Opening Plenary featuring Kevin Brown
Kevin Brown
In a fresh and entertaining style, Kevin shares ideas, strategies and principles that will inspire and equip participants to show up every day and make a positive difference. At the heart of Kevin’s message is a simple, yet powerful philosophy for life that drives every thought, every action and ultimately every result we achieve both personally and professionally. Your team will be motivated to reach beyond what is required and do something remarkable!
This program is designed to help participants:
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Achieve greater results by eliminating “ordinary" thinking and mastering the habit of excellence.
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Own the moments that matter (and they all matter) by taking responsibility for their attitude, their actions and their results.
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Create meaningful relationships and deliver an extraordinary experience for every “customer” at work and at home.
Cornerstones - From Cradle to Grave: Procurement is Just the Beginning
Ricardo Zavala, MPA
In public procurement, it is critical for professionals to procure commodities correctly not only for the entity but also for the end user, who must ensure that goods and services are delivered to contract standards and ultimately meet their needs. It’s not enough, however, to simply be able to write the solicitation; you must also be able to execute and monitor the contract, ensuring that you can effectively answer any questions that might arise. Join us and explore how you can write better scopes of work, ensuring that you can monitor it alongside deliverables, desk-audits, formal onsite audits, reviewing invoices, change orders, and closeouts in this workshop-styled session.
Cooperatives - Consolidation & Leverage: How to Maximize Your Agencies Spend!
Tammy Rimes, MPA
Justin Sullivan
Rob Bezjak
Anna McClelland
Randy Fuss
A successful supplier partnership can drive savings for your agency. Learn how in this Discover how your agency can partner with companies and/or manufacturers to leverage your aggregate spend to lower pricing, maximize volume rebates and simplify ordering and oversight. This session provides insight into how to choose the right ‘partner’ and the benefits gained through a consolidated spend. Understand the strategic supplier perspective and get insight into how this can offer pricing and delivery advantages.
Construction - Creating an Effective Statement of Work for Operations & Maintenance Contracts
Jake Smithwick, PhD, MPA
Developing a clear Scope of Work (SOW) can be challenging. Some SOWs may be vague or lack critical details. Others have requirements that are overly prescriptive and can limit vendor innovation. Results from twenty years of procurement research will showcase how poor SOWs create a “tumbling dominoes” effect that brings risk to the owner. This presentation will identify the (surprisingly simple!) elements of an effective SOW. Templates for developing SOWs will be provided, along with discussion of how to increase vendor innovation during the proposal process. Tangible case studies from a variety of dining services, print, facilities / construction, and other projects will be provided.
Technology - Taking Ownership of Custom Software Purchases
Bill Davison, CPPO
This presentation will discuss procurement strategies for custom software purchases.. Strategies for getting a seat at the project team's table, developing a SOW, evaluation criteria, and project management after contract award will be discussed. Actual software projects will be used as examples. If your agency is in the process of undertaking a custom software project this presentation will benefit procurement and IT staff.
Cornerstones - Bias and Brands and Bids, Oh My! Avoiding Bias in Bids
James McGuire, MSSCM, MPA, CSCP, CSMP, CPPO, CPPB
Who can write a scope of services...or provide a specification? Who can score a bid or RFP? Who can submit or be restricted from submitting a bid or proposal? What is a brand...and what is a brand's value? How do brands affect price? Why does the public (and private) sector not bid brand? When can government bid brand? How can brand be dealt with in bid documents? With the objective to avoid bias within a procurement, this interactive session will provide attendees an understanding of what is and is not possible for actors within the bid process, a new lens for explaining why brands are and are not bid, and some techniques for dealing with brand issues within a bid or RFP. A definition for a brand will be offered and company, product and personal brands will be discussed. We'll take a quick tour of the retail world where brands and non-brands fight for attention and dollars. The session will wrap up with techniques for handling brands within a bid or RFP.
Strategic Function of Procurement - Ethics - Recognizing Fraud & Avoiding Offers You Can't Refuse
Teresa Collins, CPSM, CPSD, C.P.M.
Ireyan J. Clark-Sam, JD, L.L.M.
Public Procurement Professionals are required to perform a number of functions - including recognizing fraud and avoiding even the appearance of impropriety. The presenters weave their experiences from two case studies as their session examines egregious conduct of a mayor and a procurement officer who are both are now federal inmates. The session delves into the missed opportunities of public officials to notice and correct the conduct. Attendees will gain professional insights to develop internal controls, foster a culture that supports prevention and promote policies that enhance transparency to avoid ethical pitfalls. Procurement professionals of all experience levels will benefit from this lively and interactive session.
