National Purchasing Partners (“NPPGov”) ensures all awarded Requests for Proposals (“RFPs”) comply with general federal cooperative procurement law principles required by most federal grants.
Most federal grants leave the means of procurement to the grantee’s discretion, provided that the grantee’s standards conform to local, state, and federal law. Since the most efficient option for most state and local entities is to piggyback off an existing competitively awarded contract, state and local laws generally promote intergovernmental agreements.
Piggybacking in this manner is consistent with the ideals imposed upon most grant recipients. “To foster greater economy and efficiency, grantees and subgrantees are encouraged to enter into State and local intergovernmental agreements for procurement or use of common goods and services.” 44 C.F.R. § 13.36 (b)(5).
However, the intergovernmental agreement alone does not satisfy the grantee’s statutory duties. The responsibility for meeting federal requirements (reporting, record-keeping, etc.) lies with the grantee; therefore, NPPGov encourages all grantees to perform their own due diligence to ensure that their procedures comply with all federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
NPPGov, in conjunction with its various lead contracting agencies, continually monitors state and federal requirements affecting their members’ ability to use NPPGov cooperative purchasing contracts with federal funds. To help vendors and members comply with state and federal regulations, NPPGov RFPs are designed to facilitate compliance with the procurement laws in the state they were prepared, along with the Federal guidelines outlined in such statutes as 2 C.F.R. §§ 200.317 – 200.327. Any cooperative agreements resulting from RFPs were done so with the express purpose of making said agreements available to state, tribal, local, education and nonprofit members.
In addition, NPPGov and its lead contracting agencies require that all solicitation proposal submissions acknowledge compliance with 2 C.F.R. Part 200 and its various subsections. Listed below is an example of a recent RFP request:
Section 2.8 By submitting a Proposal in response to this RFP, Proposer agrees, if applicable, to comply with all applicable provisions of Title 2, Subtitle A, Chapter II, PART 200 – UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS, COST PRINCIPLES, AND AUDIT REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL AWARDS contained in Title 2 C.F.R. § 200 et seq.
Section 5.1.1.5 Proposer shall comply with all federal, state and local laws applicable to the work under the Master Price Agreement awarded as a result of this Solicitation.