DAFS/BGS Division of Purchases
Basic Service Contracting Guidelines

Types of Service Agreements

Contract:
A contract is a written agreement between a provider and the State of Maine describing the services to be performed, the terms and conditions agreed to by the parties, the cost of the services and how payment will be made.  The principal purpose of a contract is to purchase, lease, or barter property or services for the direct benefit of the government.  A contract is generally awarded to a provider if the provider is the winner in a competitive bidding process (RFP).  However, a contract may be awarded if there is a valid sole source justification.  The contract document will be an Agreement to Purchase Services (BP-54), which is a legally binding written agreement between the provider and the Department.

The following are the types of contracts and supporting documents utilized when contracting a service. Explanations about the forms listed and links to them are at the end of this document.

•	Up to $5,000
o	BP18 
Supporting Documents (Not Required)
•	Attachments that include any information available to define the scope of services. 
•	$5,001 to $10,000	
o	BP54 
BP54 contracts require one of the following supporting documents; 
•	BP37CA if the contract is the results of a competitive bidding process or when three quotes have been solicited.
•	BP37WCB if the competitive bid process has been waived.
•	Over $10,000	
o	Subject to Request for Proposal (RFP) 
o	If the contracted services are for an immediate, unforeseen need or can be acquired from only one source a BP37WCB and a BP54 can be utilized.
•	For Information Technology (IT) service contracts of any amount
•	BP54IT
BP54IT contracts require one of the following supporting documents;
•	BP37CA if the contract is the results of a competitive bidding process or when three quotes have been solicited.
•	BP37WCB if the competitive bid process has been waived.
•	BP37PA if the contract piggybacks on a pre-existing competitively awarded contract from another state or public entities (county, municipal, state owned university).

Temporary Staffing Services Contracts - NEW
Division of Purchases is pleased to announce the creation of four Master Agreements for “Temporary Staffing Services”.  Master Agreements are now available with four vendors;  Atlantic Staffing, Manpower, Project Staffing and Tri State Staffing. 

Each department is free to select the vendor with which they would like to work with.    Note: State agencies will still be permitted to separately compete through a new RFP any large-scale Temporary Staffing needs.

The “cost” is set up per category which is determined by risk with a multiplier (mark ups) for either a State Identified Resource (agency has individual in mind) or a Temporary Provider Identified Resource (provider recruits resource).  This information can be found on Appendix D of each Master Agreement.  
The process you will need to take is as follows:
•	Create a Job Description with the required duties
•	Contact the vendor via email or phone and provide them with the job description and/or list of duties
•	Vendor and Agency will determine which category the duties fall under and the hourly rate
•	Once in agreement the Job Description will need to be revised to include the Staffing Category agreed upon, the hourly rate, multiplier and total bill rate
•	Create a Delivery Order and attach the job description and a BP37TEMP form (must be most current form, revised 2016) – If these two documents are not attached the DO will be rejected

Grant:
A grant is written agreement between a provider and the State of Maine describing the terms, conditions, and scope of performance or action that is expected of the provider. The principle purpose of a grant is the transfer of money, property, services or anything of value to the recipient in order to accomplish a public purpose of support with no substantial involvement between the State and the recipients during the performance of the activity.  For example, an agreement under which a provider provides services directly to clients with no substantial involvement of the State would be a grant.  A grant is generally awarded to a provider if the provider is the winner in a competitive bidding process (RFP).  However, a grant may be awarded if there is a valid sole source justification.  The grant document will be an Agreement to Purchase Services (BP-54), which is a legally binding written agreement between the provider and the Department.

