Federal Uniform Guidance

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Effective July 1st, 2018

The University of Nebraska’s Purchasing Guidelines implementing compliance with Federal Uniform Guidance have been updated and became effective on July 1, 2018. Compliance is mandatory in order for NU to remain eligible to receive federal funds.

Uniform Guidance is the set of federal rules and regulations that governs the administration of federally funded projects, though it applies to all purchases and includes everyone on every campus, not just federal grant purchases. The bulk of Uniform Guidance came into effect on December 26, 2014, while most guidelines impacting University Procurement Services were delayed.

Most of the requirements affecting Purchasing are already in place at the University of Nebraska. Our Purchasing Guidelines are updated and can be found here: https://go.unl.edu/c5j6. Briefly, key changes include:

• Purchases from $5,000 - $9,999 – are to be distributed equitably among qualified suppliers; if pricing is considered reasonable, competitive quotes may not be required
• Purchases $10,000 - $149,999 – pricing or rate quotes must be obtained from an adequate number of sources, bids may be required
• Contractors who assist in drafting specifications must be excluded from competing for those opportunities

For more information, please review our Purchasing Guide. You may also reference recent communications on this topic, including content from May and June PED Talks presentations available online at https://go.unl.edu/u69p.

Feel free to contact Procurement Services at our main number 402-472-2126, or reach us via email at procurement@unl.edu.