NASPO members,

Thank you again for the opportunity to serve as NASPO President. 2016 is off to a very strong start!

As I recovered from my health scare in 2015, it was a blessing to have so much support from my NASPO family and State of Utah family. Thank you! I returned to work on a full-time basis and assumed the reins as NASPO President. I am grateful to have the support of my fellow Board members and NASPO members.

I am really looking forward to seeing everyone March 20-22 at the  How to Market to State Governments Meeting  in Atlanta.  If you haven't already done so, please register now . We are very excited to announce Daymond John from Shark Tank as keynote.  

Please also save the date for other upcoming conferences and events:
  • May 15-17, 2016 - Eastern Regional Conference, Providence, RI
  • May 22-24, 2016 - Southern Regional Conference, Location TBD
  • July 17-19, 2016 - Midwestern Regional Conference, Lincoln, NE
  • September 25-28, 2016 - Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN
  • November 6-8, 2016 - Western Regional Conference, Location TBD
Please watch your inboxes and naspo.org for agenda details and registration information for each of these important events. Please let me know if you have any questions, and I look forward to seeing everyone in Atlanta.


Sincerely, 
Paul Mash
NASPO President
Utah Deputy Director/Deputy Chief Procurement Officer

 Governing Magazine to Feature State Procurement
Governing Magazine is featuring the topic of state procurement in its upcoming issue, highlighting the growing importance of procurement in helping state governments function better. The magazine will unveil in its issue a ranking of the states with the strongest procurement programs. The March digital version is anticipated on February 17, and the print issue will hit stands in late February.

"The Governing Institute's spotlight on procurement demonstrates the increasingly strategic role that procurement professionals play in managing state governments effectively and efficiently," said DeLaine Bender, Executive Director of the National Association of State Procurement Officials.

"The most forward-thinking state procurement offices are leveraging new tools made available through advances in technology, strategic sourcing, cloud computing and other innovations to make their states more fiscally shrewd, friendlier to the environment and better places to live and work. Procurement may not be atop the public's consciousness, but this feature will demonstrate for people how innovative procurement practices do impact every citizen."

NASPO believes the exposure generated by the Governing feature will generate much needed visibility for the profession and support the efforts of those in state procurement to be recognized as vital contributors.

How to Market to State Governments Meeting
March 20-22, 2016 (Atlanta, GA)
Registration for the 2016 How to Market to State Governments Meeting will be open for just a few more days. Register now and enjoy some of the exciting additions for 2016, including the NASPO Cares Service and Engagement Luncheon, enhanced education and networking sessions and a special Keynote Address with a " Shark" to kick off the conference!

State attendee registration deadline is  Wednesday, February 17th . 
Survey Now Complimentary to Public 
Starting this year, all public users can gain access to the 2015 Survey of State Procurement Practices to promote transparency regarding state procurement practices nationwide for no charge. NASPO members will continue to access complete survey results at no cost using their NASPO login.

All NASPO members can  log in at http://survey.naspo.org/surveytool/  using your regular user name and password combination to view, download, print search results by state, section, question, or keyword.

Non-NASPO members can now  create an account HERE to complimentaryh access the  yearly subscription . Non-members will be able to view, download, print, and/or conduct online search of the complete survey results by state, section, question, or keyword. The downloadable version of all survey results includes PDFs and tables with complete comments from states.

Click HERE to view our Survey Summary Report.

Contact Elena Moreland  if you have any questions about the 2015 Survey of State Procurement Practices.
Did You Know?

You can check your NASPO Network digest to read about what's happening with NASPO in between our issues of the monthly NASPO Bulletin. Here are some of the conversations of note this month: 
Cronin Web Series presents Ohio's Waste Management Program
  Wednesday, February 17th (1:00pm - 2:00pm EST)
Presenter: Gayle McDargh, Procurement Manager with the State of Ohio's General Services Division Office of Procurement Services

Please join us for the forth webinar of this year's Cronin Finalist Webinar Series. Our presenter will be Gayle McDargh from the State of Ohio presenting on their Finalist submission, Ohio Waste Management Program.