Leadership - Changing the View of Procurement - Practical Steps to Move Procurement from a Back-Office Function to a Strategic Business Partnership with Internal Departments
Jack Pellegrino, CPCM
The Procurement process and function is often viewed as cumbersome and something that internal departments must get through in order to acquire goods and services needed to support their missions. Changing this perception and this reality will benefit both your organization’s performance, as well as, increase procurement staff’s morale. This session will outline a road-map for changing the view of procurement from a processing function; to a value-added business advocate committed to assisting Departments secure What they need, When they need it, and At fair and reasonable prices. This session will provide specific recommendations that can improve procurement’s performance, alignment within the organization, and overall reputation.
Sustainability - Social Responsibility! Why?
Stacy Gregg, CPPO, CPPB
Joe Tommie, CPPO
Sean Carroll
Mary Sims, MBA, CPPO
Ashley Kennedy-Shell
This session is meant to be a very high level look at the Procurement Officer's look at Social Responsibility. It is meant to be a participatory session in which all participants are given the opportunity to discuss procurement's role in ensuring the supply chain is socially responsible. Should we care? What can we do? How far is our reach? What are other entities doing regarding social responsibility? What resources are available to us? While we won't be able to solve all of the challenges related to this topic, please join us as we have an open discussion about how public entities are approaching the subject daily.
Cornerstones - From Hurdle to Hero: Stop Being the Roadblock
Stacy Gregg, CPPO, CPPB
Many times, the Procurement function is seen as the hindrance between an agency user and the goods and services they need. This session discusses the differences between hurdles and roadblocks; and features a great discussion with Darin Matthews regarding how Procurement Officers may mitigate roadblocks, help stakeholders navigate hurdles, and become heroes for their entities.
Cooperatives - Cooperative Procurement: Creating a Strategy to Drive Savings and Transform Your Procurement Process
Tammy Rimes, MPA
Jeff Drury
Julie Holmes, MPA
Jack Pellegrino, CPCM
Heard about cooperative procurement, but have not really made it as part of your procurement strategy? This course is great for someone who is new to purchasing or cooperative procurement, or wants to learn more about creating a real strategy. Understand more about the history of cooperative procurement and government purchasing, discover ways that cooperative contracts can assist in your purchasing role, delineate when using a cooperative may or may not be the best idea; decipher the right questions to ask through the NCPP "Road Map to a Cooperative Procurement Strategy." Will include a panel of three current or former procurement professionals - those names/bios to be confirmed upon presentation acceptance.
Construction- Faster, Stronger, Braver Construction: Identifying and Implementing Best Practices th
Mike Bevis, CPPO, CPSM, C.P.M., CJP, DBIA
Don't miss this opportunity! Are you ready to learn the real "do's and don'ts" that can rectify savings in your JOC program? Are you ready to implement your own program and need to know how it creates savings? Are you ready for the facts from the experts at the nonprofit Center for JOC Excellence? The national non-profit and certifying JOC organization will demystify the rhetoric from vendors and provide the real options for your program in collaboration with one of the nation's leading procurement expert from Norfolk, Virginia. Don't miss this opportunity to get the resource information to implement best practices while expediting renovation and repair projects for your facilities and infrastructure. Join us to learn procurement best practices!
Technology - Technology Demonstrations: Forming the Script, Preparing the Evaluators/Participants, and Managing Demo Day!
Kristy Varda, MS, MBA, CPPO, CPPB
This session will focus on the process of technology demonstrations in your IT solicitation process. We will address concepts of:
1. Designing the demo script including workflows,
2. Evaluating the demo,
3. Getting agency evaluators or participants prepared for the demo,
4. Preparing the suppliers for the environment, and
5. Managing the demo and people attending on the day of the demonstration.
Small groups will work together to come up with examples/suggestions for each topic with guided facilitation and lecture of key take-a-ways to help you have better IT demonstrations.
Relationship Management - How Unlikely Partners Can Make You Successful: The Realized Value in a Collaborative Buyer & Supplier Relationship and Why It Matters
Dave Wetzel
Jeff Peskuski
Addressing realized value in collaborative Buyer/Supplier relationships and why they matter. How can you utilize your strategic partners to bring private sector solutions to your public agency and improve your overall value to the agency while staying in regulatory compliance? How do you effectively measure contractor/vendor performance, justify overall savings or share risk management within product or services procurements? There’s overall value to an agency when procurement, departments and vendors communicate to implement mutually beneficial solutions and you are the key.
Strategic Function of Procurement - Creativity at Work: Transforming Strategy Through Design Thinking and Innovative Labs
Carrie Mathes, MPA, CPPO, C.P.M, CFCM, CPPB, A.P.P.
Zulay Millan, CPPO, CPPB
Nury Alers
Design thinking facilitates exploring problems, inefficiencies and opportunities by soliciting collaborative input and challenging assumptions in an attempt to identify alternative strategies and solutions that might not be instantly apparent with our initial perceptions and understanding.
