A multi-agency contract is one awarded with the intention that it will be used by more than one agency. Multi-agency contracts are distinct from and not to be confused with centralized contracts for commodities and services procured by the New York State Office of General Services (OGS) for use by all agencies and other authorized users (see Section 8.A - Centralized Contracts of this Chapter for information regarding OGS centralized contracts).

Additional guidance for the use of multi-agency contracts is detailed in Section 8.B - Multi-Agency Contract Types of this Chapter.

The two contract prefixes available for agency use for multi-agency contracts for Miscellaneous Services, Commodities and Consulting are CC (Combined Contracts) and CM (Multi-Agency Contracts for Miscellaneous Services, Commodities or Consulting). They are generally distinguished based upon whether Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) approval is required for individual agency usage of the contract.

It is incumbent upon State agencies to determine which type of multi-agency contract is being awarded prior to initiating the procurement process. In addition, State agencies must assign the appropriate contract prefix for the multi-agency contract in order to create an accurate NYS Contract #. The OSC Bureau of Contracts can provide assistance in making this determination (see Chapter I, Section 5 - OSC Bureau Contact Information of this Guide for contact information).

Agencies may also participate in multi-agency lease contracts let by OGS, which use an LM prefix.

The chart below provides a high level description of CC, CM and LM contracts.

MULTI-AGENCY CONTRACTS TYPES

The purpose of this section is to provide guidance to State agencies on the use of the following multi-agency contract types:

• CC = Combined Contracts for Miscellaneous Services, Commodities or Consultants for Multiple Agency Use;
• CM = Multi-Agency Contracts for Miscellaneous Services, Commodities or Consultants; and
• LM = Multi-Agency Leases.

1. A Combined Contract (CC) is a contract for services, commodities or consulting awarded with the intention that multiple State agencies (Participating Agencies) will use the contract through the issuance of purchase orders against the Awarding Agency’s contract. SFS functionality supports this type of contract; multiple Business Units can associate themselves to a contract by establishing PO defaults and creating contract lines.

For CC contracts, the Awarding Agency contract and amendments are subject to OSC review and approval.

Approval of the original CC contract requires identification of any and all potential Participating Agencies and establishment of a contract amount that reflects anticipated total usage by all Participating Agencies (including the Awarding Agency).

Changes to a contract’s terms and conditions, and changes to authorized Participating Agencies, may require a contract amendment. See XI.2.E Submission of Agency Contracts and Amendments for additional information.

Consistent with OSC’s contract funds reservation policy, pre-encumbrance may be required in an amount sufficient to cover expected obligations during the fiscal year (see XI.2.C Contract Funds Reservation, for additional information). OSC review and approval is not required for purchase orders issued against the CC contract.

Example: The Awarding Agency establishes a CC contract intended to be used by other agencies for employee health services. The Awarding Agency creates the contract in SFS under its Business Unit (BU) and Department ID and ensures PO defaults are selected for all Participating Agencies. Since there are no known obligations for the current fiscal year, no pre-encumbrance is required for contract approval. Participating Agencies, including the Awarding Agency, create contract lines and purchase order(s) against the contract as needed.

2. A Multi-Agency Contract for Miscellaneous Services, Commodities or Consulting (CM) is a contract for services, commodities or consulting, that is available for use by multiple State agencies where each individual Participating Agency establishes a separate contract under its respective Business Unit and Department ID.

For CM contracts, the Awarding Agency contract and amendments are subject to OSC review and approval, as are the individual Participating Agency user contracts and amendments.

a) Backdrop Contract:

The most common model of a CM contract is a backdrop contract. An Awarding Agency establishes a tier one (backdrop) contract, which prequalifies vendors to participate in a second tier procurement process (mini bid) conducted by authorized Participating Agencies in accordance with the terms of the backdrop contract. The Awarding Agency is not required to estimate a contract amount or pre-encumber funds for the backdrop contract. However, when submitting the backdrop contract to OSC for approval, the Awarding Agency must be able to identify all potential and/or known Participating Agencies in order to support the procurement and award decisions.

