Inside UCR

Systemwide review of proposed presidential policy on purchases of goods and services; Supply Chain Management

February 13, 2023
Chief Compliance Office
February 13, 2023

The University of California Office of the President invites comments on a proposed Presidential Policy UC-PS-20-0489-BUS-43 Purchases of Goods and Services; Supply Chain Management. The policy is proposed to be revised and includes the following key issues:



•    Respond to feedback from the previous systemwide review. During the 2021 systemwide review of BUS-43, multiple commenters noted that BUS-43 was difficult to understand, and the language didn’t match best practices for Presidential Policies. As a result, BUS-43 has been rewritten using natural language rather than jargon whenever possible.

•    Address inconsistencies and formatting errors. The last full review of BUS-43 was in 2012, and over time subsequent revisions introduced formatting errors such as incorrectly numbered sections and inconsistent styles within each section. This revision corrects those errors and applies a consistent style throughout the policy. This revision also updates BUS-43 to match current Presidential Policy guidelines.

•    Clarify what policy does and does not allow. BUS-43 currently uses “should” and “should not” in policy requirements. This has caused confusion in determining what are policy requirements vs what is recommended or allowable. The BUS-43 revision clarifies what are policy requirements (“must” or “must not” do), what is or isn’t allowed (“may” or “may not” do), and what is recommended as best practice for procurement at the University of California.

NOTE: The revision does not change the intent or requirements of BUS-43. The new language is designed to help faculty, students, and staff understand what the policy requirements are. 

•    Separate policy from procedure. BUS-43 currently contains both policy and procedures for Procurement. The procedures are not required policy, and therefore don’t belong as part of BUS-43. The BUS-43 revision contains just the policy and required procedures. The remaining procedures will be moved to the Systemwide Procurement portal as guidelines for faculty, students, and staff who participate in the procurement process at the University of California.

For more information about the policy, please review the Systemwide Review Cover Letter, the UC Policy on Policies (Clean) version, and the UC Policy on Policies (Tracked Changes) version.  If you have any questions about the policy, please contact policy@ucr.edu. If you would like to provide feedback, please submit your comments to policy@ucr.edu by April 20, 2023.