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Uncategorized Bulletins

Procurement U certification prep courses
attract record numbers

Procurement U’s CPPB and CPPO Fall 2019 Exam Prep Courses reached the highest enrollment ever, with 47 candidates signing up for these courses designed to assist any public procurement professional preparing to take the UPPCC certification exams. UPPCC recently announced broader eligibility requirements for certification. Learn more about the updated eligibility requirements here.

 
Registration for Procurement U’s CPPB and CPPO Spring 2020 Exam Prep Courses will open in October 2019. The course will run from March 1-May 3, 2020. These convenient, web-based, instructor-led courses are worth 12 contact hours. NASPO members and all other state government employees enjoy a discounted rate of $300 over the standard price of $480. 
 

Interested in learning more about Procurement U? Check out the current course catalog.

Countdown to 2019 NASPO Annual Conference

The 2019 NASPO Annual Conference is fast approaching! NASPO looks forward to welcoming members to Grand Rapids, Michigan, September 8-11.

To help you leverage the leadership, excellence and integrity that empowers procurement officials to advance state government, the 2019 NASPO Annual Conference promises a variety of opportunities for collaboration, idea exchange and solution sharing for the common challenges state procurement leaders face. You can check out the full conference agenda here.

Elections for Incoming President, Board of Directors, Regional Council leadership taking place at Annual Conference

NASPO primary members will cast their votes for the new Incoming President during a Business Meeting on Monday, September 9, at the 2019 Annual Conference. Candidates for Incoming President are Roz Ingram, State of Florida; Gary Lambert, Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and George Schutter, District of Columbia.

 

Members will also elect four Directors at Large. Nominees for the four open seats are Debbie Dennis, State of Oregon; Peter Korolyk, State of Delaware; Gregg Olivera, State of New Jersey; Sara Redford, State of Wisconsin; Kelly Sanders, State of Ohio; Jamie Schorr, State of Maine; and George Schutter, District of Columbia. Chairs and Vice Chairs for the Eastern, Midwestern, Southern and Western regions will be elected during regional council meetings on Tuesday, September 10, at the annual conference.

 
NASPO appreciates all who were nominated and for their willingness to serve. Best of luck to everyone!

Upcoming NASPO Events

2019 State Procurement Law Institute, October 7-9, Madison, Wisconsin. The Law Institute provides a unique opportunity for legal professionals to hone their procurement law education and skills while fostering a community of interest among government lawyers.

2019 State Training Coordinators Conference, October 9-11, Madison Wisconsin. At STCC, NASPO members who coordinate state procurement training efforts can come together to share peer-to-peer solutions, identify curricula needs, learn about instructional methodology and exchange training resources. 

2019 Western Regional Conference, November 5-7, Seattle, Washington. With education and networking opportunities targeted to six procurement staff per state, this is an excellent opportunity for Western Region members to discover innovative approaches, learn practical solutions, and gather best practices in state procurement. 

Governing’s 2019 Procurement Survey
available for download

Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia responded to questions posed for Governing Institute’s 2019 State of Procurement Report. Five overarching procurement trends were identified: highlighting the increased use of data and analytics; evolving best-value strategies; employment of solution-based contracts; strengthening of relationships with vendors; and the use of contracting vehicles that boost effectiveness.
 

Based on survey responses submitted, Governing Institute Procurement Survey also compiled their ranking of state procurement offices. Congratulations to the State of Michigan, who Governing Institute ranked the top procurement office for 2019, and the State of Georgia, which was ranked the second highest. Rounding out the top 10 are: Massachusetts, Ohio, New York, Wisconsin, Utah, Minnesota, Florida and Missouri.

Download Report

NASPO hosts Second Annual
Leadership Academy at MSU 

Earlier this month, NASPO brought together state procurement leaders and NASPO staff at Michigan State University, our academic partner for a second iteration of the NASPO Executive Development Leadership Program. This program, housed under the NASPO Procurement U team, is meant to provide professional development to leaders in the organization and challenge them to think critically. Continue reading…  

NASPO Internship Program Webinar
available online

Are you interested in learning more about the NASPO internship program? Have you considered hosting an intern in your state office, but do not know where to begin? For those who missed NASPO’s recent internship webinar, it is available here.

This NASPO webinar will help prepare first-time states to participate in the NASPO internship program, provide step-by-step information about the processes, and address other questions you or your team may have. Additional questions about how to get involved can be directed to Olivia Hook Frey, NASPO Academic Affairs Manager.

Get your copy of the new Practical Guide

Copies of the NASPO Practical Guide are available for purchase here for $65. A discount of 10 percent will be applied to orders of 10 copies or more. In support of NASPO’s ongoing efforts to elevate the profession of public procurement through partnerships with institutions of higher learning, there is a special discounted rate of $45 for students. Order your copy today!

 Monthly Pulse Check

Sign up for weekly updates from Procurement Pulse to read the latest on topics of interest and emerging issues in state procurement.