OSC approval of individual Participating Agency contracts and amendments requires the establishment of a contract amount and pre-encumbrance of funds for commitments. A suffix numbering scheme is typically used to associate the individual Participating Agency awards to the backdrop, and to allow agencies to distinguish multiple scopes of work.

For Backdrop Contracts:

• The Awarding Agency communicates with all potential Participating Agencies to ensure that they can accommodate the CM numbering scheme being assigned.
• The Awarding Agency establishes a contract using a contract prefix of CM and a final suffix of “AA” (e.g., CM0001AA).
  • The number of numeric characters that can be used will be based on the maximum field length that can be accommodated by any potential Participating Agency under the backdrop contract.
  • If a Participating Agency were to exhaust all of suffixes “AB” through “AY”, the agency would continue numbering by using the same contract number with the suffix “BB” and continue through “BY”, then “CB” through “CY”, etc.
  • This contract numbering logic should never use the letter “Z” as part of the suffix in the last character.

Each individual Participating Agency:

• Establishes a separate contract under its respective Business Unit and Department ID, and submits it to OSC for review and approval, based on OSC approval thresholds.
• Follows the CM numbering scheme specified by the Awarding Agency in the award notice.
• Provides pre-encumbrance as required, as a condition of OSC approval.

Note: For contracts not subject to OSC approval (the transaction does not meet OSC approval thresholds):

• The Participating Agency follows the backdrop award numbering convention described above, with the exception of the prefix and suffix. Each Participating Agency award is assigned a number that begins with TM (in lieu of CM) but follows the rest of the backdrop contract numbering convention. The suffix for the TM transaction will start with the letters “AB”, even if the agency has an existing CM contract with the same number suffixed with an “AB”.

  • If a Participating Agency were to exhaust all of suffixes “AB” through “AY”, the agency would continue numbering by using the same contract number with the suffix “BB” and continue through “BY”, then “CB” through “CY”, etc.
  • This contract numbering logic should never use the letter “Z” as part of the suffix in the last character.

  Example: An Awarding Agency establishes NYS Contract #CM0001AA (backdrop). For contracts not subject to OSC review, the Participating Agency would establish NYS Contract #TM0001AB. Subsequent TM awards would follow the same suffix assignment as detailed in CM naming convention above.

b) Non-Backdrop CM contracts:

There are other multi-agency contract arrangements that use the CM prefix, sometimes without a contract suffix numbering scheme. In those cases, OSC approval requires that a contract amount be established for each Participating Agency contract, and that funds are pre-encumbered for commitments.

For Non-Backdrop CM Contracts, the Awarding Agency:

• Communicates with all potential Participating Agency users to ensure that they can accommodate the CM numbering scheme being assigned.
• Establishes a contract using a contract prefix of CM followed by a minimum of 1 but up to 8 characters (e.g., CM5509). A suffix is not required since it is not a multi-agency backdrop contract.
• Considers existing CM numbers for contracts, to avoid duplication when attempting to create a CM contract under their Business Unit and Department ID.

Each individual Participating Agency:

• Establishes a separate contract under its respective Business Unit and Department ID, and submits it to OSC for review and approval, based on OSC approval thresholds.
• Follows the CM numbering scheme specified by the Awarding Agency in the award notice.
• Provides pre-encumbrance as required, as a condition of OSC approval.

Multi-Agency CM Non-Backdrop Contract Award Example:

Example: OTDA and OMH obtain legal services for a shared issue and enter into a single, three party agreement (OTDA, OMH and Vendor). Each agency establishes a record on the SFS under its Business Unit and Department ID for its respective liabilities under the agreement. There is no suffix since this is not a multi-agency backdrop contract. The example assumes that the liability for each agency is evenly shared.

3. A Multi-Agency Lease (LM) is an agreement established by the Office for General Service (OGS) to meet multiple State agencies’ space needs. OGS establishes the contract terms. Each Participating Agency creates a transaction on the SFS for its portion of the liability using its Business Unit / Department ID and the NYS Contract # provided by OGS (e.g., LM12345678). OGS submits the Participating Agencies’ STS/ AC 340-S to OSC with the contract and procurement record.

Process and Transaction Preparation:

Guide to Financial Operations

REV. 09/27/2024