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Contracts and Procurement

​Definitions, terms and acro​​​nyms

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

Approving Officer means a person who has been given written authority to bind the organization he/she represents to the terms and conditions of the contract.

B

Bid - a quotation received from a vendor in response to a solicitation from DHS.

Bidder - one who responds to a solicitation for a bid.

Boiler Plate Language - standard language that has been pre-approved for the Department of Human Services (DHS) use by the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and/or the Department of Justice (DOJ) i.e. travel, indemnity, termination, third party beneficiaries, media disclosure, etc.

C

Contract - any written agreement between the Department of Human Services (DHS) and another party describing rights, obligations and work or services to be performed.

Contract Administration - the management of all actions that must be taken to assure compliance with the terms and conditions of the contract from conception to close-out of the contract.

Contract Administrator - the person designated in the contract who has responsibility for specific contract administration actions i.e. authorizing the performance of work, evaluating the contractors performance, approval of invoices for payment, requesting contract amendments etc.

Contract Documents - may include, but is not limited to solicitation documents and all related materials; original bids or proposals; instructions to Bidders; conflict of interest or confidentiality statements; general or special terms and conditions; performance bonds, certificates of insurance; protest documents; contracts, amendments etc.

Contract Management - the activities of the contracting or purchasing authority and centers around such areas as issuance of a request for proposal (RFP), tendering activities, contract award and subsequent amending activities.

Contract Requestor - the person authorized by the program office to request a contract.

Contract Template - the standard format and style the Department of Human Services (DHS) contracts will be produced in i.e. signatures all appear on the last page, travel is always found in section xx.xx, Exhibit A is always the statement of work etc.

CSTAT (Contract Status Timing and Tracking) - the single point of entry for all solicitations and contracts where the Department of Human Services (DHS) is a party.

D

Delegated Authority - a process whereby the Contracts & Procurement unit grants authority in writing to a Department of Human Services (DHS) program to complete some or all of the contract management functions i.e. short form contracts etc.

R

Request for Proposal (RFP) - a written competitive solicitation process where price and specification are not the only consideration in determining award criteria. This solicitation process is intended to result in a contract.

Request for Information (RFI) - a process used to solicit information and aid in decision making​. The RFI will not result in a contract, but is intended to gather information for future decision making.

Request for Qualification (RFQ) - a written document describing the Agencys qualification requirements of Contractors and the type of services desired. The RFQ will not result in a contract but is intended to establish a list of pre-qualified Contractors allowed to submit proposals on a future RFP.

S

Solicitation - a process of notifying prospective bidders that the Department of Human Services (DHS) is accepting bids for goods or services.

Solicitation Management - the activities of the solicitation process which centers around such areas as document ownership, advertising, accepting and reviewing proposals, responding to proposer questions, facilitation of evaluation panels, protest management, contract award etc.

Statement of Need(s) (SON) - a written statement that describes programmatic needs that are to be addressed and included in the statement of work in the final contract document.

Statement of Work (SOW) - a written statement that specifically describes the phases of work or services, major tasks, or areas of responsibility the contractor is to perform. The SOW typically identifies specific objectives that the contractor is to attain or describes in detail the deliverables that the contractor is to provide and when they are to be provided.

Subcontractor - an individual, or in many cases, a business that signs a contract to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract. A subcontractor is a person who is hired by a general contractor (or prime or main contractor) to perform a specific task as part of the overall project and is normally paid for services provided to the project by the originating general contractor.

V

Vendor - an organization, company, or person submitting a bid or proposal in response to DHS's solicitation for goods and/or services.