What's New At NERCOMP

The primary goal of the NERCOMP vendor licensing program is to add value for our membership. As such, the program should include the following objectives:

The individual/firm would be responsible for:

1. Administering and negotiating existing licensing agreements and contracts (of which there are 11) and ensuring that:

   • ●  The agreement provides real value to the NERCOMP membership. Generally, this will mean that the agreement provides pricing, services, and other tangible value that is higher than most NERCOMP members could achieve individually.

   • ●  The agreement defines a mutually beneficial relationship.

   • ●  The agreement goes beyond product discounting to provide additional value for the membership, and value that encourages a sustaining relationship with NERCOMP to the participating vendor organization. A high-value program provides opportunities for member/vendor interactions to increase knowledge of the vendor’s products and services, and to improve their use within the member school.

2. Managing renewal and termination of contracts and making information available to NERCOMP schools and the Board.
   ● Agreements should be multi-year and have a specific termination date. Three year agreements are preferred.

3. Managing access to agreements for all NERCOMP schools and ensuring that:

   • ●  The agreement is available to all NERCOMP members. NERCOMP is composed of:

     1. Private and public institutions

     2. Small and large institutions

     3. Higher-ed and secondary-ed institutions

     4. Libraries, museums, and other educational associations

     5. Schools headquartered from Canada to New Jersey

   • ●  While regional and other issues may sometimes disqualify some members from participating in an agreement, whenever possible, all NERCOMP members should be able to benefit from NERCOMP licensing agreements.

4. Primary communication with and through vendors (including the collection of data from vendors on schools use of each agreement as well as data from NERCOMP members on what “vendor products/services” they are using).

5. Arrange opportunities for member education with vendors through webinars, workshop (SIGS) or the annual conference.

6. Work with the Board on the identification of future contracts whereby:

   • ●  The agreements cover products that have wide applicability to a majority of NERCOMP member schools or present a compelling value for a subset of members schools;

   • ●  The agreements are harmonious with existing agreements and other NERCOMP activities.

● The NERCOMP brand and that of the vendor are enhanced by the agreement. This is accomplished by maintaining only a selective portfolio of high-value agreements with organizations who are leaders within their industries and by promoting programs within the NERCOMP membership.

Audience

The audience for the agreements will be both internal and external.
Internal: working with NERCOMP Board members and NERCOMP staff
External: working with NERCOMP member institutions, existing and potential vendors, EDUCAUSE and other partner organizations, etc.

Deliverables

The primary objective of the licensing agreement program is to add value for NERCOMP members, including but not limited to, reducing costs for NERCOMP member institutions, driving traffic toward NERCOMP Vendor Licensing web page(s), and making NERCOMP members aware of existing and new agreements. Additionally, NERCOMP informs members of NERCOMP-related benefits and resources, provides links to relevant discussions, and encourages collaboration and discussion among our members.

The successful individual/firm will:

1. Prepare a licensing calendar and schedule;

2. Be in contact with each vendor at least quarterly;

3. Participate in 2-3 Board meetings per year plus the annual Board retreat;

4. Collect data from vendors on use of the contracts by NERCOMP Member Institutions

   annually;

5. Receive inquiries and suggestions from Member Institutions for new agreements that

   might be of interest to members.

6. Analyze contracts annually to ensure contract is producing a commensurable value to

   NERCOMP members ;

7. Work with NERCOMP Board to develop appropriate value proposition for vendors and

   NERCOMP member institutions

8. Ensure content on the NERCOMP website is accurate and compelling.

A legal background and/or experience negotiating contracts is preferred.

RFI Requirements

These RFI requirements are preliminary and will be finalized after initial meetings and input from the selected vendor.

Written Proposal

Proposals must include:

1. An overview of your approach to contract negotiations;

2. A summary of how you and/or your firm will meet NERCOMP’s scope of work.

3. A list of your proposed team members – if appropriate. If you are sub-contracting

   portions of the work, please indicate to whom. Please state who will be the Project Manager primarily responsible for the project and client relations