Cooperative Agreement:
A Cooperative Agreement is an agreement between the State of Maine and the University of Maine System to jointly participate in a cooperative project under the terms of the General Policy Agreement for State/University Cooperative Agreements of September, 1989.  A cooperative project is defined as “any activity of interest to the State of Maine where joint participation between the State and the University will improve the capacity of the State of Maine to provide services to the people of the State, and will enhance the ability of the University to further its teaching, research and public service missions”.  Any cooperative agreement must be approved by the Governor’s Office prior to the execution of any agreement.  Examples of projects that would meet these criteria include those that: 

A.	provides training of students who may be candidates for employment to meet needs of the public and private sectors in Maine; 
B.	support research and development projects that generate needed information or enhance the expertise of University faculty and research staff in areas needed by the State; 
C.	provides public service that leads to the dissemination of University expertise to various constituencies in the State and/or that addresses critical State needs.

State Procurement Review Committee
•	Contracts/grants/cooperative agreements that are greater than $3 million must be reviewed by the Attorney General’s Office before going to the vendor for signature.
•	Contracts/grants/cooperative agreements that are greater than $1 million must be reviewed by the State Procurement Review Committee which is made up of the following:
o	Director, Division of Purchases
o	State Budget Officer
o	State Controller
o	Governor’s Office
o	Chief Information Officer if it is IT related

Forms

BP18
http://www.maine.gov/purchases/info/forms/BP18.doc

This form is used to contract casual, intermittent, or other special services for which the Department may pay the Contractor a maximum of $5,000 over the contract period. This form is limited $5,000 worth of services per twelve month period by the requesting Department for the same service with the same Contractor. 

Items to think about:
•	Scope of Service – Describe exactly what you are paying for. If the description is too lengthy include an attachment.
o	Must include Commencement Date (Start Date) and Termination Date (End Date) and they must match the Service From and Service To dates in the Commodity section of the contract in Advantage .
•	Invoices and Payments – The Department shall pay the Contractor for services rendered…
o	“a fixed Price of” means that is the exact amount the contractor will be paid. 
o	“up to” means that the amount listed is the maximum amount the contractor can be paid. The contractor can be paid less if the service does not cost as must as anticipated.
•	Signatures - Must be signed by the contractor and a representative from the agency authorized to execute the contract.

BP54		
http://www.maine.gov/purchases/info/forms/BP54.doc

This document must be used for contracts over $5,000 in value (and can be used for lower value contracts at the discretion of the Department).  Contracts presented on this form need to be accompanied by a completed BP37CA, BP37WCB, or BP37PA, in order to explain the purchasing process used.

Items to think about:
•	Signatures - Must be signed by the contractor and a representative from the agency authorized to execute the contract.
•	Rider A – Scope of Services. Describe exactly what you are paying for and expect the contractor to provide. 
•	Rider B – Method of Payment and Other Provisions
o	The only lines that can be altered in Rider B are; Agreement Amount, Invoices and Payments and the Agreement Administrator. If any other lines are altered the contract will be rejected.
o	Agreement Amount – The total contracted dollar amount.
o	Invoices and Payments – List when the payments are to be made and if there is a special manner in which the contractor should bill the agency.
o	Agreement Administrator – Include the name and contact information (telephone, email) for the Agreement Administrator. 
•	A Program Administrator can be added but is not required. 
•	Rider C – Exceptions to Rider B
o	List any Division of Purchases approved exceptions to Rider B.
•	Rider G – Identification of Country In Which Contracted Work Will Be Performed
o	This information must be provided. Contracts without this information will be rejected.

BP54IT		
http://www.maine.gov/purchases/info/forms/BP54_IT.docx

This document is used for all Information Technology contracts of any dollar amount.  Contracts presented on this form need to be accompanied by one, completed BP37CA, BP37WCB, or BP37PA, in order to explain the purchasing process used.  