This session will put creativity to work! How might we use design thinking to advance innovation in Public Procurement? Join us as we share our experience developing a Procurement Innovation Lab and using design thinking strategies to cultivate solutions, build from collective experiences, and strengthen relationships with stakeholders.
Relationship Management: Supplier & Internal Stakeholders - Better Together: Forging World Class Partnerships
Marcheta Gillespie, CPPO, CPPB, C.P.M., CPM
True success in public procurement depends upon our ability to partner with our supplier community. The days of keeping our supplier community at "arms-length" are over, replaced by the need to forge strategic partnerships with industry. Through collaboration, we find new approaches to providing government service, new solutions to government challenges and new opportunities for synergy that leads to greater success. Improving our relationship with our supplier community, we improve service to the communities we serve. In this session we will discuss how to build better supplier relationships and innovative ways to leverage supplier partnerships. Includes small group discussions.
Leadership - A Boss's Nightmare: My Star Employee Stole $6M in Plain Sight
Teresa Collins, CPSM, CPSD, C.P.M.
Reflect on this true story from the uniquely close perspective of a purchasing agent/fraudster's direct supervisor. My trusted employee stole $6 million while mentored, well-liked and promoted. What procedural gaps provided such an opportunity? How did our culture enable the scheme? What steps did the agency take in response? What would I do differently? Gain personal and professional insights from the mentor of a rising star who became a federal inmate. Challenge yourself to:
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recognize when an employee or colleague might be in trouble
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enhance transparency, reporting and controls in areas you may not have thought about
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craft a culture that supports prevention
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acknowledge your unconscious bias
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trust your instincts
Cornerstones - Ethics, Conflicts and the 2 CFR 200
Jesus Amezcua, Phd, CPA RTSBA
Local governments receive federal dollars and they are required to adhere to federal standards. In addition, they must meet state and local procurement requirements. In this session, we will explore case studies and examples regarding the 2 CFR 200. We will also discuss risk assessment over federal programs and a sample procurement proposal that meets all federal, state and local requirements.
Cooperatives - Howdy, Neighbor! Regional Strategies for Procurement Collaboration
Mariel Reed
Annie Teav
Rita Parker, CPPB
Keith Glatz, CPPO
Learn about the world of cooperative purchasing from regional collaboration experts! While national purchasing cooperatives and state agencies offer valuable cooperative contracting resources, increasingly local agencies are collaborating on procurement to save time and money by working together. If you’ve been looking for creative ways to collaborate on purchasing with your neighboring jurisdictions, this session is for you! In this session, you’ll hear from three panelists about their different approaches to cooperative procurement in their region, from how they organize joint solicitations to best practices for creating and sharing cooperative contracts across a region-specific group. You’ll leave with model approaches and actionable insights that will help you collaborate better on purchasing in your region and beyond.
Construction - Saving Time, Dollars and the Super Bowl with Job Order Contracting
Joe Benjamin, CPPO, CPPB
Mike Guerra
JOC is an alternative construction procurement method that enables public agencies to complete projects efficiently and cost-effectively. Work completed through JOC are still publicly advertised and competitively bid, but a catalog of pre-priced tasks allows agencies to receive quality work without losing time to negotiations or change orders. Smaller agencies can also access JOC through cooperative purchasing methods. The City of Tampa has used the Job Order Contracting (JOC) method to complete over $10 million in small-to-midsize projects when short-staffed or on a tight schedule. Learn more about the projects the City of Tampa has completed with Job Order Contracting, why the city chooses JOC and how the city used JOC to save Super Bowl XLIII.
Strategic Function of Procurement - Breaking the Mold: A Case for Moving Away from Firm, Fixed-Price
Joe Guy, CPPB
When faced with uncertain technology advancements, poor knowledge of existing systems and infrastructure, and evolving business requirements, the standard firm, fixed-price contract model can work against you. This presentation will explore how to structure your solicitation, negotiations, contract, and project plans to allow for agility and fiscal responsibility. We will look at lessons learned from traditional and agile contract models to describe the pros and cons of each approach. You will be provided with an overview of how, when, and why a un-priced contract should be utilized, and suggested best practices to implement this solution.
Live in Zoom - Changing Perspectives - Transforming Challenges into Opportunities for Procurement
Christina Garza, PMP
Amber Holmes
Jane Newman
A lot has changed over the last couple months and government leaders have had to quickly adjust to new and unprecedented challenges. Government leaders and organizations also recognize these challenges have created opportunities to accelerate and drive transformational change within their organization. Join us as we discuss the challenges along with the State of Arizona, and learn about new initiatives that they're implementing.
