Meeting the Challenges of
World-Class Procurement
(aka the Procurement Barriers Work
Group Whitepaper)
Richard Pennington
The Procurement Barriers Work Group
Ron Bell (VA)
Deb Damore (VT)
Greg Hopkins (OR)
Kay Kishline (Honorary, CO)
Denise Lea (LA)
Keith McCook (SC)
Richard Pennington (Life, CO)
Chris Record (AMR)
Jean Clark (AZ)
Brenda Derge (WI)
Thirza Kennedy (CO)
Gary Lambert (MA)
Mark Lutte (ME)
Servando Patlan (WA)
Michael Wenzel (ME)
The Work Group Charter
Develop a short whitepaper for senior state
executives and/or legislators that identifies
barriers to effective state procurement and
that could be used by NASPO for direct
communication or by state procurement
officials in conjunction with their internal
advocacy efforts
Accommodate various policy directions but
reinforce NASPO positions on local
preferences and environmentally sensitive
procurement
Research
• Internet research for recent developments: 33
documents added to NASPO Library, including:
– Washington Small Business Survey/Report
– Arizona, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and
Oregon reports
– Some federal procurement system reports
• Comments also from Mike Bliss (MI) and Dean
Stotler (DE)
• PTAC input: San Diego, Colorado, Connecticut
• Assembled a master list of possible “barriers”
$100 Lobbying Campaign (Multi-vote)
Used to set priorities
$100 mock lobbying budget for each work group member to
spend anyway they desired
Helped identify priorities from over 25 ideas about
“barriers” to effective procurement
The top priorities were integrated into the whitepaper that
was circulated for comments/revisions
Title change of whitepaper to “challenge” focus
Whitepaper Conclusions
• Organized by common procurement
objectives, e.g. Model Procurement Code
• Simplify, Clarify, and Modernize
– Complexity the number one barrier
• Washington surveyed over 2,500 of vendor community
• PTACs agreed: complexity is key barrier
– Support an Executive-Level Central Procurement
Authority
– Preserve Discretion of the CPO
Conclusions (Cont’d)
• Leverage Competition (and Cooperation) to
Acquire Goods and Services
– Paper showcased NASPO/WSCA coops
– Examples: Oregon lodging, Ohio education reform,
Maine computer notebooks coops
– CPO network available through NASPO
• Increase Public Confidence in Public Procurement
– Adequate training resources are key, e.g. Oregon and
Virginia
– Idaho’s PIPS and Oregon Ts and Cs initiative
– National collaborations, e.g. NASCIO
Conclusions (Cont’d)
• Promote a System of Integrity
– Sufficient resources for oversight, no matter what
policy choices are made
– E.g., business size validation, environmental
purchasing complexity, local preference definitions
– Limited efficacy of self-policing through protests
• Engage your Senior Procurement Official early!
– Adapting to changing conditions
– Avoiding unintended consequences