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CONTRACTUAL ISSUES REGARDING THE PURCHASE OF AN AFIS 193

The initial planning and decisions made in an AFIS procurement have
ramifications throughout the procurement and form the basis for the entire
project. A decision about a funding source may impact the development of
needed customizations. The evaluation criteria may overemphasize the impor-
tance of one factor and exclude another. The failure to request different licens-
ing rights may impact the provision of disaster recovery or the overall costs for
operating the AFIS.
Thus, the most important step in preparing to acquire an AFIS is the plan-
ning stage. The failure to fully consider the possibilities and business needs for
an AFIS can be fatal to a project. While the government may ultimately acquire
an AFIS through a procurement, if that AFIS does not satisfy its business needs
or does not provide the foundation for meeting the future business needs, the
procurement may need to be repeated, at a great cost to the government. It is
far better to thoroughly explore the AFIS technology and needs initially.
Chapter 7 outlines the types of issues that must be considered when defining
the AFIS needs.

9.3 SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
FOR PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

Public procurement is the expenditure of public funds with the goal of fulfill-
ing a defined governmental mission, and in general it carries with it special con-
siderations. Public funds are directly expended not only for the procurement,
but also for the salaries and associated costs of the government employees
undertaking the procurement. Governmental entities have scores of procure-
ment requirements and different control structures, ranging from statutes and
regulations to general guidelines and policies. There are also requirements and
limitations placed on government employees’ actions with unique meaning
within the context of procurement. Public procurement may also function as
an economic development tool, increasing the visibility of the procurement
and the need to ensure the appropriate utilization of limited governmental
resources.
While it is not possible to address, even in part, the vast array of procure-
ment requirements, the litmus test to apply is whether the actions are fair
and supported by the records. For example, the concept of fairness is
present in the idea that everyone should have access to the same information
about the procurement. This concept of fairness underlies the public notice
requirements for a procurement, the kinds of information included in a
competitive solicitation, and the manner in which the evaluation criteria is
developed.