|
Highlights in the August Issue:
|
|
|
Hot Off The Press! Check out the
|
|
|
|
Conferences
September 27-30, 2015
(Norfolk, VA)
NASPO Western Regional Conference:
November 1-3, 2015 (Long Beach, CA)
Webinars
|
|
|
Webinars You Won't Want To Miss!
|
THIS FRIDAY: Governing Institute's Procurement Survey of the States
|
The Governing Institute is launching a project to assess state procurement organizations and their practices, on the principle that highlighting best practices and attributes of successful state organizations creates visibility on what works as well and can be a catalyst for broad improvement.
This fall, the institute is administering an online state procurement survey to state Chief Procurement Officers. The results will be reported to procurement agencies and decision makers, including Governors, to identify best practices and innovative solutions for future challenges.
The webinar will be held to provide more information about the upcoming Procurement Survey of the States including:
-Overview and Scope: General Procurement and IT Questions
-Preparing to Respond: Staff and Resources
-Timeline
-Reporting the Results
-Acknowledgement for Best Practices: Governors' conference and editorial coverage
-Future Survey Plans
Friday, August 21, 2:00 - 3:00 pm ET
Speakers include Julia Burrows, Director, Governing Institute, and Dugan Petty, Moderator, Senior Fellow, Governing Institute.
Find out more information on this webinar
here.
|
|
|
AUGUST 26: NASPO Webinar - Ohio Shared Services
|
In 2009 Ohio launched Ohio Shared Services (OSS) to deliver an efficient, standardized approach to processing common business transactions across state agencies and business vendors. At that time, a review of Ohio's operations had found that the state's cost structure was high, their internal quality standards were not high, and there were opportunities to clarify and improve the role of procurement in particular. In a relatively short period of time, OSS has saved the state millions of dollars. Their shared services effort has improved customer service, delivered high performance standards, dramatically expanded partnerships and programs, and gained national recognition for their successes.
Please join NASPO for a one-hour webinar, featuring Ohio Shared Services Director Everett Ross and Ohio Chief Procurement Officer Kelly M. Sanders to examine Ohio's success in shared services. The speakers will outline the steps that OSS took to develop a new organizational culture, to engage key partners and establish trust, to manage and pace change, and to address implementation challenges.
Wednesday, August 26, 1:00 - 2:00 pm ET
Don't miss this free professional development opportunity which counts as 1 contact hour towards your UPPCC certification or re-certification!
NASPO's webinar is a follow up to a recent partner project with the National Association of State Chief Administrators (NASCA). NASCA and NASPO recently jointly released Pathways to Value: Shared Services and E-Procurement. Th is report features two case studies developed by Leadership for a Networked World on state government shared services and e-procurement. It was created after the associations co-hosted the NASCA and NASPO Topical Roundtable in Washington, D.C., earlier this year, where state procurement officials and state chief administrators came together to examine the success of Ohio's shared services model and Virginia's e-procurement system.
Find out more information on this webinar
here.
|
SEPTEMBER 2: Guidance For Leadership In Sustainable Purchasing
|
Save the date to participate in the latest webinar in the Green Purchasing Webinar Series.
Wednesday, September 2, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm ET
Guidance for Leadership in Sustainable Purchasing
This webinar will provide an introduction to the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council and its Guidance for Leadership in Sustainable Purchasing v1.0. The guidance document is intended to help organizations improve the environmental, social, and economic performance within their supply chains-across the entirety of product and service life cycles-by implementing a strategic sustainable purchasing program. SPLC's Guidance has been called the "most comprehensive literature on the topic" as it relates to sustainable purchasing. Additionally, NASPO member Jonathan Rifkin (District of Columbia, Sustainable Purchasing Program Manager) will describe his involvement in SPLC and how he has been able to incorporate SPLC's Guidance into his work.
Don't miss this free professional development opportunity which counts as 1 contact hour towards your UPPCC certification or re-certification!
Speaker: Sam Hummel, Director of Outreach & Operations, (Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council)
Moderator: Matt Oyer, Policy Analyst, National Association of State Procurement Officials
Stay tuned for registration information!
Contact Matt Oyer at moyer@naspo.org if you have any questions about this webinar.
|
Town Hall Call On Proposed NASPO Bylaw Updates September 10
|
 In October 2014, the NASPO Board of Directors voted to undertake an extensive review of the NASPO bylaws and other governance documents. To support this effort, a Governance Task Force, chaired by Jim Butler of California, was established.
NASPO's bylaws have been updated periodically over the years; however, a preliminary review of the bylaws identified areas that were unclear or inaccurate. The task force's assignment was to undertake a detailed review and make recommendations to modernize and enhance NASPO's bylaws to ensure they are appropriate, accurate and complete.
Recently, the task force submitted its recommendations to the Board of Directors. These recommendations were approved by the Board for consideration of NASPO members. A summary of the changes and a redlined bylaws document are included with this memo, for your review.
A "town hall" conference call of NASPO's voting members will be held Thursday, September 10, at 11:00 am ET, to provide an opportunity to review the proposed bylaws changes and answer any questions. You may also submit any questions or comments ahead of time.