Strategic Function of Procurement - Procurement Fraud: Do You Look Good in Stripes? How to Detect and Prevent Fraud in Government Contracting
Janet Hasty, CPPO, CTPM
The presentation discusses procurement fraud, including definitions, statistics, fraud perpetrator profiles, types of procurement fraud, fraud behavior red flags, and ways to detect and discourage fraud. Discussion includes real-life examples of procurement fraud cases and a short video on Rita Crundwell, the Comptroller for the City of Dixon, Illinois, who committed the single largest municipal fraud in U.S. history. Rita embezzled $53 million dollars from the City of Dixon over a 20-year period.
Leadership - Hot Off the Press: When You Can't Control the Narrative
Valerie Scott, CPPB
In 2019, the City of Longmont issued a Request for Proposals for services that had never been put out for competition. We followed our process by the book. There were cones of silence, interviews, best and final offers - all the usual suspects. Evaluators were held to (and upheld) fairness and ethics throughout. And the proposer with the highest number of points was... not the incumbent. Then, someone contacted the local newspaper before the award was final and things got colorful. This is a retrospective on defending the integrity of the procurement process under very public scrutiny, and how procurement has an opportunity to display extraordinary leadership in such times. In telling the story of this RFP process, I'll share how ethical standards, professional conduct, establishing ourselves as experts, and defending our process resulted in heightened respect for the procurement function from leadership and elected officials alike.
Sustainability - Socially Sustainable Procurement: Balancing Costs, Operational Needs and Social Sustainability Policies in Public Procurement
Sean Carroll
Susan Filburn
This session will explore the basic types of social responsibility categories (vendor diversity, environment, labor, etc.) and how to make sure social responsibility is not included in procurement at the expense of operational and financial sustainability. The session will explore procurement as a system, and sustainability as how that system survives today and in the future through the balancing of economic social and operational priorities. The final component of the session will explore how the incorporation of socio-environmental requirements into procurement can actually further the efficiency, effectiveness and ethics of individual procurements and procurement more broadly.
Cornerstones - Get Your Solicitation Right the FIRST Time: Avoid the Q&A Cycle
Janet Arrowood
Key topics addressed:
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How to keep your solicitation short and focused.
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Putting your "must have" requirements at the very beginning-this will allow potential bidders to "self-disqualify" rather than miss a key point and inundate you with questions.
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Ensuring your requirements are clear, consistent, and realistic.
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Developing and using an annotated outline and a requirements compliance table to avoid repetition, assign roles and page limits, set a schedule, and ensure completeness.
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How to "sanity check" your solicitation before posting/releasing it.
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Participants will receive a two-page "tip sheet" and a sample (blank) requirements compliance table for future reference and use.
Construction - Innovating Construction Procurement: Exploring the Use of Public Private Partnerships (P3) for Social Infrastructure
Rita Silva, CPPO
Daniel Chatlos, J.D.
Procurement professionals play a key role in an agency solving one of its most basic issues - competition for financial resources. Although alternative project delivery methods can be complex, agencies can benefit from innovation. This case study details Miami-Dade County's pursuit of a public private partnership for a courthouse in lieu of the traditional design-build method. The resulting procurement process was completed ahead of schedule and substantially below cost estimates. Join us to learn more about how a leap of faith in procurement staff paid off and how you can be prepared to discuss the P3 option at your agency.
Technology - Leveraging the EPEAT Ecolabel to Realize Sustainability Goals: A Decade of Success using EPEAT in the City of San Francisco
Janelle Jobe
Chris Geiger, Ph.D
Purchasers are frequently asked to quantify the benefits of preferring sustainable products, both in environmental and financial terms. The Green Electronics Council offers purchasers the ability to quantify the lifecycle environmental and cost savings associated with their purchase of EPEAT-registered sustainable IT products. Audience members will learn about GEC's EPEAT Benefits Calculator and the methodology and metrics used to quantify benefits and cost savings for computers, mobile phones and servers. During this session, GEC will convey ways in which agencies can utilize the calculator and provide a live demonstration of the calculation tool.
Live in Zoom: Case Study - Advocating for Digital Procurement Tools During a Global Pandemic
Omar Salaymeh
Brian Garrity, CPSM, C.P.M., CPPB
Carrie C. Roberts, NIGP-CPP, CPPO, C.P.M., CAPM
We get it—in public procurement, you’re having to do more with less. Digital tools can help, but is now the time to advocate for them? The short answer is yes. In fact, we found that 73% of public agencies are prioritizing digital procurement to ensure business continuity in these uncertain times. That’s because the right digital tools can empower procurement teams to reduce costs and drive the best value for your agency by streamlining manual tasks, increasing vendor competition, and fostering better stakeholder collaboration.Join Omar Salaymeh and Brian Garrity in this session as they dig into the ROI of digital procurement solutions. They’ll also take a look at Bonfire’s expansive database of 40,000+ North American competitive events to reveal how COVID-19 is impacting procurement teams right now—and why now is the time to advocate for the tools that will address these unprecedented challenges.
