News for the Statewide Procurement Community from the State Purchasing & Contracts Office
From the CPO
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Procurement Month Training Challenge! 46 procurement professionals from across the state completed all of the required training courses. The agencies who were best represented were the Department of Natural Resources with eleven and the Department of Transportation with eight. Procurement training is one of my highest priorities and I love to see this participation! Remember- state procurement staff are able to access all of the courses at anytime within COPROU, our LMS, and I encourage everyone to review them at least once a year.
In other training news, I'm excited to share that Price Agreement Week will be making a return later this year! We're putting together both in-person and virtual events, and will share more information soon.
Sincerely,
Sherri Maxwell, CPPB
Chief Procurement Officer
Congratulations to Nikki Pollack, State Procurement Administrator, on her successful national kickoff meeting! Colorado leads the Copiers & Multi-Function Device (MFD) portfolio on behalf of the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) ValuePoint cooperative, managed by Nikki. These contracts can be used by all US states, US territories, Canada (new), local governments, school districts, water boards, and non-profits as states allow. In fact, most of the US uses Colorado's MFD contracts and 235 participating addenda were executed under the previous portfolio, which Nikki also led. From 2019 - 2023, there was $1.5 billion in spend! Per NASPO staff, "the year over year spend increase is a testament to Nikki building a comprehensive contract." Nikki has spent about two years soliciting and contracting for the new portfolio and is ahead of schedule.
Nikki consistently receives positive feedback on her outstanding performance in this category, both from the vendors she works and the other states who utilize the contracts.
"Nikki did an incredible job hosting the rollout webinar for the new Multi-Function Devices portfolio... truly exceeded my expectations! She brought a perfect blend of professionalism, energy, and expertise to the table, making the session not only informative but genuinely enjoyable. Plus, her positive and friendly attitude made everyone feel welcome, encouraging us to ask questions and really get into the discussion. I walked away from the session with a much clearer understanding of how the proposals were evaluated and awarded, as well as all the benefits that the new agreements provide."
-Steven Berg, South Dakota Procurement Director
Thank you, Nikki, for all of your hard work!
Updates From the Statewide Equity Office
The following is from DPA's Statewide Equity Office. If you have any questions or need more information, please contact them as directed below.
Maximizing Opportunities for Small and Diverse Businesses
Did you know Procurement Rule R-24-103-901 directs procurement officials and agents to maximize opportunities for small and diverse businesses? Don’t know where to get started? The Statewide Equity Office’s supplier diversity team is here to help!
On our newly launched supplier diversity web pages, you’ll find information on:
- Diversifying your supply chains
- Finding small and diverse suppliers
- Doing business with the State of Colorado (ACCESSColorado)
- Accessing capital
- Receiving bond assistance
- Certifications for small and diverse businesses
- And more
Procurement Help Desk
The Colorado Supplier Diversity Navigator connects small and diverse businesses with the resources to be successful in State contracts and procurement. Its no-cost services include helping suppliers respond to solicitations, finding availability of opportunities, and navigating partner resources.
Please Note: Colorado Supplier Diversity Navigator assistance does not imply guidance that will give a respondent an unfair advantage when answering a solicitation. We will always direct suppliers to procurement agents (when appropriate).
Bond Assistance
The Statewide Bond Assistance Program (SBAP) helps historically underutilized small and diverse suppliers understand the surety bond process, secure surety bonding, and increase contracting with the State of Colorado.
SBAP partners with a bond administrator to provide surety bonds and offset all or part of the cost of obtaining a surety bond.
Statewide Communities of Practice
We have two Statewide Communities of Practice for procurement and construction launching in May. These communities will provide feedback on the supplier diversity team’s strategies and goals. For more information, please contact Statewide Equity Manager of Supplier Diversity, David Musgrave (David.Musgrave@state.co.us).
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.
|
