Announcement of an Exempt Purchase

Public relations services for the architectural exhibition at the 2020 Architecture Biennale to be held in Venice, Italy. Resnicow and Associates will provide public and media relations strategy and services in support of UIC's role as commissioner of the U.S. Pavilion at the 2020 Architecture Biennale.

This purchase is exempt from the usual selection processes of the Procurement Code because the procurement expenditure is for events or activities paid for exclusively by revenues generated by the event or activity, gifts, or donations for the event or activity, private grants, or any combination thereof. (30 ILCS 500 / 1-13(b)(2)) The School of Architecture is in need of public and media relations strategy and services in support of UIC's role as commissioner of the U.S. Pavilion at the 2020 Architecture Biennale to be held in Venice, Italy. An original contract with the vendor Resnicow and Associates for these services, which fell under the small purchase limit, is already in place. The opening of the exhibition, a major international event, has been postponed from the originally scheduled date of May 2020 to August 2020 due to current health and travel advisories in Italy and the rest of Europe. The scope of services needed over this extended time frame include: executive counsel and media strategy, planning and implementation of communications campaign, pavilion management and on-site media support in Venice, Italy. Continuing to work with Resnicow and Associates will allow continuity in the communications strategy that would not be economically feasible or otherwise possible.