A vote of the membership will take place at the State Member Business Meeting, on September 28, 2015, during the NASPO Annual Conference in Norfolk.
|
|
2015 Updates to the NASPO Survey of State Procurement Practices Coming Soon
|
 Stay tuned for the upcoming release of the 2015 updates to NASPO's most comprehensive data collection on state procurement practices!
The NASPO Survey of State Procurement Practices includes information on procurement authority, laws, policies and best practices that reflect the growing strategic nature of state procurement and the leadership role of the chief procurement officer.
We encourage everyone to take advantage of this great resource and the enhanced viewing and searching functionality provided through the survey web application:
* Complete survey results aggregated as PDFs by state and Excel spreadsheets by section
* Online search capability by state, section, question, or keyword.
For questions or more information on the survey, please contact Elena Moreland at emoreland@naspo.org.
|
 Did you know that you are able to adjust your settings for how often you receive notifications from the NASPO Network?
Simply access your profile at the top right of the NASPO Network by clicking on the arrow next to your profile picture and selecting Profile, then select "Community Notifications" under the "My Account" tab.
Here you will see a list of all the communities in which you are currently a member, and how often you are receiving notifications from those communities. Real Time notifications will come to your inbox moments after someone posts a discussion item. Daily Digest notifications will send you one email at the end of the day containing all of the discussion items that were posted throughout the day.
|
|
Procurement University Updates
|
Procurement U Course 201: Market Research Strategies
Web-based, self-paced
|
This web-based, self-paced course will define market research and how it influences decision making in public procurement. Market research provides important information to identify and analyze the market need, market size, suppliers and competition.
Price
As the inaugural Procurement U web-based class, this opportunity will be available in a limited capacity at no-cost. NASPO members can enroll up to two central procurement office staff per state.
Who should attend?
Important! Because this is the inaugural class for Procurement U, it is limited to two central procurement office staff per state, as determined by the Chief Procurement Officer, as well as Procurement U Work Group members.
As an intermediate course, content is intended to enhance knowledge and skills to provide a strong and extensive foundation public procurement. Course content difficulty level is considered intermediate to advanced for participants with a sound knowledge base and a few years of procurement experience. Access to class is not restricted by position or experience, but suggested participants include intermediate buyer, entry-level buyer, procurement analyst, contract administrator, finance/accounting manager, risk management supervisor, compliance officer or legal counsel.
Materials Needed
Computer access and internet connection. Course materials will be available through the Procurement U Online Learning Management System.
Contact Hours
Procurement U 201: Market Research Strategies qualifies for two contact hours for UPPCC certification or recertification. Participants can anticipate approximately two hours of work.
Please contact NASPO staff at Procurementu@naspo.org if you have any questions. Registration will be available at naspo.org by August 17. This class will be offered again in Spring 2016 for members and non-members.
|
|
Log In To Procurement U Online Learning Management System (OLMS)
|
The Procurement U Online Learning Management System (OLMS) is your gateway to register for classes, access to Procurement U resources and join study groups.
You will be prompted to change your password as soon as you log in. If you are not a NASPO member and would like access, please click "Sign up here" to create a profile. If you have any difficulties with log in, please contact Jessica Whitehead at jwhitehead@naspo.org.
|
|
Do You Have Procurement U Questions?
|
- What kind of learning opportunities does Procurement U offer?
- How can I sign up for upcoming Procurement U classes or sessions?
- Who can participate in Procurement U?
- Can Procurement U help me prepare to earn my CPPO or CPPB certification though UPPCC?
You can also email questions to procurementu@naspo.org for additional assistance.
|
|
Attention CPPO and CPPB Fall Test Takers
|
Are you or one of your colleagues planning to take the CPPO or the CPPB exam in October 2015? NASPO is launching a new study group opportunity designed to help you prepare for your exam.
Beginning this month Procurement U will provide access to an online, facilitated study group for UPPCC exam takers. Study groups are available at no cost to help any state procurement official who is preparing for a UPPCC exam through the Procurement U Online Learning Management System (OLMS). The study group for fall test takers will be available from mid-August until the test dates in October.
The study group will provide participants with access to an online community to:
* share ideas on discussion boards
* attend webinars
* access to test prep documents,
The study group will be hosted on the Procurement U Online Learning Management System (OLMS). See above for additional log in information.
Additional study groups are anticipated for NASPO members who are planning to take either exam in Spring 2016.
|
For more information on the examination process visit http://www.uppcc.org/. For helpful exam preparation tools check out the Certification Webpage on the NASPO website.
|
|
Get to Know the NASPO Staff
|
|
DeLaine Bender, CAE NASPO Executive Director
|
Name: DeLaine Bender, CAE
Title: NASPO Executive Director
Year started at NASPO: December 2013
Brief description of current role: Work closely with the NASPO staff to fulfill the initiatives and progress toward the strategic vision of the NASPO Board of Directors.
Education: BA in Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Oklahoma
Fun Facts: I love to travel, read, practice yoga, watch Oklahoma Sooner football, and spend time with my family. I also enjoy doing "projects" around the house and I know my way around a power tool.
Most memorable NASPO event so far: I love the Annual Conference because it's such a great opportunity to learn, network and dig in on issues that matter to NASPO members.
|
|
|
|
|
