Procurement Services: Research Grants and Budgets

To ensure the integrity of the grant application as well as minimize the risk of cost overruns after the grant is received, Procurement Services follows a checklist as part of the quotation process. Below are some specs to ensure cost/value accuracy:

1. General Considerations and Questions for Vendors:

• Proper cost/discount structure required by granting agencies, such as CFI.
• Price protection clause or inflation factor to forward cost to estimated acquisition date.
  • Quotation validity period
  • Does the vendor anticipate price increases in the near future?
• Latest release of instruments and software are quoted and there is protection to ensure we obtain new releases free within a specified period after delivery.
• Extended warranty costs and length of contract.
• Installation, training, calibration, documentation and testing details and costs.
• Parts and service availability.
• Delivery details including FOB point, INCO terms, transportation and insurance costs, cross border documentation requirements etc.
  • Preferred freight term is DAP - Delivered at Place, Western University, ON
• Accurate Tax costing (HST, GST and customs).
• Post installation service availability.
  • Consideration for getting service technicians into Canada for warranty and routine service work.
• Reference sites.
• Off-instrument software licensing for analytical purposes.
• Software upgrade and maintenance fees covered.
• Electrical certification requirements (i.e. CSA, ULC).
• Currency impact and protection capability against future fluctuations.
  • Contact Procurement Services for appropriate exchange rates.
• Interface issues with mechanicals (e.g. water hook up & filtration, air filtration)

2. Considerations and Questions for Researchers:

• If I bought everything on my list, will my lab be fully operational?
• Verify compatibility with existing or new equipment and/or software.
• Will the equipment fit in the proposed lab space?
  • Physical dimensions and weight of assembled equipment.
• If the physical size and weight of the equipment is an issue, how do we get the equipment to the lab?
  • Physical dimensions and weight of shipping containers
  • Will the containers/crates fit into an elevator?
  • Are the containers/crates too heavy for elevators?
  • Do we require rigging/cranes to get the containers/crates into buildings?
  • Do we require a moving company to get the crates from the dock to the lab?
  • Will the floor path from the dock to the lab sustain the weight of the pallet truck?
• Do we need to engage Facilities Management for lab renovations?
• Does the equipment require oxygen, water, air filtration, specialty gases (or Nitrogen), special electrical requirements, fume hoods, etc.?
  • Consider a Nitrogen generator instead of Nitrogen rental cylinders.
• Identify if any of the following are contained within the equipment you are receiving: X-Rays, Lasers, Class IIIB or higher, anything potentially dangerous (i.e. mercury, radioactive materials, etc.).
  • Once a grant is awarded, these items should be communicated to Occupational Health and Safety to allow sufficient time to acquire permits and arrange safety training.
• Are anti-vibration tables for sensitive instruments required?
• Does the vendor have installation manuals available for their equipment?

 At the Application and Budgeting stage, the researcher develops an equipment list for inclusion in their grant application and defines the specifications for the equipment for the RFQ document. For your convenience, a Specification Writing Document and a Research RFQ Template are available online. Pleaes download the RFQ form, complete and distribute when you require quotations from the vendor community. It should be communicated to the vendor at this stage that we are making no commitments to order the equipment from them.
To track the project costs for application and budgeting purposes, the Costing Sheet Template (.xsl) can be downloaded as well. 

• Ensure the pricing is firm until the time of purchase. If this is not possible, you may need to include an “inflation factor”.
• Taxes should be budgeted at 3.41% of your purchase due to HST in Ontario effective July 1st, 2010
• Transportation: Delivery or shipping costs and in transit insurance can be in the range of 2-5%, depending on the total value of the goods being ordered, size and weight.
• Duty & Brokerage Fees: Brokerage fees are to be budgeted at $25 per transaction. Duty may vary. (If you are unsure of any of the above items, please contact our Customs and Logistics Manager).
• CSA or equivalent electrical approval is required for all electrical equipment. If the equipment quoted is not certified to meet Ontario’s standards, the vendor will need to arrange this prior to shipping.. If the vendor refuses to arrange this, then you must include the cost of certification in your budget. Please contact Procurement Services for advice.
• Warranty & extended warranties.
• Associated options or accessories that may be required to enable the primary equipment to become fully operational. (i.e. Computers, software, anti-vibrations tables, cabling, etc).
• Currency Exchange (Please contact Procurement Services for details)

When the grant becomes successful, Board Policy 2.8 on obtaining quotes (.pdf) will then apply (unless the agency has a more stringent requirement):

UWO Policy 2.8:

When obtaining quotations from vendors, the following policy must be followed:

• Orders valued up to $10,000 – at the discretion of the Researcher
• Orders valued between $10,001 to $25,000 – minimum two quotations
• Orders valued over $25,000 - minimum of three formal quotations.

Note: For items valued over $25,000.00, but under $100,000.00 and deemed to be “sole source”, the researcher must complete an exception report and forward it to Procurement Services with the Purchase Requisition.

Acquisitions over $100,000 must be openly bid on the Merx internet open bid system. To obtain quotations from suppliers over $100,000.00, we work with the researcher to develop a formal “Request for Proposal” and post it on Merx for 15 days. The responses from vendors are required to be presented in a specific, organized format which is useful for evaluation purposes. We present the proposals to the researcher for their consideration and evaluation.

Note: On CFI grants, the CFI will not accept “Sole Source” orders unless it can be proven using the open bid process.