Acquisition Approach - 302

Determining the Acquisition Approach

The following questions will assist in determining the best acquisition approach to meet needs:

1. What is the Statement of Work?
2. Are specifications required?
3. Is the acquisition an emergency purchase as defined by Public Contract Code, Section 1102, Section 12102 for IT, or Public Contract Code, Section 10340 for non-IT?
4. Can civil servants, as opposed to private companies, satisfactorily perform the services?
5. Can another state department provide the product or service through an interagency agreement or alternate contracting means (e.g. surplus)?
6. Does the purchase require the use of any mandatory purchasing processes such as CALPIA or use of a DGS/PD mandatory Leveraged Procurement Agreement (LPA) (e.g. Statewide Contract)?
7. Is the request within the scope of the department’s approved purchasing authority?
8. Can you consolidate other requests for similar goods or services into a single purchase?
9. What is the department’s total need for acquiring the goods or services over the next 12-month period and can the acquisitions be reasonably consolidated to maximize purchasing power?
10. What available purchasing approach can effectively meet the department’s needs at the least cost in terms of time and resources?
11. Can the functional requirements of the request be met through other DGS/PD LPAs (i.e., CMAS, Master Agreement, Statewide Contract, State Price Schedule, etc.)?
12. Can the department’s procurement needs and purchasing goals both be met by contracting with a California Certified Small Business (SB) or DVBE supplier utilizing the SB/DVBE Option acquisition method? If there are no certified SBs or DVBEs that can be solicited, communicate the need to the Business Development Program Manager and Certification and Outreach Branch Chief.
13. Is there a known supplier market and can the acquisition best be met through open competition?
14. Is the request so unique that no competition exists and the needs of the customer can only be met through a non-competitively bid (NCB) contract?
15. What risk factors are inherent to the purchase and what steps can be taken in advance to mitigate them?
16. Does the purchase need to be financed or leased?