> IN DEPTH
PA R E T O A W A R D W I N N E R
Old Dominion University
Achieves Pareto Award
The seventh recipient
of coveted award is
also the first institution
of higher education.
B Y L A R RY A N D E R S O N
Old Dominion University’s procurement staff: (L-R) Kwanza Hood, Jayanti Sharma, Jerri Kemp, Etta
Henry, Janis Turner, Rick Berry, Dwayne Young, Nicole Justice, Harry Smithson, Arcelia Barcliff, Neil
Cutler. Not pictured: Felecia Samuel, Josh Bray.
ne of the steps toward
achieving the Pareto
Award of Excellence in
Public Procurement is providing
written responses to 60 questions
covering various award criteria.
When pursuing the award for Old
Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.,
Rick D. Berry, executive director
of Construction and Procurement,
submitted documentation totaling
1,500 pages. “I wanted to make sure
they had all the information they
needed,” recalled Berry.
The approach paid off when
Old Dominion University was
accredited as the first institution
of higher education to achieve
the Pareto Award, designating
that the university met criteria
so challenging that only six
public agencies have earned the
accreditation since the award’s
inception in 2003. The Pareto
Award of Excellence in Public
Procurement, comparable to
O
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the Malcolm Baldrige National
Quality Award, is named for the
political sociologist and economist
Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923), the
father of scientific procurement
whose Pareto Rule says roughly 80
percent of effects come from 20
percent of causes.
Pareto accreditation is awarded
for five years, and obtaining the
award requires rigorous adherence
to a three-phase award process.
Candidates must complete a selfstudy and then provide responses
to those 60 questions covering
areas of leadership, strategic
planning, customer focus, process
management, technology and
information management, and
performance review. The final phase
involves an on-site peer review. Only
public procurement agencies that
have been accredited with NIGP’s
Outstanding Agency Accreditation
Achievement Award (OA4) are
eligible for the Pareto Award.
The road to Pareto
success
“We decided we wanted to make
procurement at Old Dominion
University the best in the country,”
said Berry. “You get there by making
sure your policies and procedures
are excellent and aligned with the
strategic plan of the university. It
took years to do that.”
Achieving excellence also
involves making sure the right
people are in place to get the job
done. “I looked at the people who
were here and their skill sets,”
Berry said. “I was able to train the
people here and hire new people
and get quality staff members in the
organization. That’s why you need
the help of human resources.”
Berry added that staff development
is an ongoing process. He continues
to encourage employees to
pursue higher education, such as
working toward graduate degrees,
to seek certifications, and to get
WWW. GOV PRO.C OM I OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2010 I GO P RO T H E O F F I C I A L P U B L I C AT I O N O F N I GP
expect me to do a good
involved in professional
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job. Excellence is expected
organizations at the
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state and national levels.
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Ensuring customer focus
Even during the tough
economic times, when
WKHSURFXUHPHQWDUHDEXWLW·VDOVRDQ at Old Dominion University
includes considering the
cost-of-living increases
are hard to come by,
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the departments they serve
Berry has continued to
reward employees for
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for procurement. They
excellence through job
emphasize collecting a lot
reclassifications and a
— Rick D. Berry
of information related to
bonus program.
performance and workload
“Our philosophy is to
nationwide that have achieved the
measures. “We have spent
hire the right people, train
top honor.
more and more time on surveys to see
them properly, compensate them
As executive director of
what our customers think of us,” said
properly, empower them and they will
Construction and Procurement at Old
Berry. “They will tell you where you
excel,” he said. “That’s generally what
Dominion University, Berry oversees
are strong and where you are weak.
we do, in partnership with human
a 12-person staff in the procurement
A lot of people don’t like surveys, but
resources.”
area and another 12-person team
they are a great tool.”
In his quest for procurement
in the construction field (led by
Old Dominion University has also
excellence at Old Dominion
Dale Feltes, director of Design and
excelled at increasing participation
University, Berry called on the
Construction, who reports to Berry).
of small, minority and womanexperience he had gained in strategic
The procurement staff includes three
owned businesses in recent years.
planning during his 25-year tenure in
managers who handle procurement,
The institution won the Virginia
procurement in Virginia Beach, Va.,
inventory control, surplus property
Governor’s 2009 SWaM Champion
and on the time he spent exploring
and contract administration.
Award (for Small, Woman and
the subject in graduate school:
Minority-owned business).
