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Contracting Opportunities

There are times when the Secretary of State contracts out for goods or services to achieve the best value. The Business Services Division is responsible for these transactions.

Procurement Types Defined

The most common solicitations used to procure goods and services include:

Request for Proposal (RFP)
Invitation to Bid (ITB)
Request for Qualification
Request for Quote (RFQ)

Goods and Services Detailed

Goods

Goods include hardware, software, furniture and equipment.

Personal Services

Personal services are contracts that call for specialized skills, knowledge and resources in the application of technical or scientific expertise, or the exercise of professional, artistic or management judgment.

Trade Services

Trade services means all services other than personal services, such as janitorial, landscaping, electricians and movers.

Solicitations from the State of Oregon

Check online for opportunities. OregonBuys provides access to procurement and contracting information issued by the Oregon Secretary of State.

Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID)

The primary goal of certification is to level the playing field by providing certified firms a fair opportunity to compete for government contracts regardless of owner ethnicity, gender, disability, or firm size.

Visit the COBID website for more information.

Our Practices

Procurements up to $25,000

The Secretary may contact a vendor directly and establish a contract for the services required by direct appoint up to $10,000. Purchases over $10,000, the Secretary will consider and provide notice to COBID businesses. When appropriate, we may get competitive quotes.

Procurements from $10,000 to $250,000

These require at least 3 competitive quotes. An informal procurement process is used for awarding and establishing these contracts. These opportunities are advertised in OregonBuys.

Bids and offers are evaluated for responsiveness to mandatory requirements. The offeror with the lowest bid or highest score is named the Apparent Successful Bidder/Proposer.

Procurements Over $250,000

These are considered formal procurements. The solicitation may be advertised in a local newspaper of general circulation (for example, the Statesman Journal, The Oregonian), the Daily Journal of Commerce or in OregonBuys.

All solicitations and contracts over $250,000 and all information technology contracts and solicitations over $150,000 require legal sufficiency review by the Oregon Department of Justice prior to release of the solicitation and prior to contract executions.