Procurement Guidelines - New York State Office of General Services

VII. GLOSSARYAC-340 Form – The contract encumbrance request form that an agency prepares to record anew contract or an amendment onto the OSC Central Accounting System and encumber fundsfrom the current year to ensure that payments can be made.Agency (State Agency) – All state departments, boards, commissions, offices or institutions.This term excludes, however, for the purposes of subdivision five of §355 of the Education Law,the State University of New York and excludes, for the purposes of §6218 (a) of the EducationLaw, the City University of New York. Furthermore, the term does not include the Legislature orthe Judiciary.Agency Specific Contract – A contract where the specifications for the product and/or serviceare described and defined by an agency to meet its needs.Appendix A – The document containing standard clauses required in all New York Statecontracts.Attorney General (OAG) – The Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York. Theduties of this office are set forth in Executive Law § 63. With regard to procurement, the OAGreviews contract terms to ensure that the interests of New York State are protected. This officealso reviews complaints of improper conduct and may conduct examinations into theperformance of a contract.Backdrop Contract – A contract resulting from a process in which vendors respond tospecifications in order to prequalify for a later solicitation. Such later solicitation will usually beconducted through a competitive mini-bid process. Prices offered under backdrop contracts aregenerally established as "maximum not to exceed prices.” Where a mini-bid is not required,state agencies are encouraged to negotiate lower prices than the “maximum not to exceedprices” contained in the backdrop contract. The backdrop contracts may be awarded by theOffice of General Services for use by all state agencies or by an individual agency for its ownuse.Best Value – The basis for awarding all service and technology contracts to the offerer thatoptimizes quality, cost and efficiency, among responsive and responsible offerers. Such basisshall be, wherever possible, quantifiable (State Finance Law §163 (1) (j)).Bid – An offer or proposal submitted by a bidder to provide a product or service at a stated pricefor the stated contract term.Bid Opening – The formal process in which sealed bids are opened, usually in the presence ofone or more witnesses, at the time and place specified in the solicitation.Bid Protest (also known as a Bid Dispute) – A formal written complaint made against themethods employed or decisions made by a state agency in the process leading to the award ofa contract.New York State Procurement Guidelines 41