“You have to make sure everything
Business process improvements
you do relates back to the strategic
Procurement and beyond
related to procurement at Old
plan, including hiring, policies and
The site visit required for Pareto
Dominion University include both reprocedures, work assignments and
Award accreditation was exhaustive.
engineering processes to make them
performance measures.” Strategic
“They sent a team down for a variety
more efficient and automating them
operations also include an emphasis
of interviews, through individuals,
to make them faster. Processes that
on continuous process improvement
focus groups and meetings with
have been re-engineered in the last
and on benchmarking best practices.
vendors,” said Berry. The team
year include:
“It’s a journey,” said Berry.
interviewed 50 people and asked
Having achieved the desired
a variety of questions about the
³ Electronic receiving, to
level of excellence at Old Dominion
HR plan, the customer satisfaction
eliminate errors in receiving
University, Berry proceeded
plan and the university’s use
reports and to facilitate timely
to the next step: To receive
of technology. The goal was to
payments.
acknowledgment of that excellence,
measure the appropriateness of the
³ The p-card program, including
which comes through accreditation.
organization’s structure and confirm
automating the card-holder log
He said, “O.K. now, I know we’re
that procurement’s mission, goals
program, which eliminates errors,
good, but how can I make sure
and objectives are consistent with the
saves time in data entry and
my boss has something to show
university’s strategic plan.
minimizes paper documents
everybody what we are achieving?”
“They go beyond procurement
³ A new contract administration
The first step was to earn the OA4
to look at the leadership of the
program, including additional
award from NIGP, which involves
organization,” continued Berry.
training for contract administrators
meeting a detailed list of criteria,
“The wonderful thing about the
and better monitoring to ensure
a self-assessment process and a
Pareto Award is that it starts off
contractors are being paid through
detailed application to document
in the procurement area, but it’s
the contract and auditing. This
policy, procedures and organizational also an award for Old Dominion
program has found $111,000 in
structures. Old Dominion University
University; it shows that they value
errors in the last six months and
is one of about 70 organizations that
procurement. It is a holistic approach
resulted in refunds from various
have achieved the OA4 accreditation.
to buying, support and excellence.
departments.
The next step was to apply for the
The university does it right, from the
“We want to make sure we are
coveted Pareto Award and to join
president all the way through. They
adding more value,” said Berry.
the elite group of six organizations
allow me to do a good job, and they
“Procurement can add value in many
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ways, from writing good contracts
to negotiating and managing the
contracts.”
Related to technology, the
university uses the state’s electronic
procurement tool, which handles
most business (more than 90 percent)
through electronic solicitations and
electronic purchase orders. “We are
working with the state to improve the
system, which is state-wide, and to
get better reporting and contracting
tools,” said Berry.
Albert Hall award winner
NIGP’s 2010 Forum in San Antonio
was a big event for Berry, who also
won the 2010 Albert H. Hall Memorial
Award, the Institute’s highest honor.
In presenting the award, Rick Grimm,
NIGP CEO, recognized Berry’s “ability
to convert vision into governance
and policy.” As a leader of NIGP,
Berry has worked for a more open
process to elect leaders and to
afford opportunities for members to
serve on committees. Today, NIGP
board members are elected by the
membership through a competitive
process and more than 150 members
serve on 13 NIGP Committees and
task forces.
Berry served as president
of NIGP’s largest chapter
affiliate in 1992 and as
president of NIGP in 2000.
“He is perhaps best noted
for his passion for teaching
and mentoring students,”
said Grimm in presenting
the award.
Berry has had only three
jobs in his adult life. He
began in the procurement
profession as an entry-level buyer
in Virginia Beach, Va., in 1975, and
stayed with the same employer for
25 years as he worked his way up to
chief procurement officer. He also
expanded his education during the
same period, progressing from an
associate’s degree to undergraduate
and graduate degrees, all courtesy
of the city’s 100 percent tuition
reimbursement. Berry credits Giles
Dodd, Virginia Beach assistant
city manager, as his mentor who
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— Rick D. Berry
understood the value of procurement,
saw his potential, allowed him
to make mistakes and was his
inspiration during his 25-year tenure
at the city. Berry also credits Bill
Davis, the purchasing agent who
hired and trained him at the tender
age of 24.
During the dot-com craze,
Berry went to work briefly (about
15 months) for DemandStar, an
e-procurement company, but
returned to the public sector with his
job at Old Dominion University, where
he has been since 2002.
“You need to love the profession,”
said Berry. “You can’t excel unless
you love it. Education is also
important, so you can understand the
leadership theories, organizational
theories and management theories.
Get involved in professional
organizations. Look outside your
organization and be exposed to other
people doing similar work. Develop a
network to share information.”
Berry concedes that professional
involvement comes at a price, which
includes having less time to spend
with family. He acknowledges his
family’s support, especially wife
Karen, as an important element in
his professional success. “I could not
have done any of this without her,”
he said.
About the author
Larry Anderson is the editor of Go Pro.
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