Chapter 16-200

Purchasing Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of each Materiel Manager and of others possessing purchasing authority as set forth in 16-100 through 16-150 to carry out their purchasing responsibilities in accordance with University purchasing policies as set forth in Business Finance Bulletin BUS-43 and 16-300 through 16-370. University personnel are expected to abide by the Principles and Standards of Purchasing Practice of the National Association of Purchasing Management and the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Education Buyers (Exhibit B, Business and Finance Bulletin BUS-43.

In addition, the University must comply with all applicable external policies and requirements accepted by the University as a condition of extramural sponsor funding(16-310 through 16-312).

16-210 Materiel Management Office, Office of the President

The Office of the President Executive Director of Strategic Sourcing develops and recommends policies, monitors compliance, provides effective coordination and counsel in the purchasing area, consistent with the policies set forth in Business and Finance Bulletin BUS-43, Materiel Management, and in 16-300 through 16-370. This position administers the Planned Purchasing Program (see 16-330); represents the University with external agencies; assesses proposed and implements applicable State and federal regulations; formulates long-range planning; conducts special studies as needed; and staffs task forces and cross-functional work groups. Further detail is presented at Business and Finance Bulletin BUS-43, Part 2.I.B.

16-220 Contract and Grant Officers

It is the responsibility of University Contract and Grant Officers to be knowledgeable about the purchasing policies contained in this Chapter 16 and in Business and Finance Bulletins BUS-43 and BUS-34, Securing the Services of Independent Consultants, in order to effectively exercise their authority to solicit, approve, and accept or execute extramural funded awards and to carry out their related contract and grant administration responsibilities and duties pursuant to 10-300 through 10-320, as well as any redelegated purchasing authority to negotiate and sign subawards under the awards administered by their offices, as applicable for each specific campus, and redelegated to them under DA 2100. (See Section 16-130 above.)

16-230 Determination of Subrecipient or Contractor

The Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200.330) requires that the University make a case-by-case determination as to whether a party that is receiving “pass through” federal funds is a subrecipient or a contractor. Note: The term “contractor” is functionally equivalent to the term “vendor.” For the purposes of this section, a “non-Federal entity” is a campus location.

Section §200.330 Subrecipient and Contractor determinations

The non-Federal entity may concurrently receive Federal awards as a recipient, a subrecipient, and a contractor, depending on the substance of its agreements with Federal awarding agencies and pass-through entities. Therefore, a pass-through entity must make case-by-case determinations whether each agreement it makes for the disbursement of Federal program funds casts the party receiving the funds in the role of a subrecipient or a contractor. The Federal awarding agency may supply and require recipients to comply with additional guidance to support these determinations provided such guidance does not conflict with this section.

(a) Subrecipients. A subaward is for the purpose of carrying out a portion of a Federal award and creates a Federal assistance relationship with the subrecipient. See §200.92 Subaward. Characteristics which support the classification of the non-Federal entity as a subrecipient include when the non-Federal entity:

(1) Determines who is eligible to receive what Federal assistance;

(2) Has its performance measured in relation to whether objectives of a Federal program were met;

(3) Has responsibility for programmatic decision making;

(4) Is responsible for adherence to applicable Federal program requirements specified in the Federal award; and

(5) In accordance with its agreement, uses the Federal funds to carry out a program for a public purpose specified in authorizing statute, as opposed to providing goods or services for the benefit of the pass-through entity.

(b) Contractors. A contract is for the purpose of obtaining goods and services for the non-Federal entity's own use and creates a procurement relationship with the contractor. See §200.22 Contract. Characteristics indicative of a procurement relationship between the non-Federal entity and a contractor are when the contractor:

(1) Provides the goods and services within normal business operations;

(2) Provides similar goods or services to many different purchasers;

(3) Normally operates in a competitive environment;

(4) Provides goods or services that are ancillary to the operation of the Federal program; and

(5) Is not subject to compliance requirements of the Federal program as a result of the agreement, though similar requirements may apply for other reasons.

(c) Use of judgment in making determination. In determining whether an agreement between a pass-through entity and another non-Federal entity casts the latter as a subrecipient or a contractor, the substance of the relationship is more important than the form of the agreement. All of the characteristics listed above may not be present in all cases, and the pass-through entity must use judgment in classifying each agreement as a subaward or a procurement contract.

Campuses are encouraged to develop systems that will document that the above determination is made when awarding federal funds as a pass-through entity.