In this session, you’ll learn:
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Why public agencies’ newfound appreciation for the role procurement plays in a crisis, coupled with changing attitudes towards technology’s role in the public sector, make 2020 the perfect time to advocate for digital tools
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How to calculate the ROI of digital tools to build your business case for digitizing procurement
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Why the procurement team of the future is connected, and how the right digital procurement tools can connect procurement to stakeholders, vendors, and even procurement peers—driving best-value decisions that serve your constituents in uncertain times.
Relationship Management - Living on the Edge: How to Balance Supplier Relationships with Ethical Responsibilites - Nathan Dawson
Nathan Dawson, CPPB
Maintaining relationships with your suppliers is important, It allows for the free flow of feedback and ideas, ensuring you are obtaining the latest and greatest the market has to offer in the most efficient and effective manner possible. But how do you manage these relationships while still honoring the ethical standards of transparency, lack of bias, and a level playing field for all? This session will explore this balancing act and help you meet both sets of obligations.
Strategic Function of Procurement - Disaster Procurement Policy and Procedures
Jason Reed
Debbie Wellnitz, MBA
Gary Jayne, CSRM, CBO
Tina Yoke, CPM
With disasters continuously happening, it is crucial that public agencies are ready. For us procurement professionals, we must take the necessary procurement actions during an activated emergency receiving federal funding. Policies need to be established to comply with the federal requirements that procurements must meet in order for FEMA to reimburse eligible expenses. The presentation (which was standing room only last year in Austin) is extremely informational and creates dialogue with the audience as we discuss establishing best practices for emergency preparedness as it relates to procurement. Our group also serves as a centralized forum for public agencies to share knowledge and valuable resources in standardizing disaster procurement policies and procedures. This includes the sharing of an already adopted policy, and access to a Dropbox resource for the audience to use whether it's pulling existing documents or adding to it. We'd be honored to speak again if selected. Thank you.
Leadership - Outfitted for Leadership: (Procurement & Public Service) Lessons Learned from the Chicago Mob
Ireyan J. Clark-Sam, JD, L.L.M.
Kenneth Sam, MBA
Once regarded as the largest, most powerful criminal organization in the Midwest, the Chicago Outfit offers many leadership lessons to public procurement officials. This session delves into the responsibility, purpose, and weight of leadership using the fundamental operating principles of the Chicago Mafia as an American Corporation. Attendees will examine leadership opportunities within their organizations and employ the L. E. A. D. methodology to become outfitted for leadership.
Sustainability - Sustainability & Surplus: Reuse, Repurpose, and Regenerate
Sherry Cochran-Schmees, CPPB, CPO
Sustainability and surplus work hand in hand to change the footprint of your community. Surplus promotes the reuse and repurpose of everything such as vehicles, desks, mowers, generators etc. to keep items out of the landfill and sustain our planet. Surplus allows municipalities and/or agencies to regenerate tax payer money by repurposing. Presentation would cover the importance of surplus, the benefits to our communities not only because of sustainability but also the revenue regenerated for the community.
A Conversation with our Leaders: Challenging Procurement Issues of Today and Tomorrow
Jon Stodola
Anita Ponder
Taylor Adams, CPPO
Mike Mucha
Lourdes Coss, MPA, CPPO
A Conversation with our Leaders: Challenging Procurement Issues of Today and Tomorrow
Ethics. Leadership. Community Responsibility. These qualities are paramount to public procurement. Based on the current climate, how do you balance these effectively? How can you be innovative? How can you make a difference? How can you communicate with suppliers? What works and what does not? Get answers to these and many more pressing questions.
Cornerstones - Here Comes the Judge: Procurement in the Courtroom
Barbara Johnson, MPA, CPPO, CPPB
Lynda Allair, CPPO
Richard Pennington, CPPO, J.D., LL.M.
Carl Bonitto, CSCMP
Kristy Varda, MS, MBA, CPPO, CPPB
Live Courtroom Drama!! Join us to enjoy and learn about a case or two in public procurement history.
Your colleagues will present a case of interest including witness examination and advocating the positions of the plaintiff and the defendant.
You will witness the proceedings; listen to the arguments and then have the opportunity to ask questions before you decide which side will win the case.
Subsequently, the "Colleague" Judge will render the opinion and discuss the application of the information to your daily operations.
As time permits, a second case will be presented.
Construction - Procurement Without Rules: A Construction Case Study of Public Procurement Values and Principles in Practice
Brian Smith, MPA, CPPO, PMP
Tessa Paul, OPBC
Hear how Multnomah County brought a CMGC contractor on board from procurement through contract in 68 days under an emergency procurement. Without normal competitive processes in place, procurement professionals are faced not with "Can we do X?" but "Should we do X?” This case study uses specific decision points to illustrate the importance of the Values and Guiding Principles underlying the processes that are carried out every day but are often not visible until you get rid of the rules.
