Dictionary of Procurement Terms

A written statement of facts or written declaration provided by one party that may be made under oath before an authorized official.

1. A branch or unit of a larger entity. 2. Legal form of entity relationship used in business law.

Required procedures contained within United States Federal law (Equal Opportunity Act of 1972) designed to eliminate unlawful job discrimination among applicants, remedy the results of such prior discrimination, and prevent such discrimination in the future. Typically applies at least to race, creed, color, and national origin.

 CANADIAN See Auditor General of Canada.

A legal relationship that exists between two parties by which one (the agent) is authorized to perform or transact specified business activities for the other (the principal).

Individual who acts on the behalf of any entity, such as a corporation, partnership, or any level of government as that entity conducts business.

The extension of one’s influence beyond what is normal or ethically acceptable. In Procurement, personal gain obtained through an agreement established and intended to be on behalf of taxpayers.

To gather or collect quantities of a specific item (product or service), often done to achieve savings by leveraging economies of scale. (Schiller, 2000)

A contract award based on the total price for all items. While this allows the public entity to enter into a contract with a single supplier, this method does not always provide the best available pricing and may be overly restrictive unless multiple offerors are able to supply all of the items contained in the solicitation document.