Process for Requesting Fair Market Determination
This process is to be followed when agencies have a need to purchase materials or services from
UniqueSource Products & Services (UniqueSource) for which there is no pre-determined price listed on
the Statewide Requirements Contract for Supplies Manufactured and Services Performed by Persons
with Disabilities.
1.
Purchasing Agency determined that there is a need for materials or services available through
UniqueSource.
a. The purchasing agency prepares a statement of work/specification, including performance
standards, price adjustment clause, and any desired special contract terms and conditions,
including liquidated damages provisions and, where applicable, insurance provisions.
Where required by state or federal regulations and policy, the statement of work/specification
must also include all applicable Disadvantaged Business forms and provisions. The agency’s
legal office should review the statement of work/specification.
2.

For more complex materials or services, such as call centers, the statement of
work/specification should be forwarded to the DGS Program Manager at the GS,
UniqueSource resource account, RA-UniqueSource@pa.gov, for review and approval by
a DGS Commodity Specialist prior to releasing the statement of work/specification to
UniqueSource. Proceed to Step 2 of these procedures. Or,

For less complex materials or services, the statement of work/specification may either be
forwarded to the DGS Program Manager at the GS, UniqueSource resource account,
RA-UniqueSource@pa.gov, for review by a DGS Commodity Specialist at the discretion
of the purchasing agency (Proceed to Step 2 of these procedures), or, the statement of
work/specification may be released directly to UniqueSource with a copy to the DGS
Program Manager (Proceed directly to Step 4 of these procedures).
Upon receipt of the statement of work/specification, the DGS Program Manager forwards the
statement of work/specification to the appropriate Commodity Manager for Commodity Specialist
review.
a.
The Commodity Manager assigns the statement of work/specification review to a Commodity
Specialist.
b.
The Commodity Specialist reviews the statement of work/specification, works directly with the
Purchaser on any recommended changes, and assists the Purchaser in finalizing the
statement of work/specification.
c.
Within ten business days after receipt of the statement of work/specification, the Commodity
Specialist forwards his/her approval on the final statement of work/specification to the DGS
Program Manager.
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d.
The DGS Program Manager routes the revised statement of work/specification to the
Purchaser.
3.
The purchasing agency receives and reviews the revised statement of work/specification for
accuracy. The purchasing agency should include its legal office in this review.
4.
The purchasing agency notifies UniqueSource of the proposed procurement with a request that
UniqueSource determine whether it is capable of and interested in providing the desired materials
or services. The purchasing agency sends the final statement of work/specification with the notice
to UniqueSource (with a copy to the DGS Program Manager).
5.
UniqueSource receives and reviews the statement of work/specification and responds to the
purchasing agency (with a copy to the DGS Program Manager).
a. For work that would otherwise be procured through an Invitation For Bids, UniqueSource must
respond within five business days after receipt of the statement of work/specification, or, if a
site visit is required, within ten business days after receipt of the statement of
work/specification.
b.For work that would otherwise be procured through a Request For Proposals, where the
purchasing agency requests a proposal from UniqueSource, the purchasing agency shall set
a reasonable required time frame for UniqueSource to respond with its proposal. Ordinarily
for a full proposal, UniqueSource should have thirty days to respond.
c. If UniqueSource fails to respond to the purchasing agency within the required timeframe, the
purchasing agency may, with DGS’s consent, proceed with a non-UniqueSource
procurement.
d.If UniqueSource timely files a dispute with DGS’s Chief Procurement Officer under the terms of
the Operational Agreement, DGS will notify the purchasing agency of the dispute and, in
consultation with the purchasing agency, determine how to proceed.
6.
If UniqueSource is not interested in providing the requested materials or services, UniqueSource
shall submit a letter declining the work to the purchasing agency (with a copy to the DGS Program
Manager). The purchasing agency may then proceed with a standard procurement, and the
remainder of these procedures shall not apply.
7.
Where UniqueSource confirms its interest in the requested work, UniqueSource shall submit the
following documentation to the purchasing agency(with a copy to the DGS Program Manager):
8.
a.
A letter expressing UniqueSource’s interest in providing the requested materials or services
with a request that DGS establish a fair market price.
b.
Where the purchasing agency so requests a proposal in the requested format; and
c.
Any other documentation the purchasing agency may require.
The purchasing agency reviews the information UniqueSource has provided under Step 7 of these
procedures and determines whether UniqueSource meets the minimum requirements of the
statement of work/specification.
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a. If UniqueSource meets the minimum requirements of the statement of work/specification, the
purchasing agency shall email the statement of work/specification to the DGS Program
Manager, along with a request that DGS establish the fair market price.
b.If UniqueSource does not meet the statement of work/specification, the purchasing agency shall
provide a written explanation for the determination to UniqueSource and the DGS Program
Manager.
9.

The purchasing agency may, with DGS approval, proceed to procure the materials or
services through the standard procurement process, and the remainder of these
procedures shall not apply.

