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Colorado Procurement News

May, 2024

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

From the CPO

Instead of Price Agreement Week, this year we're having Price Agreement Month! In August we'll be in-person in Glenwood Springs and Denver, as well as online to ensure as many people as possible can join us. We're still finalizing the agenda, but see below for more details on dates and locations, as well as a survey where you can let us know what you'd like to be included. I hope to see you at one of the events!

Sincerely,

Sherri Maxwell, CPPB
Chief Procurement Officer

Price Agreement Month

Mark your calendar and join us in-person or online! We'll be at Morgridge Commons in Glenwood Springs on Tuesday, August 6th and at the PPA Event Center in Denver on Wednesday, August 21st. We are also holding an online event on Wednesday, August 28th. 

What is Price Agreement Month? It's your chance to learn more about these statewide contracts as we not only cover the basics of cooperative purchasing, but also take a deep dive into some of our most popular contract categories.

Who should attend? If you make purchases for a program, have a pcard, or work in procurement (purchasing and/or contracts!) for the state, an institution of higher education, local government, or a certified nonprofit, these events are a great chance to learn and ask questions!

Are all three events covering the same information? Yes. This year we are offering the same content on three different days, to make sure as many people as possible can attend and learn with us.  

We're still working on the agenda, and this is your chance to let us know what you'd like to have included. Please complete this survey by Friday, May 17th and we'll share more details soon!

2024 Rising Star Award

The Chief Procurement Officer gives the Rising Star Award each spring to recognize and honor those who are early in their state procurement careers but have already shown great potential and growth. Nominations are sought for procurement professionals who are within their first two years of procurement or state procurement and deserve this special recognition, and are open to state agencies and higher education institutions.

This year, we received 19 nominations for 11 procurement professionals who are doing outstanding work. The Executive Procurement Advisory Council (Exec PAC) had the difficult task of choosing just one winner, and this year it is... Klay Tolleson from the Department of Natural Resources! Klay, a purchasing agent, is known to his colleagues as enthusiastic, smart, and a fast learner - as well as someone they can count on. Congratulations, Klay!

Please visit our Exec PAC webpage to view the "Award Ceremony" video and to read the full compilation of nominations.

We'd also like to recognize the other nominees, each of whom is truly making a difference with their work: 

• Percy Kline, Department of Public Safety
• Delaney McGinn, Department of Agriculture
• Jia Mirabal, Department of Human Services
• Melissa Ortiz, Department of Labor & Employment
• Jennifer Risley, Department of Revenue
• Jamie Robledo, Governor's Office of Information Technology
• Rebecca Rowley, Department of Health Care & Financing
• Spencer Schor, Department of Natural Resources
• Ronald Simaneongkalit, Department of Corrections
• Natalie Stepanova, Department of Early Childhood

Congratulations to Klay, and thank you to all of the nominees for everything you do for the State of Colorado!

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.

The Statewide Equity Office of Supplier Diversity has resources available to any vendors responding to solicitations.  Please consider adding the following language to your solicitation documents to inform respondents of these resources.  This language is being added to the statewide solicitation templates as well. Questions should be directed to David.Musgrave@state.co.us.     

Vendor Assistance: Any vendors needing support responding to solicitations may contact the Colorado Supplier Diversity Navigator at the Statewide Equity Office of Supplier Diversity. Services provided include assistance with responding to solicitations, interpretation of solicitation documents, technical assistance referrals, availability of resources, and bond assistance through the Construction Statewide Bond Assistance Program. The office can be reached during normal business hours by calling 303-866-5765 or emailing DPA_SupplierDiversityHelp@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.

Did You Know?

The SPCO provides resources for Invitations to Negotiate (ITNs) on COPROU, our Learning Management System. In addition to the SPCO's most up-to-date ITN template, you can also download an evaluation plan, planning worksheet, vendor notification templates, and more. To access these resources, log into COPROU, then visit "Learning Library" and choose the "ITN Documents" course.

Live Procurement Training

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

Statutory Violations Prevention
The SPCO has rolled out a new training on Statutory Violations for program staff, which agencies are providing in their own LMS. The training is available for all executive branch employees to take when it is convenient for them and will provide agencies with better oversight and transparency. Please contact your agency controller with any questions.

Controller Pre-Delegation Training
5/21/2024 | 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Register

Contract Drafting Boot Camp
8/22/2024 | 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 

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:

• Facilitating a Bid Opening
• Four Strategies for Effecting Change in Government Agencies
• 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: Shayne Cumine

Title: Director of Procurement and Contracts

Organization: Department of Early Childhood

Previous Procurement Spotlight: September, 2022

Years worked in State Procurement: Twelve

Tell us about your current role: I work for the Department of Early Childhood as the first procurement director in the agency’s history. We began to handle our own procurement and contracts on October 1, 2024 after taking over from our wonderful partners at CDHS.

What is your favorite thing about this role? My favorite part is knowing that the work I am doing directly impacts kids, families, and their caregivers across the state. One of the reasons I was interested in this role is it has a personal element to me as I have a 3 year old daughter who will be going to preschool next year!

How did your previous experience prepare you for this new role? I was fortunate to have great teachers at CDOT who taught me the ins and outs of procurement and contracting. This knowledge was then supplemented by my time working at CDLE under Renee Kennedy who is an outstanding teacher and procurement official. Managing several teams under Renee, I learned so much about utilizing the facets of the procurement code and rules to our advantage, increasing competition and savings for CDLE while also making our contracts and solicitations more accessible and equitable.  It was also my first foray into being an acting procurement official, something I enjoyed and wanted to do more of.

What's your secret talent that no one knows about? I can recite all spoken lines from the movie Braveheart.

State Price Agreement Updates

• Theresa Fraijo will be out on extended leave beginning May 20th through at least June 28th. In her absence, please direct any questions regarding IT-related price agreements to John Chapman. 

• A number of new IT state price agreements have been recently signed. Please reach out Theresa Fraijo (until May 20th) or John Chapman with any questions.
• Knowledge Services- IT Vendor Managed Services
• Lenovo Global Technology- Computer Equipment (Servers and Storage)
• Lenovo United States- Computer Equipment (Personal Computer Devices)
• Panasonic- Computer Equipment (Personal Computer Devices)
• Howard Technologies- Computer Equipment (Personal Computer Devices)

• We are still negotiating a number of other IT-related price agreements that should be complete no later than the end of the Fiscal year. These include agreements with Mythics (for Oracle goods and services), Lumen, and NetApp. Again, you can contact Theresa Fraijo (until May 20th) or to John Chapman for more information.

• Other agreements recently signed or nearing completion include:
• Thomas Scientific- Laboratory Equipment and Supplies- managed by Amy Risley
• Corporate Travel Management North America, Inc (CTM)- Travel Management Services- managed by Nikki Pollack
• Liftnow- Vehicle Lifts and Garage Associated Equipment- managed by Mandy Zila
• Axon Enterprise, Inc- Public Safety Video Systems (including Police Body Cameras)- managed by Brian Swift

• SPCO is developing solicitations for two new price agreement categories. Please reach out to the individuals named below if you are interested in helping to develop either of these solicitations or if you have any questions. 
• Disaster Remediation & Property Restoration Services - led by Brian Swift
• Motor Vehicle and Driving Records Checks- led by Amy Risley

• The solicitation to refresh the Advertising and Marketing portfolio closed on May 7th. Contact Brian Swift if you have any questions.

• The Fiscal Rule Waiver to use Purchase Orders in lieu of contracts for orders under the Temporary Personnel Services price agreement portfolio was renewed and is valid through April 30th, 2027, the full term of the category.