2005 North Carolina Code - General Statutes § 143-135.9. "Best Value" information technology procurements.

§ 143‑135.9.  "Best Value" information technology procurements.

(a)       For purposes of this section:

(1)       "Best Value" procurement means the selection of a contractor based on a determination of which proposal offers the best trade‑off between price and performance, where quality is considered an integral performance factor. The award decision is made based on multiple factors, including: total cost of ownership, meaning the cost of acquiring, operating, maintaining, and supporting a product or service over its projected lifetime; the evaluated technical merit of the vendor's proposal; the vendor's past performance; and the evaluated probability of performing the requirements stated in the solicitation on time, with high quality, and in a manner that accomplishes the stated business objectives and maintains industry standards compliance.

(2)       "Government‑Vendor Partnership" means a mutually beneficial contractual relationship between State government and a contractor, wherein the two share risk and reward, and value is added to the procurement of complex technology.

(3)       "Information technology" includes electronic data processing and telecommunications goods and services, microelectronics, software, information processing, office systems, any services related to the foregoing, and consulting or other services for design and/or redesign of business processes.

(4)       "Solution‑Based Solicitation" means a solicitation in which the requirements are stated in terms of how the product or service being purchased should accomplish the business objectives, rather than in terms of the technical design of the product or service.

(b)       The intent of "Best Value" Information Technology procurement is to enable contractors to offer and the agency to select the most appropriate solution to meet the business objectives defined in the solicitation and to keep all parties focused on the desired outcome of a procurement. Business process reengineering, system design, and technology implementation may be combined into a single solicitation.

(c)       The acquisition of information technology by the State of North Carolina shall be conducted using the "Best Value" procurement method. For acquisitions which the procuring agency and the Division of Purchase and Contracts or the Office of Information Technology Services, as applicable, deem to be highly complex or determine that the optimal solution to the business problem at hand is not known, the use of Solution‑Based Solicitation and Government‑Vendor Partnership is authorized and encouraged.

(d)       Any county, city, town or subdivision of the State may acquire information technology pursuant to this section. (1998‑189, s. 1; 1999‑434, s. 15; 1999‑456, s. 39.)