In April of 2021 Brown University implemented the Brown Contract Management System (BCM) to manage contracts related to the purchase of goods and services. SPC has developed a flowchart to help determine what needs to go through BCM.
System Stats for FY24 as of 3/31/2024
System Features
- Visibility into the contract management life cycle
- Automated routing to the appropriate reviewing office (SPC or OIT)
- Improved version control of University contract templates
- Automated notifications of important contract dates
- Communication related to the contract available in one place
- DocuSign enabled to facilitate collection of signatures
- Contract repository for the University
Who Needs Access to BCM?
This may vary depending on your department, but generally:
- If you need to have a contract or supplier’s terms and conditions reviewed, you need access to BCM.
- If you will be requesting Brown contract templates such as Professional Services Agreements (PSAs), you need access to BCM.
- If you will be requesting amendments or renewals of existing contracts (including PSAs) , you need access to BCM.
If you didn’t manage contracts in your area in the past, you probably don’t need access. An exception to that would be if you previously handled PSAs that were available in PDF form for your area because those are no longer available for PSAs.
Project History
The University worked with an outside consultant to complete an assessment of procurement and contracting processes at Brown. We identified several areas to target for improvement. The Brown Contract and Policy Management system (BCM) and BrownBuys Marketplace are two of the recommendations that have been implemented.
| October 2020 | Projects started – program planning and governance activities |
| November 2020 – March 2021 | Design & configuration work |
| January 2021 – April 2021 | Solution validation activities |
| January 2021 – March 2021 | Training development & support plans to prepare for go-live |
| April 2021 | Brown Contract & Policy Management System (BCM) is live |
| May 2021 – June 2021 | BrownBuys Marketplace is live |