Two Years and Counting
In 2018, MIT adopted the Uniform Guidance framework for its purchasing policy for all purchases made at the Institute. VPF implemented these Uniform Guidance procurement standards and introduced a new online Selection of Source form to document the steps taken when selecting a supplier for purchases exceeding $10,000. VPF’s buying teams—Procurement Operations and Strategic Sourcing and Contracts—are noting this second anniversary with a refresher for community members who make purchases for the Institute. See the Uniform Guidance FAQ on the VPF website for details.
The Selection of Source form is designed to guide you through the specific requirements for a competition. As a reminder, all procurements must be conducted in a manner reflecting a full and open competition to the maximum practicable extent. A thorough price evaluation is required for all procurements above $250,000 and sole source procurements.
Sole source procurements may only be used in place of competitive procurement methods when:
- an item or service is available only from a single source
- after solicitation from several sources, the competition is determined to be inadequate
- in the case of public exigency or public emergency
- MIT receives express sole source authorization from a sponsor.
A competition (and subsequent completion of a Selection of Source Form) are not required when making purchases from MIT Preferred or Internal Suppliers, no matter the amount of the purchase.
Note: Although Preferred Suppliers provide negotiated pricing for most items within their commodity, some goods and/or services may be excluded and a Selection of Source form would then be required. Review the individual suppliers’ page on VPF Supplier Search for a list of exclusions.
See the Selection of Source Tutorial for an overview of the purchasing process and instructions for completing the Selection of Source form. Questions? Email B2P@mit.edu.