Ohio took an innovative and transferrable approach in reevaluating how it managed a necessary service that all states can relate to: waste management contracts. Issuing a solicitation in 2013 for a third-party administrator, Ohio's waste management TPA now services over 600 locations through its process of bidding & managing individual contractors. Not only does it free personnel to handle other tasks, it provides a dashboard that allows the state to increase recycling, and reduce landfill volume while becoming more efficient by driving costs out of the waste program. Ohio has calculated that it recognized almost $900,000 in savings during the initial nine months under this contract.

All Cronin Finalist Webinar Series attendees are eligible to receive a certificate of completion credit. To receive credit, one must be present for the entire duration of the webinar.

To participate in this webinar,  REGISTER   now.

A recording of our most recent Cronin Finalist Webinars have been posted. If you missed out on these great and informative webinar, please feel free to watch them online . 

UPPCC Fall 2015 Class Announced
NASPO would like to extend our congratulations to those in state  procurement  that  have success fully  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
Ms. Shelly K. Alioa, CPPB Delaware Dept of Transportation
Ms. Eureka R. Yorkman, CPPB Maryland Dept of Juvenile Services
Ms. Chelsea A. Bednarczyk, CPPB Maryland Dept of Health & Mental Hygiene
Mr. Sam Hammond, CPPB Missouri Department of Corrections
Mr. Tyler Jay Barnes, CPPB Utah Dept of Transportation Ms. Arianne K. Quignon, CPPB State of Idaho
Ms. Angela Dunaway, CPPB North Carolina Department of Administration
Ms. Chelsea Cameron, CPPB State of Idaho
Mrs. Jaime M. Motley, CPPB Arkansas Dept of Finance Administration
Ms. Diane Holley-Brown, CPPB WV Purchasing Division
Ms. Kellie A. Johnson, CPPB State of Ohio

Newly granted CPPO's
Ms. Mary-Ellen Kane, CPPO, CPPB AZ Office of Tourism
Ms. Janie L. Terry, CPPO, CPPB Arizona Dept. of Corrections                                                            
Mr. Gerald S. Burlingham, CPPO State of Illinois
Mr. James Meadows, CPPO, CPPB WV Purchasing Division

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


For more information on the examination process visit uppcc.org.
For helpful exam preparation tools check out the Certification Webpage  on the NASPO website. 


 
Procurement U: State Certification Toolkit
Procurement U has recently released the State Certification Toolkit, a comprehensive resource for NASPO State members who are developing a certification program or seeking to build upon their current program. Nearly 30 states have already accessed the toolkit. Thank you to all who have used this resource. 

In March, Procurement U will host a webinar spotlighting a new case study of Florida's state certification program. Watch your inboxes for additional information and registration. If you have any questions, please contact staff at procurementu@naspo.org .
NASPE Executive Director Leslie Scott, NASPO Executive Director DeLaine Bender, NASACT Executive Director Kinney Poynter, NASPO Policy Analyst Matt Oyer and NASFA Executive Director Marcia Stone discussed recruitment and retention during a breakout session
NASPE Executive Director Leslie Scott, NASPO Executive Director DeLaine Bender, NASACT Executive Director Kinney Poynter, NASPO Policy Analyst Matt Oyer and NASFA Executive Director Marcia Stone discussed recruitment and retention during a breakout session.  This was the most common policy issue among all associations attending. 

On January 25, 2016, seven state government partner associations came together at AMR Management Services Headquarters to discuss each partner organization's top policy priority issues, and also raise awareness and identify common issues among the represented associations. The event was co-hosted by NASPO and NASCA. Participating organizations included:
  • National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO)
  • National Association of State Facilities Administrators (NASFA)
  • National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers (NASACT)
  • National Association of State Technology Directors (NASTD)
  • National Association of State Personnel Executives (NASPE)
  • National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO)
  • National Association of State Chief Administrators (NASCA)
Participants spent time discussing common policy priorities as a group, identifying specific challenges of their own members and the tactics the associations were using to support members. Each associations' individual priorities lists are compiled in the 2016 State Government Partner's Crosswalk, which demonstrates how each organization's issues intersect. Read an overview of the discussion here.
 
For questions about this event, or other partner activities, please contact Sarah Razor, Director of External Relations. 

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.