Items to think about:
•	Signatures - Must be signed by the contractor and a representative from the agency authorized to execute the contract.
•	Rider A – Scope of Services. Describe exactly what you are paying for and expect the contractor to provide.
•	Rider B – Method of Payment and Other Provisions
o	The only lines that can be altered in Rider B are; Agreement Amount, Invoices and Payments, Agreement Administrator and Irrevocable Letter of Credit. If any other lines are altered the contract will be rejected.
o	Agreement Amount – The total contracted dollar amount.
o	Invoices and Payments – List when the payments are to be made and if there is a special manner in which the contractor should bill the agency.
o	Agreement Administrator – Include the name and contact information (telephone, email) for the Agreement Administrator. 
•	A Program Administrator can be added but is not required. 
o	Irrevocable Letter of Credit – This paragraph can be used unaltered or marked, “This Item Is Intentionally Left Blank.”
•	Rider C – Exceptions to Rider B-IT
o	List any Division of Purchases approved exceptions to Rider B-IT.
•	Rider G – Identification of Country In Which Contracted Work Will Be Performed
o	This information must be provided. Contracts without this information will be rejected.

BP37CA
http://www.maine.gov/purchases/info/forms/BP37CA_Competitive_Award_Authorization_Form.doc

This form must accompany contracts (or renewal amendments) being proposed for approval that are the direct result of a competitive RFP, a subsequent renewal that was anticipated in a RFP, or when Competitive Quotes were obtained.  If the renewals allowable under the original RFP have been exhausted, another competitive RFP must be conducted.

BP37WCB
http://www.maine.gov/purchases/info/forms/BP37WCB.doc

This form should be used for non-competitive contracts, i.e. contracts for goods and/or services that are not the direct result of a competitive RFQ or RFP, or result from a subsequent renewal that was not anticipated in the RFQ or RFP.  This form is also to be used for any amendment with the dollar amount exceeding $10,000.01 Except for contracts with a documented and approved urgent priority, this document will be posted for seven days on the Division of Purchases Website. http://www.maine.gov/purchases/venbid/wcb.shtml

BP37AM
http://www.maine.gov/purchases/info/forms/BPAM.doc

This form should be used for any amendment with the dollar amount under $10,000 or a change of scope or extension of date.

Items to think about:
•	This document will be posted on the Division of Purchases Website so it can be viewed by the public.
•	Vendor / Provider Name, City, State 
o	Do not include the physical street address, phone numbers, email addresses or any other personal information for the proposed vendor.
•	Statutory Justification
o	One of the options must be selected.
o	If you select option B., the box must be signed by the Department’s Commissioner or Chief Executive.
o	If you select the final option, “If a different authorization specifically allows for this non-competitive procurement, please provide that reference here:” the box to the right must include a description of why you selected this option.
•	Description of Specific Need 
o	Write exactly why you are opting to waive the competitive bid process.
o	Explain how the requesting Department determined these goods or services are critical and cannot or should not go through the competitive bid process.
•	Availability of other Public Resources
o	Describe how the requesting Department determined they could not provide the service and that no other state or public entity (county, municipal, State owned University) could either.
•	Cost
o	Explain the process used to determine that the costs, fees or rates are fair and reasonable.
•	Future Competition
o	Explain how the requesting Department might handle future opportunities to purchase these goods or services through a competitive bid process.
•	Uniqueness OR Timeframe (You only have to fill in one.)
o	Uniqueness – Explain how the goods or services are unique to the selected vendor.
o	Timeframe – Explain why the purchase of the goods or services has to be expedited and cannot wait to go through a competitive bid process.
•	Signature of requesting Department’s Commissioner, Chief Executive or their designee
o	This document must be signed by one of these officials. 

BP37PA
http://www.maine.gov/purchases/info/forms/BP37PA_Participating_Addendum_Authorization_Form.doc

This form must accompany contracts being proposed for approval that are the result of participation (a.k.a. “piggybacking”) under pre-existing, competitively awarded contracts.  Pre-existing contracts can be in the form of multi-state cooperative agreements, or contracts that were competitively awarded by individual states or public entities.  The information requested below should explain the general departmental need for the contracted service or commodity, describe the process undertaken to identify existing contracts, and explain the method of achieving the best contract in terms of price and quality of service/commodity. 

BP37TEMP
http://www.maine.gov/purchases/info/forms/BP37TEMP.doc

This form must accompany contracts for temporary staffing services being proposed for approval.