If UniqueSource timely files a dispute with DGS’s Chief Procurement Officer under the
terms of the Operational Agreement, DGS will notify the purchasing agency of the dispute
and, in consultation with the purchasing agency, determine how to proceed.
The DGS Program Manager receives the statement of work/specification, and any other pertinent
information and, where applicable, UniqueSource’s proposal. In addition, UniqueSource submits
their cost proposal to the DGS Program Manager. The DGS Program Manager forwards all
documentation to the DGS Strategic Support Manager, who will assign the fair market review
request to a DGS Quality Specialist.
a. The DGS Quality Specialist shall refer to the DGS-UniqueSource Operational Agreement when
performing a fair market price review.
b. Within ten (10) business days after receipt of the request for researching a fair market price, the
DGS Quality Specialist shall forward a written fair market price determination to the DGS
Program Manager, along with copies of documentation considered in making the
determination. Note: Where special circumstances exist, the DGS Quality Specialist may
request an extension to the due date from the DGS Program Manager, who shall have final
discretion in determining whether to grant the request.
10.
The DGS Program Manager receives and reviews the fair market price determination from the DGS
Quality Specialist. (Prior to establishing the official fair market price, the DGS Program Manager
will review the fair market recommendation with the purchasing agency.)
a. If the DGS Program Manager concurs with the DGS Quality Specialist’s determination, the DGS
Program Manager shall establish the fair market price as recommended.
b.If the DGS Program Manager does not concur with the DGS Quality Specialist’s determination,
the DGS Program Manager may return the request to the DGS Quality Specialist for further
information, or proceed with establishing the fair market price using other justification.
11.
The DGS Program Manager sends the DGS-established fair market price to UniqueSource.
12.
UniqueSource receives the fair market price letter, and reviews it with its selected Member Agency.
a.
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If UniqueSource chooses to accept the fair market price, UniqueSource shall, within three
business days, submit the following information to the DGS Program Manager:
Rev. 8/28/2014
b.
13.

A letter identifying the selected Member Agency that will manufacture the materials or
perform the services, including justification for the selection of that agency to
manufacture the materials or perform the services.

A completed UniqueSource Member Agency Certification Form (UniqueSource-210) for
each person with a disability that will be engaged in the direct labor on the contract.

A completed Appreciable Contribution Worksheet for Services (UniqueSource-220) or
Appreciable Contribution Worksheet for Materials (UniqueSource-230), as appropriate.
If UniqueSource chooses not to perform the service or manufacture the material at the DGSestablished fair market price, UniqueSource shall, within three (3) business days, submit a
letter to the DGS Program Manager indicating that UniqueSource is not interested in
providing the materials or services at the DGS-established fair market price.
The DGS Program Manager receives UniqueSource’s response and makes a final determination as
follows:
a.
b.
If UniqueSource has chosen to accept the DGS-established fair market price, the DGS
Program Manager reviews the required documentation specified in Subsection 12.a. to
determine whether UniqueSource will make an appreciable contribution in manufacturing the
materials and/or performing the services, and whether UniqueSource meets all requirements
outlined in Section 520 of the Commonwealth Procurement Code.

If DGS determines that UniqueSource meets the Section 520 requirements, the DGS
Program Manager shall issue a determination letter to include the DGS-established fair
market letter, and forward it to the purchasing agency, with a copy to UniqueSource.

If DGS determines that UniqueSource does not meet the Section 520 requirements, the
DGS Program Manager shall issue a determination letter notifying the purchasing agency
to proceed to procure the materials or services through the standard procurement
process. The DGS Program Manager will verbally notify UniqueSource of the findings
before releasing the determination letter to the purchasing agency.

If UniqueSource timely files a dispute with DGS’s Chief Procurement Officer under the
terms of the Operational Agreement, DGS will notify the purchasing agency of the dispute
and, in consultation with the purchasing agency, determine how to proceed.
If UniqueSource has chosen not to perform the contract at the DGS-established fair market
price, the DGS Program Manager shall issue a determination letter notifying the purchasing
agency to proceed to procure the materials or services through the standard procurement
process.

14.
Prior to awarding the procurement to another bidder/offeror, if the bids/quotes show that
the DGS-established fair market price did not accurately reflect market conditions, the
purchasing agency must contact DGS to re-establish the fair market price, and
UniqueSource must be given the opportunity to meet the re-established fair market price.
Upon receipt of the DGS Program Manager’s determination letter, the purchasing agency shall
proceed as directed with the procurement.
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15.
For any UniqueSource purchase orders, the purchasing agency shall include references to the
statement of work/specification, any special terms and conditions, the DGS fair market price
determination letter, and any other pertinent documentation. The purchasing agency shall attach
the referenced documents to the Purchase Order in SRM. If the purchase order/contract is for
services, the following procedures apply:
a.
The purchasing agency may issue a Purchase Order for each one-year service period, not to
exceed four additional one-year periods. The maximum total term shall be five years. The
DGS-established fair market price shall remain firm during the first one-year service period.
For each additional one-year service period, the purchasing agency may adjust the DGSestablished fair market price(s) in accordance with the price adjustment provisions of the
DGS-UniqueSource Operational Agreement.
Note: For any Purchase Order that covers two fiscal years, there should be a separate line
item for each fiscal year.
b.
16.
The purchasing agency should send a copy of the Purchase Order, along with all
attachments, to UniqueSource. In addition, the purchasing agency should email the
Purchase Order Number to the DGS Program Manager.
When the Purchasing Agency requests, UniqueSource must have its Member Agency complete the
Initial Contract Compliance Data Form (STD-21) within adequate time to permit UniqueSource to
return the form within 10 days after receipt of a Purchase Order. UniqueSource must return the
form to the purchasing agency’s specified contact person.
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Contact Information:
DGS Program Manager:
Betty Goodling-Weimer
Email: RA-UniqueSource@pa.gov (GS, UniqueSource resource account)
Tel. 717-787-7324
Fax 717-783-6241
UniqueSource Services:
Tracy DeBlasio
Email: tdeblasio@UniqueSource.com
Tel. 717-317-9578
Fax 800-561-9794
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UniqueSource Materials:
Michelle Anson
Email: manson@UniqueSource.com
Tel. 717-317-9577
Fax 800-561-9794
Rev. 8/28/2014