ACQUISITION DEPARTMENTS

The Acquisition Departments are responsible for selecting the most efficient and cost effective method of procuring supplies and services while following the “spirit and intent” of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), including maximizing the use of commercial products and services, promoting competition and minimizing administrative operating costs. The three procuring departments are:

Purchasing – The Purchasing Department is responsible for the acquisition of all commercially available products supporting NCI Frederick operations. It also supports the other on-site contractors under contract with NCI and other NCI and National Institute of Health (NIH) programs. The Purchasing Department has three main groups:

• Supplies Team
  Responsible for the acquisition of all supplies, including requests from the Facilities Maintenance and Engineering (FME) shops and the Consolidated Warehouse, environmental safety supplies, clothing, live animals and veterinary supplies, radioisotopes, media and sera, chemicals and reagents, enzymes, biopharmaceuticals, research & development production supplies, laboratory furniture, computer related supplies, office supplies, photographic items, household appliances (refrigerators, freezers, microwaves, etc.) and other related industrial and laboratory items.
• Equipment Team
  Responsible for the acquisition of all capital equipment, system-specific software, installation, start-up supplies and initial hardware and software maintenance to render the system operable, office furniture, system furniture and design services. Capital equipment acquisitions include all laboratory, administrative, computer and some installed equipment.
• Equipment Maintenance Team
  Responsible for repair of equipment, software support agreements and for service maintenance agreements for laboratory and administrative equipment.
• Acquisition Support Team
  Responsible for the Purchase Card program, Blanket Purchase Order program, and the cellular/wireless program. Also responsible for providing support to buying groups, i.e. processes bids proposals and solicitations, Contracting Officer’s Authorization (COA) when required.

Construction Subcontracts – The Construction Subcontracts Department is responsible for all Architect and Engineering and Construction subcontracting in support of NCI Frederick and off-site locations.

Research Subcontracts – The Research Subcontracts Department is responsible for the acquisition of commercially available services, consultant agreements, printing, temporary staffing contracts, relocation, couriers, and lab analysis testing. Research Subcontracts primarily procures goods and services not commercially available to support the research activities of NCI Frederick and other NCI and NIH programs.

Existing Subcontracts and Agreements – All three acquisition departments have existing subcontracts and agreements for goods and services established for repetitive needs. These existing subcontracts and agreements are negotiated with vendors to allow faster ordering procedures and turn around time. These agreements are most often in the form of Blanket Purchase Agreements. While most of these existing subcontracts and agreements are issued by the Purchasing Department, they are also awarded by Construction Subcontracts and Research Subcontracts for specific projects and programs.