Uniform Guidance

UPDATED ON SEPTEMBER 29, 2020

The University’s implementation of the Uniform Guidance Procurement Standards became effective July 1, 2018 in conjunction with updated federal government regulations.

The federal government has recently issued clarifying guidance regarding formal competition thresholds.  Based on these clarifications, the University is able to adopt a new $250,000 threshold for the requirement of Formal Competition (an increase from the current $150,000).  The new limits governing our procurement processes (and associated documentation requirements) are highlighted in the table below.

Beginning on October 1, 2020 the following changes will be made to our procurement thresholds:


Current

New

Procurement Method

Documentation Requirements

$0 - $10k

$0 - $10k

Micro-Purchase

Documentation of price

$10k-$150k

$10k-$250k

Informal Procurement

Documentation of competition, price reasonability or sole source justification

>$150k

>$250k

Formal Procurement

Competitive proposals (or sole source justification) – proactively engage Procurement Services

A short informational video that highlights the key changes made to the procurement process can be accessed here.

A complete summary of the changes made in July 2018 is available here
A list of FAQs for the changes made in July 2018 is available here.

If you have any questions, please contact the Shared Services Help Desk at 773.702.5800 or online at services.uchicago.edu.