University of Illinois System
Announcement of a Sole Source Purchase
Pursuant to the sole source hearing recommendation from CPO Ben Bagby, this procurement has been cancelled.
Please find attached the sole source hearing recommendation from CPO Ben Bagby.
The hearing date has been extended to Wednesday October 2, 2019 at 1:00pm.
The Chief Procurement Officer for this procurement is now Ben Bagby.
The State Purchasing Officer for this procurement is now Catherine Bradbury.
First published Tuesday, September 10, 2019
The University intends to award a contract for Online Learning to LinkedIn Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA, for $612,720.
The University has a need for online learning. This is needed because online learning has supplemented and even replaced face-to-face interaction in classrooms and conference rooms. Throughout the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities and professional graduate education, students are required to be technologically literate to complete coursework and fulfill class requirements. Many times, students are not familiar with software applications required to complete coursework and the college/department assumes the student understands or will figure it out on their own. Students require a simple and convenient method to fill this gap and learn the skills needed to complete coursework.
University staff also require a convenient and intuitive way to obtain personalized instruction on technology (software/web development, infrastructure training, data science, database management, etc.), business (leadership, management, soft skills, etc.) and creative (art and illustration, animation, CAD, graphic design, web design, etc.) skills to increase functional capabilities and professional development. In addition, limited budgets and time require faculty/staff replace previous travel to conferences or training centers with on-line learning solutions. The end result of this will be professional development and the ability to learn skills needed to complete coursework and be successful in our environment.
The university, on information and belief, has concluded that only one vendor can meet its need or can meet the need economically. That vendor is LinkedIn. The university has provided detailed justification to support its conclusion as shown on the attached Sole Source Justification Form.
Although the university has presented this as a sole source procurement, we are seeking competitive information from firms with the capability of meeting the university's need (even if performed in a manner different from what has been presented) to contact us and provide sufficient information to show the need can be met. If we receive that information, the Chief Procurement Officer will offer a public hearing to consider the matter. Hearing information is described below.
The University has determined that this purchase is only economically available from this source because the site license contract is only available directly from the vendor.
For additional information, contact:
Jay Simpson
System Purchasing and Support Services
507 E Green Street
Suite 501, MC-407
Champaign, IL 61820
Phone: (217) 265-0434
Chief Procurement Officer - Ben Bagby
State Purchasing Officer - Catherine Bradbury
The State of Illinois has a policy to encourage prospective vendors to hire
qualified veterans, minorities, females, persons with disabilities and ex-offenders.