Construction - Technology Statements of Work Done Right
Brian Lines, PhD, PE
In IT projects, the work often starts with developing a statement of work long before the technology solution is even picked. Yet developing an effective Statement of Work (SOW) can be extremely challenging and labor intensive. Some SOWs may be vague and lack critical details. Other SOWs are overly prescriptive and limit vendor innovation. Ultimately, procurement agents need to be master facilitators to pull together the SOW from various users across the organization. This session will identify the elements of an effective SOW and share tangible examples from a variety of technology projects.
What you will learn:
• Identify the elements of an effective SOW
• Effectively facility the SOW develop process with internal user groups & SMEs
• Enhance the quality of your SOW by leveraging external industry expertise (for free!)
• Results from twenty years of procurement research will showcase how poor SOWs create a “tumbling dominoes” effect that brings risk to the project.
UPPCC Certification Programs Overview and Updates
Ann Peshoff, CAE, CMP
Norma Hall, FNIGP, CPPO, CPPB, CPM
Kathleen Muretti, CPPO, CPPB, CPCP
The Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO) and Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) credentials are recognized throughout the public procurement profession and demonstrate an individual's comprehensive mastery of public procurement. This session discusses the value the certifications provide to the individual and the profession as a whole. The presenters highlight the benefits and value of obtaining professional certifications; discuss certification eligibility requirements; and, identify resources to assist professionals in becoming certified. Attend this session and be one of the first to hear about the results of the most recent UPPCC Job Task Analysis project and how the exams will be changing in 2021.
Cornerstones - Compensation of Procurement Professionals - A 20-Year Trend
Mohamad Alkadry, PhD
This presentation will present detailed information about the compensation of public procurement professionals over the last 20 years. The study will include some practical information about salary benchmarks, but will also include some statistical modeling on gender and race/ethnicity pay disparities as well modeling of predictors of salaries including experience and education and other modifiable and non-modifiable factors that impact salaries.
Strategic Function of Procurement - Taking a Seat at the Table: FEMA Procurement Knowledge for Your Recovery Team
Shelley Vineyard, MBS, RTSBA
Over 80% of FEMA's Public Assistance dollars are allocated to the purchase of goods and professional services to recover/rebuild property lost to disaster. While testimonials run rampant concerning funding deobligation, the procurement department is oftentimes pulled into recovery planning much too late. Join us and learn how you can take a seat at the recovery planning table, discussing proofing your procurement processes, establishing cost reasonableness (even in a COVID-19 marketplace), application of the most restrictive procurement and contracting rules (i.e. federal vs. state. vs. local), and practical ways to meeting the Six Affirmative Steps to assure that minority-owned and women-owned businesses are afforded federal contracting opportunities. Lessons learned related to financial recovery from COVID-19 will also be shared.
Leadership - Is Everyone Paddling in the Same Direction? Building a Strategy Plan for "Rowing the Boat"
Theresa Webb, M.A., CPPO, CPPB, CPSM, C.P.M.
How do we as leaders keep everyone in our organizations focused and paddling in the same direction? It takes a lot of effort and a good plan. As leaders we often overlook the importance of building a strategic plan as an operational platform for our organizations. Building from the corporate mission, vision and core values; the strategic plan provides direction for decision making and for how the organizational resources are allocated. It is the roadmap to follow to achieve goals; the GPS that keeps everyone focused on where we are headed.
This class will take participants on a journey for building that strategy from the ground up. Participants will be provided a template they can use in their organizations to develop their own strategic plan and keep everyone rowing and striving towards focused goals.
Sustainability - Strategies for Putting Circularity Into Procurement
Josh Jacobs, LEED AP+BD&C
The entire point of sustainable purchasing is to reduce impact on the environment. Circularity is a newer term and concept that has different meanings depending upon with whom you are speaking. So what is it really, can it help you in procurement, and how do you look for it? This session will provide a means for sustainability professionals to consider circularity when evaluating products for purchase. We'll explore the benefits of selecting circular products that include a range of attributes such as reduced carbon emissions, use of renewable resources, maximization of product life and in many cases, reduced expense and waste. Join us at this session to gain a true understanding of what circularity really means and the attributes that are included in a comprehensive circularity evaluation. Then learn about tools and resources available to help procurement professionals select products that are thinking of circularity to significantly reduce environmental impact.
Cornerstones - Crowd-Sourcing Vendor Evaluations: How 2,000 organizations in PA shared their experie
Kim Bullivant
David Yarkin
This session explores how Pennsylvania figured out a way to foster sharing between 9,000 government and non-profit organizations. Learn how the state's cooperatives purchasing program COSTARS became a billion-dollar organization and is leveraging a powerful tool that gives participants essential and actionable insights into a supplier's past performance.