Some of the most recent posts on Procurement Pulse include a recap of NASPO’s Second Annual Executive Development Leadership Program; a paper on reverse auctions; an update on NASPO’s growing internship program; information about the Procurement Technical Assistance Center and another A Day in the Life feature on NASPO Board member and Florida CPO Roz Ingram.

 

Visit https://pulse.naspo.org/ to read all the blog posts and subscribe to receive weekly updates from The Pulse!

Current Projects

Copiers & Managed Print Services: Six new contracts have been awarded by Colorado and are posted on the NASPO ValuePoint website. Contracts are with Canon, HP, Konica Minolta, Ricoh, Toshiba and Xerox. Pending master agreements with Kyocera, Lexmark and Sharp will be posted on the website as they are completed.

 

Drone Services: The State of Virginia is finalizing 16 new master agreements for Drone Services. Look for new awards to be posted on the NASPO ValuePoint website very soon.

MMIS Claims Processing and Management Services: The multi-state sourcing team working on this RFP, led by the State of Montana, has completed the development of the RFP and submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for review and approval. A confidential draft of the complete RFP will be distributed to state procurement offices and state Medicare/Medicaid directors in September for review and comments before the RFP is released. For questions contact Contract Lead Tia Snyder (MT), Ted Fosket or Dugan Petty at NASPO ValuePoint.

 

Data Breach and Credit Monitoring Services: The RFP is nearing completion and a confidential draft will soon be released to the states for review.

 

Commercial Card Services: The State of Washington is leading this solicitation. The proposals are currently in the evaluation process. 

Contract Updates

IT Advisory and Research Services Contracting Lead. Final edits to the RFP are in progress. Expect release in August or early September. For questions contact Contract Lead Mark Haselman (MN) or Ted Fosket or Dugan Petty at NASPO ValuePoint.

Wireless, Voice, Data and Accessories. Awards are complete and master agreements are posted for DiscountCell (accessories), alternative data Hughes Network Systems (satellite networks), T- Mobile (cellular plans, services, equipment and IoT), and Verizon cellular plans, services, equipment and IoT. Negotiations are in progress with the remaining two Carriers – AT&T and Sprint. 

A new category in this master agreement is for IoT systems, which include systems for:

Fleet Management
Mobile Device Management /Enterprise Mobility Management (MDM/EMM)
Mobile Integration/Mobile Substitution Solutions
Workforce Management
Field Service Management
Mobile Data Collection/Mobile Forms
Traffic Management and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS)
Snow & Ice Removal and Route Management
Public Safety Systems
IoT Management
Energy Conservation/Management
Building & Facilities Automation
Enterprise Messaging
Secure LAN Access

A new model PA is now available on the Carrier landing pages at Wireless Data, Voice, IoT, and Accessories (2019-2024). Watch for a new guidance sheet to help you develop your PAs with Carriers soon. nbsp;States with existing PAs for the Nevada master agreements (Nevada award 1907) may also use that existing PA format and update it for the new Utah awards.

The expiration date of the current Nevada award 1907 has been extended to December 31, 2020. Carriers are working on plans to migrate cellular plans and organizations from the Nevada awards to the new Utah master agreements by December 31, 2020. The number of PAs for local governments and political subdivision is huge, so NASPO ValuePoint is exploring ways to streamline the PA approval process.  You should see more information on this soon. For questions contract Christopher Jennings or Dugan Petty at NASPO ValuePoint.

Data Communication Contracting. A supplier rollout meeting is expected this fall. Awards have been made and master agreements posted for four of the awardees. The remainder of the master agreements are in final negotiations and will be posted when complete. The current contracts are scheduled to expire in May 31, 2020. New agreements are expected to be fully complete by then. For questions contact Solomon Kingston in Utah or Dugan Petty at NASPO ValuePoint.

Cloud Solutions Contracting. The refresh cycle for this master agreement is nearly complete with 59 master agreements posted for SaaS, PaaS, IaaS and services. Five master agreements are still in negotiations of final terms and conditions as permitted by the lead State of Utah. These master agreements cover all four NIST defined cloud deployment models – Private Cloud, Public Cloud, Government Cloud and Hybrid Cloud. For questions contact Solomon Kingston in Utah or Dugan Petty at NASPO Value Point.

 

Audio Video Equipment and Supplies. This solicitation, led by the State of Alaska, has been evaluated and is moving to the master agreement development. 

Other news

Truck Bodies, Accessories and Seasonal Maintenance Equipment. The NASPO ValuePoint Management Board’s Cooperative Contracts Committee has authorized a survey of state interest for this possible new portfolio. This portfolio would include a full scope of truck bodies and accessories with upfitting services, including ice and snow removal equipment and other seasonal maintenance equipment that is attached to a truck chassis or other types of specialty vehicles. A survey has been sent to state CPOs and responses are due September 16, 2019.