Policies and Procedures

The University of Connecticut will continue to follow the procurement requirements of State Statutes, the University’s existing policies & procedures, and the OMB  Circulars (A-21, A-110 and A-133) and will utilize the grace period allowed in the Uniform Guidance and as extended by the Office of Management and Budget technical corrections.

Procedure SP-0.1.5: General- Fair and Open Competition- Conflicts.

A.  No individual may participate in a Sourcing Activity (as defined hereinafter) if he/she, his/her cohabitating partner, any member of his/her immediate family, or a business with which he/she is associated (as defined hereinafter) (i) has a financial or other interest in, or will derive a tangible personal benefit from, a company that does business in the industry that is the subject of the Sourcing Activity or (ii) otherwise will derive a direct monetary gain or suffer a direct monetary loss as a result of the Sourcing Activity.

B.  In furtherance of the above, an individual should not participate in developing a sourcing procedure or sourcing documentation or may serve on a Committee if it is reasonably foreseeable that will derive a direct monetary gain or suffer a direct monetary loss by reason of his/her service on the Committee. For example, an individual may not serve on an Evaluation Committee if her spouse works in the industry from which bids/proposals are sought.

C.  For the purposes of this Procedure, “participation in a Sourcing Activity” is (i) serving on a Committee, (ii) identifying a vendor that will be awarded a contract for an Exempted Purchase, or (iii) obtaining quotations under an RFQ or selecting a vendor through an RFQ process.

D.  For the purposes of this Procedure, “business with which he/she is associated” means (i) a business that employs any of the individuals listed in Paragraph A; (ii) a business that has offered to employ any of the individuals listed in Paragraph A; and (iii) any sole proprietorship, partnership, firm, corporation, trust or other entity through which business for profit or not for profit is conducted in which any of the individuals listed in Paragraph A is a director, officer (meaning the president, executive or senior vice president or treasurer), owner, limited or general partner, beneficiary of a trust or holder of stock constituting five per cent or more of the total outstanding stock of any class. A not for profit entity is not a “business with which he/she is associated” solely by virtue of the fact that an individual listed in Paragraph A is an unpaid director or officer of the not for profit entity.

E.  In furtherance of the above:

  1. Information regarding this Procedure should be included in training for those who may be involved in Sourcing Activities, particularly in RFQs and Exempted Purchases.
  2. Any Sole Source Justification shall include a certification that the signatory is not conflicted under Paragraph A and that the signatory knows of no other individual who would be considered to have participated in such Sourcing Activity. If the signatory knows of other individuals who so participated, each such individual shall sign a Conflicts of Interest Form (which shall require the individual to certify that he/she has no conflicts covered by Paragraph A above).
  3. Each prospective Committee member must sign a Conflicts of Interest Form prior to participating in any Committee meetings and/or receiving vendor proposals or recommendations from another Committee.
  4. The requisition for any purchase under Procedures 1.1 – 3.1 (“Cutting the Red Tape” purchases) shall include a certification that the signatory is not conflicted under Paragraph A and that the signatory knows of no other individual who would be considered to have participated in such Sourcing Activity. If the signatory knows of other individuals who so participated, each such individual shall sign a Conflicts of Interest Form (which shall require the prospective member to certify that he/she has no conflicts covered by Paragraph A above).

F.  Any violation of this Procedure shall be subject to disciplinary measures under UConn’s Guide to the State Code of Ethics.