Close
Find information on the procurement of goods, services or equipment in relation to research projects.
The procurement of equipment, consumables, and services, including maintenance should meet all relevant national and EU legislation and UCL Financial Regulations. You should contact UCL Procurement Services at the earliest opportunity to discuss your procurement requirements.
Obtaining goods, services, or equipment
When obtaining goods, services, or equipment the following limits apply in respect of quotations or tenders:
Goods, services, or equipment under £5,000
Existing contracted or framework suppliers should be used where possible. Where none exist, competitive quotations should be sought, where the benefits of doing so will outweigh the administrative costs of obtaining the quotation.
Goods, services, or equipment costing between £5,001 - £50,000
You need to get at least 3 competitive tender bids or written quotations and keep records of these for audit purposes.
Goods, services, or equipment costing between £50,001 - £181,302
A minimum of 3 competitive tender bids are required, and where practical more than 3, to obtain the most competitive price. Exceptions may be appropriate where the product is a standard catalogue item, in which case at least 3 written quotations may be appropriate rather than competitive tender bids. These quotes should be kept for audit records.
Goods, services or equipment costing more than £181,302
UCL Procurement Services manage all procurements above this value. These figures refer to the total order value. Like-for-like items should be aggregated together to obtain the best value from the supplier. Orders cannot be subdivided into smaller amounts to avoid the appropriate procedures.
In addition to UCL and national legislation some research funders have specific conditions on the procurement of equipment. Refer to your funder’s terms and conditions or contact Award Services for further advice.
UKRI funded equipment
The procurement of equipment, consumables and services, including maintenance, needs to comply with all relevant national and EU legislation, UCL Financial Regulations and procedures for all UKRI-funded equipment.
Accepted procurement best practices in the higher education sector needs to be observed.
For all equipment and services where the contract value is more than £25,000, excluding VAT, professionally qualified procurement staff needs to be consulted before the procurement process begins, and, where appropriate, at the market research stage.
UCL Procurement Services need to approve the order/contract before it is placed with a supplier.