Shared Services Consulting-NOI.docx

North Dakota University System 600 E. Boulevard Avenue, Dept 215 Bismarck, ND 58505 Notice of Intent to Make a Noncompetitive Purchase November 5, 2026 The North Dakota University System intends to make a noncompetitive purchase. The purpose of this notice is to determine if other sources are available and whether the procurement method is appropriate. An interested party who provides an alternative to the commodity or service is invited to submit a written response to the procurement officer by the response deadline.

Purchasing Agency: North Dakota University System Purchase Description: The State intends to make a noncompetitive purchase.

The North Dakota University System intends to utilize CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) to do an assessment of the administrative services across the NDUS to provide recommendations and insight on the development of an expanded shared services system across eleven campuses.

The assessment will evaluate administrative service functions, organizational structures, governance, staffing models, business processes, technology dependencies, and opportunities for expanded shared services across NDUS institutions. The resulting recommendations will be used to support future operational efficiencies and service delivery improvements across the system.

Intended Source: CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (CLA) Price: Between $70,000 and $80,000 Justification: CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (CLA) was engaged in December 2025 to conduct a compliance investigation at Dickinson State University (DSU). The investigation ran from December 2025 through September 2026 and included an in-depth analysis of the relationship between NDUS’s smaller institutions and the University of North Dakota (UND), the provider of shared services to DSU, and the primary provider of administrative services throughout the NDUS. Through this work, CLA examined the structure, reporting relationships, systems, and risks created by NDUS’s current shared services delivery model.

As a result, CLA has detailed, recent knowledge of NDUS’s institutions, organizational structure, technology systems, and service delivery models. Another consultant would need to repeat much of this discovery work, adding significant time and cost before any new analysis could begin. Because the shared services assessment is intended to address the structural conditions identified during the investigation, engaging CLA also ensures that the recommendations are directly informed by those findings.

Continuity and Avoidance of Duplication: The proposed engagement is a direct extension of knowledge and findings developed during CLA’s 2025-2026 review. Significant portions of the discovery, stakeholder analysis, organizational review, and assessment of administrative service delivery have already been completed. Procuring another consultant would require NDUS to duplicate those efforts, resulting in unnecessary expenditure of public funds and delaying implementation of recommendations intended to improve operational effectiveness across the system.

Cost Avoidance: Based on CLA’s existing familiarity with NDUS operations, institutions, governance structure, technology environment, and shared services model, NDUS anticipates substantial reductions in project startup time and discovery costs compared to engaging a new consultant that would need to independently develop this institutional knowledge.

Scope of CLA’s Prior Work: CLA’s knowledge was developed through its investigation at DSU and its analysis of the relationship between NDUS’s smaller institutions and UND. This engagement will extend that work to the remaining NDUS institutions, a smaller discovery effort than a new firm would face starting from the beginning.

Independence: This engagement is a forward-looking assessment and does not review or evaluate CLA’s prior work. NDUS retains all decisions regarding implementation of any recommendations.

CLA has quoted $70,000–$80,000 for this engagement, a fraction of what comparable systems have paid. Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), with a budget similar to NDUS’s, paid nearly $400,000 for a 2017 system review conducted by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS). The Arkansas State University System, with five institutions and total expenditures of under $300 million, paid $500,000 for a 2017 efficiency study conducted by Huron Consulting Group. CLA’s quote is well below market for system-level assessment work.

Best Interest of the State: Conducting a competitive procurement would likely result in the selection of a consultant that must repeat information-gathering and assessment activities already completed by CLA. NDUS believes this duplication would increase costs, delay delivery of actionable recommendations, and diminish the value of the state’s prior investment in the 2025-2026 engagement.

Given CLA’s recent and direct familiarity with NDUS’s shared services model, a competitive procurement would be impracticable and not in the best interest of the state, as it would require NDUS to pay a new firm to rebuild knowledge CLA already has, delaying corrective action on the issues identified in the DSU investigation.

Questions A vendor may contact the Procurement Officer to discuss whether its proposed solution meets the requirements. Submit any questions or requests for clarification to the Procurement Officer as soon as possible and before the response deadline.

Procurement Officer: Sharon Schwartzbauer E-mail: sharon.schwartzbauer@ndus.edu Telephone: 701-877-5709 Response Format:

Vendors interested in submitting a response to this notice must provide the following information for consideration:

· Company Information: Provide the name of the firm, address, and website, if available.

· Contact Information: Provide the name of a contact person, telephone number, and email address.

· Specifications: Vendors are instructed to examine the purchase description included in this notice. Provide detailed specifications demonstrating that the offered solution meets or exceeds the requirements stated in this notice.

· Value-Added: Vendors may provide information about value-added features, functionality, alternatives, and additionally available components or services that are not specifically identified in the purchase description within the notice.

· Cost: Provide detailed cost information. Responses may include pricing for any offered value-added options.

Response Deadline: November 12, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. CST Response Instruction:

Offerors must be registered in NDBuys in order to submit a response.

If you are not yet registered in NDBuys, complete the bidders list registration. See NDBuys Quick Reference Guides at NDBuys Quick Reference Guides for how to register.

Once registered, locate the solicitation in NDBuys and select the “Participate in RFx” button. If you do not see the “Participate in RFx” button, contact the Procurement Officer to confirm you are already included in the list of offerors to receive notices for the solicitation.

Electronic Submission Required: An interested party must electronically submit proposals through the State’s procurement information system (NDBuys) by the Solicitation Closing deadline.

ND Buys Website Do not wait until the last minute to submit a response. We recommend uploading your response 24 hours prior to the Solicitation Closing deadline.

Offeror must begin the electronic submission process well in advance of the Solicitation Closing deadline to allow for transmission and resolution of any technical difficulties. Be advised that the NDUS is not responsible for an Offeror’s failure to timely submit a proposal due to any technical difficulties. If you experience any technical difficulties, contact the Procurement Officer or the State Procurement Office at ndbuys@nd.gov or 701-328-2740.

If documents are in the process of being uploaded when the Solicitation Closing deadline occurs, the upload process will stop. The attempted submission will not be uploaded successfully and is ineligible for consideration. The NDUS takes no responsibility for electronic submissions that are captured, blocked, filtered, quarantined, or otherwise prevented from uploading by any anti-virus or other security software.

Visit NDBuys Quick Reference Guides for the NDBuys Quick Reference Guides which describe how to submit an electronic response.

The maximum file size allowed is 56MB or 56,120 KB per file.

Do not submit documents that are embedded (zip files), movies, wmp, encrypted, or mp3 files.

Offeror will be able to confirm that a response has been submitted by reviewing the History tab of the solicitation and confirming that proposal status is submitted. If Offeror does not see that it has been submitted, the upload was not successful. Contact the Procurement Officer or the State Procurement Office at ndbuys@nd.gov or 701-328-2740.

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