View as a webpage  /  Share

Colorado Procurement News

October, 2023

News for the Statewide Procurement Community from the State Purchasing and Contracts Office

From the CPO

I'm very proud of the valuable outreach the SPCO does with state agencies, institutions of higher education, local governments, nonprofits, and vendors. Because it is such an important aspect of our work, I'd like to start sharing it with the statewide procurement community, so we'll start highlighting it in our newsletter. See below for highlights from our participation in the Veterans Small Business Conference and Denver's Multicultural Business Series: The Hispanic Advantage!

Sincerely,

Sherri Maxwell, CPPB
Chief Procurement Officer

Excellence in Procurement Award

It’s time for the 2023 Excellence in Colorado Procurement Award! This award is given out each fall, and recognizes outstanding achievement within the Colorado procurement community. 

Nominations are currently being sought for procurement professionals who deserve special recognition, and are open to both State Agencies and State Institutions of Higher Education. Please nominate a state procurement colleague you think deserves special recognition. Results will be shared via video, where nominations will be read aloud before the winner is announced.

Who is eligible to be nominated? Anyone who works in state procurement!

Nominations are due by 5:00 pm on Wednesday October 18, 2022. Please ensure your nomination is 400 words or less and submit here.

SPCO Outreach

The 2023 Veterans Small Business Conference was held last month in Aurora. This premier event, which was held nationwide, featured speakers, training sessions and exhibitors focused on entrepreneurial veterans and their families.

Barb Musick, our Supplier Diversity Liaison, was on hand to pass out our 'How to do Business with the State' guides and answer questions. If your organization would like to participate next year, visit their website to sign up for email alerts.

Denver's Multicultural Business Series, produced by the University of Colorado Denver Business School in partnership with XL Edge, focuses on advancing the practice of diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education, business, and government. The SPCO attended this event, which focused on The Hispanic Advantage: Why the Latinx Market is Pivotal to Your Organization's Success.  If you're interested in learning more about the series, visit their website. 

REMINDER: Accessibility & Procurement

As the State's accessibility standards continue to evolve, its important that we all stay up-to-date on the latest developments. OIT, who is responsible for these standards, has a webpage dedicated to Accessibility for Procurement. They also publish a monthly accessibility newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. 

Accessibility requirements are also included in the SPCO's solicitation and contract templates.

Did You Know?

Are you familiar with GovWin? It is a free market research tool for government entities!

GovWin aids procurement professionals in leveraging best practices of solicitations and terms/conditions used by other government organizations in contracting.

• Provides a searchable database of hundreds of thousands of federal, state, and local government solicitations as well as historical contracts and associated documents.
• Includes 1.9 million profiles of companies to find and qualify bidders and examine their track record in contracting at the federal, state, local & education (SLED) level.

To create your FREE account, visit the GovWin website and follow these three easy steps:

1. Click the "Login" button on the upper right hand corner of the screen,
2. Navigate to New GovWin User, and click "Yes" when it asks if your company has a subscription, and
3. Fill out the "Request GovWin Access" form with your own information and click "Submit Request".

GovWin provides technical support on their Contact Us page if you need it.

Live Procurement Training

These training courses are currently being offered via Zoom. Visit the SPCO Procurement Training page for more information. 

Statutory Violations Prevention
11/14/2023 | 1:30pm - 3:00pm
Register
1/9/2023 | 1:30pm - 3:00pm
Register

Controller Pre-Delegation Training
11/21/2023 | 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Register
2/20/2023 | 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Register

Contract Drafting Boot Camp
12/28/2023 | 8:00am - 3:00pm
Register
4/25/2023 | 8:00am - 3:00pm
Register

COPROU Procurement Learning Library

These training courses are available to State procurement professionals through the Colorado Procurement University (COPROU). Visit the SPCO Procurement Training page for more information. 

Basic Procurement Certification

• Foundations of State Procurement 
• Methods of Source Selection 
• Ethics and Conflicts of Interest
• Overview of Commitment Documents 
• Statutory Violations and Unauthorized Purchases 

Procurement Official Series

• Procurement Official Training  
• Protests and Appeals Processes  

Purchasing Certification

• Documented Quotes - Coming Soon!

Contact thomas.wilson@state.co.us with questions about training. 

Reminder: All NASPO-designed

Procurement U courses are now free!

The National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) offers all of their Foundational Procurement courses for free! 

Visit Procurement U to view the course offerings, which include:

• Introduction to Market Research
• Building a Sustainable Purchasing Program
• How to Protect Your Data, and more!

You can create a free Procurement U account and sign up for these courses here. Note that most Procurement U courses are self-paced, so you can start them at any time.

Questions? Email procurementu@naspo.org.

Name: Venessa Huynh

Title: Central Contracts Specialist

Organization: State Purchasing & Contracts Office

Tell us a little bit about your background:  I grew up south of Denver and went to university and law school at DU. In my free time, I enjoy traveling and exploring new places with my spouse and dogs.

How long have you been with your current organization? I've been with the State Purchasing & Contracts Office for about four months, but have been with the State for over three years. 

How did you get into the procurement field? I started in Grants and Contracts at the University of Colorado Anschutz and then came to the State for a hybrid Contracts/Purchasing role.

Did you work in other professions, and if so where and for how long? I spent many years (high school through law school) working in the hospitality and service industry, I’m very proud of the customer service and de-escalation skills that I cultivated there. Right out of law school, I practiced for a very short time at a soul destroying collections law firm before quickly departing for higher education/government.

Please share a professional or personal accomplishment you're proud of:  I solo-traveled for 6-months circumnavigating the globe with nothing but a backpack.

Tell us something interesting and unique about yourself: For a couple of years, my spouse and I were hobbyist beekeepers!

State Price Agreement Updates

• A 5% cost increase has been approved to all car, truck, and van rentals under the agreement with Enterprise and National for Automobile Rentals. You may contact Nikki Pollack for more information. 

• A new agreement has been signed with Mile High Shooting Accessories for Law Enforcement Ammunition. Reach out to Nikki Pollack with any questions. 

• Negotiations with vendors for new agreements for Security and Fire Protection Services are ongoing. Contact Mandy Zila for more information. 

• The SPCO has released a solicitation for Toner. Contact Brian Swift with any questions.

• All Computer Equipment agreements have been extended through January 31, 2024 as we continue to negotiate new participating addenda. Contact Theresa Fraijo with any questions.