This is a question that faced the California Procurement Division's Multiple Awards Program Section (MAPS) in August of 2013. Their response was to completely re-imagine their awards process and the contract itself. These efforts earned the state the 2014 Silver Cronin Award for their nomination titled "Modeling the Path to Award."

After implementation of the fifth acquisition of their Master Service Agreement (MSA) for Information Technology (IT) Consulting Services, the division was facing the prospect of awards to less than 25 of their 179 participating proposers. It was apparent that this award rate would not be sufficient to meet the needs of the over 350 California state government entities that were to receive services from these awards. Additionally, MAPS had received feedback from these stakeholders that they wanted an extensive selection of contractors that offered flexibility and competitive pricing.

In order to develop new models that would provide the results their stakeholders needed MAPS made the decision to reexamine their current procurement process and contracts. They began by cancelling the fifth MSA acquisition and extending the current one. MAPS then established a procurement team made up of representatives from multiple agencies each bringing their own practices and priorities to the group.

The team then developed a list of objectives that they wanted to achieve with the new models. This included creating an environment that emphasized transparency and proposer engagement. They also sought to build a flexible procurement process that would allow them to drive pricing and target hourly cap rates. In addition, they wanted to transform the MSA into an "elastic contract" that would allow for the specific needs of stakeholders.

Their efforts for increased transparency included a streamlined, paperless proposal process for suppliers that featured an informational webinar on how to complete the RFP's proposal template. Additionally, the revised RFP process involved submitting administrative and technical proposals first, which allowed the state and proposer to then discuss any issues and potential revisions. This transparency, combined with flexibility in price negotiations, allowed proposers multiple opportunities to formulate pricing.

Read the full article here.

State and Local Government Procurement: A Practical Guide Available for Purchase

February isn't only the month of flowers, hearts, and cupid, but also here at NASPO also the love of state procurement with the arrival of the new 2014 Edition of "State and Local Government: A Practical Guide". New this year are chapters in technology procurement, eProcurement, and protests, and new content on human services and emerging issues. At only $45.00 per member copy, the book is 388 pages of state procurement text written by industry experts that will benefit the novice buyer to the seasoned procurement professional.

Hard copy books are available by visiting: http://www.naspo.org/dnn/ResearchPublications/PracticalGuide.aspx

"State and Local Government Procurement: A Practical Guide" has also been released for the first time as an e-book. Available through ITunes and Kobobooks.com, the book makes accessibility easy and convenient for tablets and smartphones. The cost of the e-book is $34.99.

State member offices may utilize their professional development funds to purchase both the hard copy and e-book versions of "State and Local Government Procurement: A Practical Guide".

States should follow the following procedural steps for utilizing these funds for hard copy book purchases through the NASPO website:
1. When ordering online, select "Bill Me" as your method of payment. An email confirmation will be received that will that serve as the invoice for the purchase.
2. Complete the attached professional development fund submission form in regard to the Practical Guide purchase. NASPO may be listed as the payee.
3. Email your form to Courtney McCarty, NASPO Services Coordinator at cmccarty@naspo.org.

**For book purchases from Apple ITunes or Kobo using professional development funds, members should contact cmccarty@naspo.org.

West Virginia Implements New Law Requiring Procurement Training for State Executives and Directors

West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has made it clear that he wants to ensure that every dollar of state money is spent with the proper oversight to achieve the best value. After touting the importance of solid procurement practices in his 2014 State of the State Address, Governor Tomblin successfully championed a procurement bill during the 2014 legislative session that ensured that all executive officials and directors had an understanding of the laws, rules and procedures guiding the state purchasing process. The legislation, which is now included as part of West Virginia Code �5A-3, requires all executive department secretaries, commissioners, and their assistants and deputies, along with all directors and department heads and their assistants and deputies, to take two hours of training on purchasing procedures and purchasing cards annually.

West Virginia Purchasing Director Dave Tincher explained that having the Governor's support was instrumental in the passage of the procurement legislation. "Governor Tomblin stressed the importance of our legal procurement requirements and procedures to the highest level officials in state government. Having this support from the top down ensures a universal understanding of the state purchasing process," he explained.

Read the full article here.

NASPO Executive Director, Board Member Attends Governing Institute: 2015 Outlook

NASPO Executive Director DeLaine Bender and Alabama State Purchasing Director and NASPO Board Member Michael Jones were invited to attend the Governing Institute 2015 Outlook session, held February 3 and 4 in Washington, D.C.

Leadership from top government associations spoke about state and local issues that are driving the nation's policy agenda. David Adkins, Executive Director/CEO, The Council of State Governments, Dan Crippen, Ph.D., Executive Director, National Governors Association and William T. Pound, Executive Director, National Conference of State Legislatures gave the state government perspective.

