New pre-approval process for hiring outside consultants begins March 25
March 24, 2014 •
UCOP is implementing a new pre-approval process regarding the use of outside contractors, effective today, March 25, 2014.
The goal of this new process, which is part of President Napolitano’s UCOP budget initiative, is to ensure that all UCOP divisions are optimizing internal resources before spending money on outside contractors. It applies to any and all work being considered for outside consultants, contractors or vendors, including work performed under existing master agreements.
UCOP departments make an estimated 600 requests to hire outside contractors each year, leading to high consultant costs and possible redundancies of effort. The new process will create greater consistency and cost control throughout UCOP concerning the use of outside contractors and ensure that consultant spending is limited to high-priority projects.
Departments seeking outside services will be required to first consult with the appropriate UCOP subject matter expert unit(s) to ensure the work does not overlap with existing operations and staff, and to see if the need can be addressed using existing internal resources.
Following the initial internal consultation, requestors will submit their requests to their department head. If the department head supports the request, he or she will then submit it to Purchasing/Procurement for review and then to the division head. Division heads will then review the requests and forward the ones they support to President Napolitano for a final decision.
Purchasing/Procurement will soon schedule a number of brown bag lunches to orient the UCOP community to the new process and answer questions.
You can find a complete description of the process as well as the required forms and a fact sheet/FAQ on the Business Operations website.
