What are the differences between sole source and competitive bidding for government contracts?

Government contracts are agreements between a government or public entity, such as a state or county, and a private entity that provide services or goods to the government. In New York, there are two main ways for businesses to bid on contracts: sole source and competitive bidding. Sole source contracts are generally awarded for unique goods or services that can only be provided by a single business. They are also used if there is an urgent need for a service that cannot be satisfied under a competitive bidding process. The government entity is not required to solicit competitive bids for sole source contracts. Competitive bidding is the process of awarding contracts to the lowest bidders. All businesses that can meet the requirements of the contract are invited to submit bids. After the bidding process is complete, the bids are evaluated and the contract is awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. By law, state and county governments are required to use competitive bidding for most of their contracts. Overall, the main differences between sole source and competitive bidding are the method of how contracts are awarded and the requirements for businesses that are bidding on a contract. With sole source contracts, contracts are awarded without competitive bids. With competitive bidding, businesses must submit bids that are lower than the bids of their competitors in order to win the contract.

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What are the differences between sole source and competitive bidding for government contracts?

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