Improving the Bid: Understanding Qualifications, Responsiveness, and Responsibility
Stacy Gregg, CPPO, CPPB
Clarity is the hallmark of good procurement, but the language can be difficult to understand. As such, articulating the differences between responsiveness and responsibility can be a confusing task, especially when you have to balance qualifications alongside the mix. Explore and discuss the differences between responsiveness and responsibility, acquire tools to assist in the evaluation portion of bid responsiveness, and learn the different types of qualifications, all while ensuring that you and your agency have the details you need without being overly restrictive.
Contract Administration: Beginning with the End in Mind
David Nash, CPPO, CPPB
Looking at the breadth of the contract management cycle, it’s easy to assume that work is done once the award has been posted. Given that contracts are often put in place for long terms at a time, however, nothing can be further from the truth. Join us as we discuss why proper contract administration starts at the end of the process, incorporating administrative plans and performance assessments to influence your final product before you even begin.
Scoring Success: Developing Successful Scoring Methodologies
Stacy Adams, CPPB
When it comes to RFPs, procurement professionals can find themselves in a bind. Unlike simple solicitations, RFPs require us to generate evaluable scoring systems that consider technical requirements, price, methodology, and numerous other criteria. Learn how to establish transparent and professionalized scoring methodologies, and discover how you take these base-level techniques and develop them into complex scoring systems for even the most daunting of tasks.
Preparing for Disaster: Procurement During an Activated Emergency
Jason Reed
With the ever-increasing rise of manmade and natural disasters happening across the country, it is crucial for public agencies to be prepared to react at a moment’s notice. When it comes to activating in response to tragedy, no entity is more important than the procurement professional, who must be on the front lines to secure necessary funding during activated emergencies. Join us as we discuss and share FEMA guidelines, required forms, the importance of documentation, and many other attributes that are critical to helping you and your agency develop and pass a disaster procurement policy.
Women in Procurement: Songs of Strife and Success
Marcheta Gillespie, CPPO, CPPB, C.P.M., CPM
Over the last year, we have seen a litany of stories featuring scandal, heartache, bravery, and triumph of women from all walks of life. For many women in business, however, treatment reflective of the #MeToo movement is the norm, but we are so much more than the treatment of our past. Join this panel of female procurement leaders as they share their personal stories of strife and success, discuss the challenges of being a female leader, and demonstrate how they overcame inappropriate or unfair treatment, discovering how they made a difference in creating a culture where women flourished alongside their male counterparts.
Avoiding Bad Apples: Preparing Your Proposal Evaluation Committee
Victor Leamer, CPPB
As anyone in public procurement can attest, preparing your proposal evaluation committee requires advanced planning and preparation—having even one ‘bad apple’ can have disastrous effects on the entire project. Come participate in this highly-interactive session as we discuss how you can prepare yourself in selecting, training, and leading your team toward a successful RFP solicitation, avoiding the all-too-common pitfalls that hinder professionalized success.
Communicating Success: Sharing Procurement Professionally
Rena Jackson
Do you feel like your customers’ expectations don’t match reality, that their anticipations are causing friction and hurting your agency’s reputation? In 2017, King County (Seattle, WA) faced these same problems, but through hard work and strategic marketing, they transformed their department from the “black hole of procurement” into a helpful partner exemplifying valuable customer resources and marketing initiatives. Be inspired in this case study-focused session, and learn how you can incorporate helpful toolsets to improve your agency’s public image while prioritizing training objectives for the most important attribute of procurement—your customers.