Procurement Policy

Policy Number: 130

Policy Effective Date: November 22, 2023

Approval Body: Board of Governors

Sponsor: President

Context and Purpose

Vancouver Community College (VCC; the College) has a responsibility to conduct all procurement activities:

with the highest level of institutional and personal integrity;

in an open, competitive, transparent and fair manner; and

in a way that allows all qualified vendors the opportunity to do business with VCC.

This Policy establishes a procurement accountability framework that enables purchasing efficiencies and benefits, and provides a basis from which VCC will adhere to best practices in procurement.

Scope and Limits

This policy applies to all College employees who hold delegated spending authority with available budget sufficient to provide for the planned procurement of goods, services or construction for College activities.

This policy is subject to applicable provincial and federal legislation, regulations, statues, policies and practices governing the sales of goods, competitive bidding, contracts, and other laws of general application.

This policy applies to VCC contracts (i.e. agreements to procure goods, services and construction) and to contract expenditures chargeable to VCC.

The government of the Province of British Columbia is a party to trade-related agreements governing contracting by public sector entities and other matters. These include:

the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA),

the federal-provincial intergovernmental Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA),

the British Columbia-Alberta Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA), and

the British Columbia-Alberta-Saskatchewan-Manitoba New West Partnership Trade Agreement (NWPTA).

These agreements, where noted, apply to the MASH sector that encompasses municipal, publicly funded post-secondary academic institutions and health authorities.

Principles

Procurement Services is responsible for the organization and administration of centralized procurement services for all divisions of the College.

Procurement Services will obtain all goods, services or construction based on the following principles of public procurement: fairness, competition, demand aggregation, value for money, transparency and accountability.

Acquisitions are managed consistent with VCC policy and requirements of provincial trade agreements.

VCC will award all opportunities for goods, services and construction through a competitive procurement process, subject to the procurement process limits and waivers to competitive process, and special procurement authorities (exemptions), set out in the College's Procurement Procedures.

VCC engages in a competitive process with the full intent to award a contract at the end of that process.

Vendors will have fair access to information on procurement opportunities, processes and results.

VCC considers products and services from all qualified suppliers.

VCC's buying power is leveraged wherever practical through demand aggregation and the use of available provincial corporate supply arrangements (CSAs), cross-institution supply arrangement (CISAs), lists of qualified suppliers and master standing offers (MSOs) identified by Procurement Services where those arrangements would provide best value to VCC.

VCC is accountable for the results of its procurement decisions and the appropriateness of the processes followed.

The cost of procurement process, to both vendors and VCC, is appropriate in relation to the value, complexity and risk of each procurement.

VCC receives best value for money spent on contracts.

Assets surplus to the needs of VCC are disposed of in a coordinated way to maximize the dollar return to VCC, and to minimize risk to the environment.

VCC will strongly consider goods and services that are environmentally responsible and that promote equity, diversity and inclusion as part of the procurement decision making process.

To ensure transparency and equitability in the completion of all procurements, employees and Board members involved in the procurement process, the award of decision, or the management of the resulting contracts must strictly adhere to VCC's Standards of Employee Conduct & Conflict of Interest Policy (A.3.6) or Board Conduct Bylaw G.1.0.

The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and VCC's own privacy rules govern the disclosure of contract information. VCC's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Policy and Procedures 501 contains specific guidance.

Non-compliance with VCCs procurement policy and procedures is a serious offence and may result in immediate discharge from employment and/or prosecution. Employees are encouraged to report instances of noncompliance with this policy without fear of reprisal or retaliation.

Definitions

Budget Officer: An individual responsible for managing the budget within their area of responsibility.
Complaint: A written objection submitted by a complainant regarding a competition, direct award, contract award or proposed contract award for goods, services or construction.
Complainant: a. For the purpose of a vendor complaint relating to a competition or direct award, means an actual or prospective bidder or proponent whose business interest would be affected by the award of a contract, or by the failure to award a contract.
b. For the purpose of submitting a vendor compliant relating to a contract award, means a proponent who actually submitted a proposal in response to the competition for the contract.
Employee: An individual who is currently employed by VCC on a full-time, part-time, permanent, temporary, term, casual or contract basis.
Procurement: Those processes, including direct awards, related to the purchase of goods, services and construction.
Spending Authority: An individual who has been duly appointed to authorize expenditures by virtue of the approved operating budget.
Strategic Partnership Agreement:: A Strategic Partnership agreement is a contractual arrangement between VCC and external entity that sets out an agreed upon exchange of cash, goods and/or services that have a direct measurable mutual benefit including cash donation, value-in-kind and promotional item to VCC and the external organization.
Value-in-Kind: In-kind contributions of goods, services, or time in lieu of cash.