The Contract Award Process:
As a Public Institution, UCSF awards its construction contracts through the “Low Bid Process”. In this traditional process the request for bid proposals are publicly advertised. Other than obtaining appropriate qualifications the construction contract is awarded to a General Contractor according to the “lowest responsible bid”.
Stanford, as a private institution, does not use the lowest bid process but rather seeks established “prime trade contractors” to make proposals for the contract. This system limits access to the contract to pre-approved bidders and has no responsibility to the public.