Announcement of an Exempt Purchase

The University requires GPS collars and transmitters for wildlife research. Data fee costs are associated with this procurement total. This procurement fulfills four external grant obligations.

This purchase is exempt from the usual selection processes of the Procurement Code because the procurement expenditure is for contracts with a foreign entity for research or educational activities, where the foreign entity does not maintain an office in the United States or the foreign entity is the sole source of the service or product. (30 ILCS 500 / 1-13(b)(9)) Lotek is a Canadian business entity and does not maintain an office in the United States. They are also the only source of these collars that maintain compatibility with existing interfaces. Additionally, this purchase is also exempt through (30 ILCS 500 / 1-13(b)(8)), as the procurement is required for research. The funds used are from multiple external grants and not from State appropriations.