See photos and full article here.

NASPO Participates in Puerto Rico Suppliers Marketing Conference

Luis Castro Agis, Administrator of Puerto Rico's General Services Administration, moderated a panel of industry association officials discussing challenges in doing business with government.

NASPO Past President and Finance Chair Carol Wilson spoke last week at Puerto Rico's Expo Suplidores de Gobierno (Suppliers Marketing Government) during a session that covered covering NASPO resources for suppliers and the relationship between suppliers and government. Additionally, she provided some insights and commentary on best practices in eProcurement systems.

Wilson served on a panel that addressed some of the best practices U.S. states are spearheading to improve procurement processes. She also provided some insights to government suppliers on how they can become more involved in U.S. mainland procurement opportunities.

"The best way to get involved with state procurement opportunities is to get to know the practices of each state's procurement offices," noted Wilson.

NASPO Congratulates Newly Granted CPPB's and CPPO's

NASPO would like to extend our congratulations to those in state procurement that have successfully completed the Universal Public Procurement Certification Council's (UPPCC) certification exams and have recently been granted the designations of Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO) and Certified Public Procurement Buyer (CPPB).

Newly Granted CPPB's

Andrew Evans, CPPB-State of Idaho, Division of Purchasing
Steve Jenkins, CPPB-State of Washington
Corey Larson, CPPB-State of Washington, Department of General Administration
Linda Polk, CPPB-State of Alaska, Division of General Services
Jonathan Rifkin, CPPB-District of Columbia, Office of Contracting & Procurement
Richard Welch, CPPB-State of Illinois Procurement
Thomas Teprovich, CPPB-Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of General Services
Julie Fisher, CPPB-State of Utah, Division of Purchasing
Dennis Donahue, CPPB-State of Virginia, Department of General Services

Newly Granted CPPO 's

Adrian Ruger CPPB, C.P.M. CPPO, State of Utah, Division of Purchasing & General Services
Kimberly Leeker, CPPB CPPO-State of Oregon, Procurement Services and Policy
Tom Mayer, CPPB CPPO-State of Alaska, Division of General Services
Bertha Whitby, CPPB CPPO- State of Arizona, Department of Transportation

A complete list of the all the newly certified individuals can be found here. Congratulations on all your hard work to become the UPPCC's new class of Certified Public Procurement Officers and Certified Public Procurement Buyers!

UPPCC Application Deadlines and Exam Dates

Visit the UPPCC site for more details.

Committee and Work Group News

NASPO 2015 Procurement University Survey

NASPO is currently developing Procurement University to provide education and training resources to its members. As part of this process the 2015 Procurement University Survey was sent out on February 5th to each state's designated training contact in order to obtain information on current training and certification practices. The results of this survey are essential to the development of this initiative. Please ensure that your state has completed the survey by the deadline, February 26th.

If you have any questions about the survey please contact Matt Oyer, NASPO Policy Analyst, at 859-514-9176 or moyer@naspo.org.

Get to Know the NASPO Staff

Krista S. Ferrell, Director of Strategic Programs

Name: Krista S. Ferrell

Title: NASPO Director of Strategic Programs

Year started at NASPO: 2014

Brief description of current role: Development and oversight of programs such as NASPO Procurement University, research, and policy. Work with members and stakeholders to develop strong and impactful relationships and share best practices in public procurement. Serve as the internal NASPO procurement resource.

Education: BA in Clinical Psychology from Marshall University/BA in Experimental Design, Testing, and Methodology
Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO)
Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB)

Fun Facts: I'm an avid history buff, love to travel, and am an enthusiastic supporter of my favorite musician, Matthew Thomas (my nephew), the Marshall Thundering Herd, and my shoe collection.

Most memorable NASPO event so far: Marketing Meeting 2014 in San Diego, CA. It was my first NASPO conference as NASPO Staff (instead of the other side of the table as a Buyer Supervisor for the State of WV) and my first day of work. I've learned a great deal over the past 9 months and look forward to many, many more.

Member News

Soza Writes on a Fitting Sports Analogy for Procurement Officers

NASPO member Jason Soza, Chief Procurement Officer for the State of Alaska, recently posted the following article on LinkedIn:

Of Procurement Officers and Goaltenders

It used to be that whenever I was asked what I do, I would respond that I'm in public procurement with the State of Alaska. The reaction I got on most occasions was a tilt of the head and a brief pause punctuated with, "So...you buy stuff?"

Faced with this, I couldn't avoid instinctively (and maybe a little defensively) launching into a discussion about how procurement is more than just "buying stuff".... Read the full blog post here.

NASPO's mission is to help our members achieve success as public procurement leaders in their states through promotion of best practices, education, professional development, research, and innovative procurement strategies.