What is “best value” and how is it determined?
Recent legislative changes in the purchasing statutes for higher education have made “best value” procurement possible. Best value means the optimum combination of economy and quality to achieve the objectives of the end user and the university. To determine this optimum combination, decisions must be made on some pre-purchase evaluation criteria pertaining to specific purchases. There are different guidelines for purchasing goods and services as well as special services like consulting or professional services from architects. These criteria might involve some or all of the following examples: price, quality, service after the sale, reputation of the vendor, delivery time, cost for training or installation and even trade-in or surplus value when you are through using the item. The list can go on to include as many specific criteria for your purchase that is needed to make the evaluation.