Cooperatives - O Canada! Pursuing a Group Buying Strategy
Maureen Sullivan, Attorney
Tammy Rimes, MPA
Chris Penny
Dave Dextraze, CET
Stephanie Dion, CPPB
Sean Crossan
While cooperative procurement has been used across the United States by public agencies for decades, it's a newer contracting tool for Canadian provinces. With recent changes in trade agreements and greater adoption by provinces, it's making a positive impact. Learn from in-the-know experts about "group buying" in Canada. Whether you are a supplier who sells to the Canadian marketplace, or a procurement professional from a Canadian entity, this session will share new insights and perspectives. (good for Canadian procurement professionals and suppliers who market to Canada)
Construction - Open Door Policies: Modifying Your Facilities Amid COVID-19
Alyssa Chapman
2020 has taken each of us on a non-stop rollercoaster ride, and state and local governments are in the front seat. Each week brings something different, and as the virus spread across America, leaders and officials are forced to make swift and consequential decisions to protect their communities. This session will review tactical modifications and improvements you can make to ensure your entities are ready to safely and responsibly open its doors to your staff and community.
Technology - The Leadership Toolbox for Technology Implementation & Adoption
Kenneth Sullivan, PhD, MBA
Technological innovation is coming at an increasing pace. Beyond just finding and selecting the right solutions and new approaches that become available, Procurement Professionals must also be able to successfully adopt and integrate these new tools and processes within their organizations, people, and business units. This session will provide the best leadership approaches to implementing new software and technologies within an organization. Key concepts taken from over 500 case studies of technology implementation and adoption will be presented. The right way to use change agents, to communicate the change, how to train, how to measure adoption, and how to minimize and manage resistance will all be discussed. Leading the adoption of innovation the right way allows the full value of a technology to be realized across the organization.
Relationship Management - Moving from Social Distancing to Virtual Team Engagement
Debra White, MBA, CPPO, CPM
Michelle Hill, MPH
The procurement professional is often tasked to manage multiple teams to achieve a common objective. This effort requires solution focused leadership and actionable strategies that will compel people to work together regardless of the setting to reach a common goal. This session will address the challenges of leading remotely, energizing teams, communication strategies between diverse groups in the mist of change and challenges. We all know that the procurement department serves many user groups and the procurement professional is expected to coordinate solutions that addresses multiple needs. If you are up to the challenge of effective team management, then this session is for you. We will address the seven “C’s” of managing teams. These stratagems will get everyone on board your project and keep them engaged. This approach is flexible and can be adjusted for both large and small procurements.
A Better Way to Shop for Everything Right Now: COVID-19 Supplies and Beyond
Britton Cronin
COVID-19 has forced government to change the way it does a lot of things, including the way it shops for goods and services. Not just personal protective equipment (PPE), medical supplies or janitorial services, either. Cities, counties, school districts and even public airports are being asked to do the impossible right now: buy a whole lot more of practically everything – from technology devices and office supplies to snacks and sporting good equipment – a whole lot faster and with a lot less money. This session will discuss 4 reasons why now is the time to explore a new way to shop for goods and services. Attendees will see a demo of an online solution built exclusively for the public sector and get the opportunity to participate in live, online Q&A.
Cornerstones - Fishing for the Root Cause
David Nash, CPPO, CPPB
Brooke Green
Procurement professionals and contract administrators are often presented with situations involving risk, either while putting a solicitation together or overseeing a contract. It can be as simple as a one-time thing or morph into a systemic event that can cause delays and disruption in the achievement of stated goals. Root cause analysis is a relatively simple technique that can enable managers to determine what happened, why and identify methods of preventing recurrence in the future. The primary goal is to prevent the same issues from appearing again during the life of the project or contract. One of the visual aids to be used in the beginning of this analysis is a fishbone diagram. This session will explore the basics of risk management and allow participants to complete an exercise using a fishbone diagram.
Presentation Summary:
By participating in this workshop, the participant will be able to:
Identify the basic risks to be evaluated in each project
Cornerstones - Effective Negotiation: The Art of Saving Face
Arden Clark, MBA, MS
This session will provide participants with an opportunity to explore and practice the verbal and non-verbal linguistic techniques conducive to face-saving across cultures and generations. Participants will learn to evaluate their own communication styles as well as those of people with whom they interact. The foundation of this exploration will be an investigation into the Japanese concepts of *Ishin-Denshin (communication of the spirit) and *Honne (internal feelings/beliefs) vs. *Tatemae (feelings/beliefs one projects to the outer world), how both can be applied in business communication and how mastery of these concepts can facilitate greater confidence and adeptness in negotiation settings.
*These concepts will be defined within the session. Definitions do not need to be added to the session description when printed, but are here for reference.
