation method.

When a Division/Office identifies a need for a service, it shall schedule a consultation with OPS for the purpose of discussing the project concept, its purpose and objectives, specifications, etc. With this information, OPS shall determine the most appropriate procurement method/tool for the project. Standard procurement methods include:

Contracts for professional services are specifically exempted from the bid process by law (O.C.G.A. 50-5-57). DOAS has interpreted professional services to be those listed in O.C.G.A. 14-7-2 (2) which are:

All contracts deemed to be a professional service shall contain sufficient information to demonstrate that it is a professional service contract, under the above definition, and shall be approved by the Division/Office Director or their assistant/deputy. The approved Sole Source Justification form will be forwarded to OPS for further processing. The Sole Source Justification form and the associated usage instructions are attached.

Divisions/Offices wishing to utilize the services of the exempted professionals listed above may be required to develop a Statement of Need with detailed description of the Scope of Work to be performed by the exempted organization. The organization will respond to the Statement of Need through a proposal that will be evaluated by the Division/Office.

The Office of Financial Services may solicit the services of the above professionals through the competitive procurement process, if competitive procurement is deemed to be in the best interest of the Department. The Division/Office shall work with the Office of Financial Services to determine the appropriate process to be used.

Government entities (e.g., Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, Georgia Department of Labor, Georgia Technology Authority, etc.) are exempt from the competitive procurement process.

Divisions/Offices wishing to utilize the services of the exempted governmental or quasi-governmental agencies may be required to develop a Statement of Need with detailed description of the Scope of Work to be performed by the exempted agency. The agency will respond to the Statement of Need by submitting a proposal that will be evaluated by the Division/Office.

The Office of Procurement Services staff is available to provide technical assistance and guidance through the procurement process.

Agencies which are administratively attached to DHS, and authorized by law, rules or regulations to procure services outside the authority of the State Purchasing Office, may request technical assistance from the Office of Procurement Services (OPS) to aid them in facilitating the procurement process.

The Department of Administrative Services (DOAS) Georgia Procurement Manual (GPM) is located at www.doas.ga.gov/state-purchasing, then click on the following quick links: 1) Divisions; 2) State Purchasing 3) Information for State Entities Procurement Professionals; 4) GPM Archives, Policies and Official Announcements.