Cooperatives - Taking Your Cooperative Strategy to the Next Level
Tammy Rimes, MPA
Ronnie Barnes
Duff Erholtz
Ian Robbins
Allan McCombs
This course takes you past the basics. It's a way for your team to leverage real savings (in time and money) that cooperative procurement strategy can bring to your organization. Learn innovative procurement tactics of other agencies, unveil approaches when emergencies arise, and plan the set of questions and analysis that is needed to conform with your own policies and how to educate your own internal teams (i.e. attorney's, City Council) on the benefits of moving to a cooperative contract. This interactive session includes real examples and scenarios to help guide that decision process with audience participation. In addition, a special panel will represent all three sides of the cooperative decision - a cooperative, a supplier and a procurement professional - each side has their own perspective and insights to share. Note: The panelists will be provided at the time of acceptance - include a cooperative rep, a supplier from the NIGP Business Council and a NIGP member/procurement rep
Live in Zoom - Civic Initiatives Case Study - Designing the New Normal
Carol Wilson
Gisella Higgins
Abdoul Kabaou
Dustin Lanier, CPPO
Procurement's Role in the New Normal: A Panel Discussion of Procurement Leaders Through Initial Response and Transition to a Sustainable Operating Model.
A panel discussion of Procurement Leaders on their efforts to work with staff to capture the impact and effect of COVID response to a new sustainable operating model.
Technology -The Procurement Department of Tomorrow … Today!
Blake Skiles, CPPB, CPPM, CPP, CPC
Randy Barker, CPPO, CPPB
Today’s technology offers many possibilities for public purchasing. Williamson County recognized the opportunities and set the bar high: our goal was to improve everyday by capturing and learning from our procurement and performance metrics. In this workshop we discuss how technology helped to change our administrative purchasing department into a more strategical office. We have increased transparency, efficiency and vendor participation, while we decreased vendor inquiries!
Relationship Management - Be the Change: Sometimes You ARE the Change Agent You Need
Rebecca Kee, CPPO, CPPB
Amongst the many hats that procurement professionals wear in our organizations, change agent is one that is worn often. Procurement professionals must often drive changes in our organizations and, whether we like it or not, our success depends on our ability to manage change. Possessing some basic change management skills is an integral part of a successful procurement department. This session is designed to discuss the skills and common methodologies that create positive long lasting change.
Cornerstones - Everything You need to Know About Supplier Diversity Programs
Colette Holt, JD
The presentation will present the legal standards governing disadvantaged/minority/women/small/veteran owned business programs and why such understanding is crucial to protect to agency while providing benefits to diverse suppliers; what are the recent litigation trends; what are best program practices; and tips for implementation and conducting disparity studies.
Cornerstones - Breached!!! Procurement In-[cyber]-security
John Adler, CPPO
Dr. Rosemerie A. Pelletier
Jan Siderius
The team that developed the global best practice on Cybersecurity for Procurement will relate actual and ongoing cyber security incidents. Hear their stories and participate in discussions on how Procurement could contribute to mitigation and response.
Strategic Function of Procurement - How to Buy Something that Hasn’t Been Invented: Engaging the Start-Up Community to Create Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Mike Bevis, CPPO, CPSM, C.P.M., CJP, DBIA
The City of Norfolk is joining jurisdictions across the nation to modernize their government, advancing economic development and fostering a "can-do" culture through innovative procurement. Through its Startup in Residence program, Norfolk has streamlined procurement to reduce the time it takes to respond to an RFP dramatically and made procurement more inclusive and attracting to innovators from around the world. Join us as we discuss how the city fostered this can-do, innovators-welcome attitude, exploring how collaborative periods resulted in unprecedented growth in this unique, case-study driven session.
Leadership - Overcoming Challenges of Change Management in a Regulated Environment
Christin Webb, MBA, CPPB
Change management is a key skill necessary for navigating individual, team, and organizational enhancements. Integrated with regulated environments and the task can sometimes seem more challenging. This session explores critical technical and non-technical components to effectively managing change in a regulated environment.
Participants attending this session will:
1. Understand what change management and its history
2. Understand why change management is important to key personnel and government procurement
3. Understand key focuses to achieve effective change management
Closing Plenary with Marilyn Sherman
Marilyn Sherman
It’s hard to lead front-row teams when you’re stuck in the balcony. It’s frustrating to lead a team when you’ve lost your leadership mojo! Everyone needs some motivation and inspiration to breakthrough to the next level. You are not alone. You know you can accomplish more with an energized, motivated team. With the Front-Row Leadership™ presentations by Marilyn Sherman, the keynote speaking topics, will allow you to discover the secrets that high performers use to be in the front-row. You’ll be able to accomplish more results, achieve bigger goals, and overcome fears and insecurities that don’t serve you or your team. Call today to discuss having Marilyn Sherman motivate, inspire and usher you to your front-row!