News for the Statewide Procurement Community from the State Purchasing & Contracts Office
From the CPO
Last week I had the opportunity to participate as a judge in the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) 'Supply Chain Case Competition' in Raleigh, North Carolina. Designed to combine real-world application with classroom learning for undergraduate students, this competition challenged participants to research, develop and present a strategic plan to evaluate and monitor a supplier diversity program. It was a great opportunity for the students, and left me and the other judges excited about the next generation of procurement professionals.
 Sherri Maxwell, Howard University student team with their professor/coach, and Peter Korolyk, CPO of the State of Delaware.
 Sherri Maxwell, University of Kansas student team with their professor/coach, and Peter Korolyk, CPO of the State of Delaware.
 Sherri Maxwell, University of West Florida student team with their professor/coach, and Peter Korolyk, CPO of the State of Delaware.
We're also currently accepting nominations for the 2024 Excellence in Procurement Award, and for three positions on the Executive Procurement Advisory Council (Exec PAC)- please see below for more information and links.
Sincerely,
Sherri Maxwell, CPPB
Chief Procurement Officer
2024 Excellence in Procurement Award Nominations
It's time for the Excellence in Colorado Procurement Award, given each fall in recognition of 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 4:00 pm on Wednesday, October 16, 2024. Please ensure your nomination is 300 words or less.
Use this link to submit your nomination.
Executive Procurement Advisory Council (Exec PAC) Nominations
Nominations are also being sought for three positions on the Executive Procurement Advisory Council (Exec PAC):
- A 4-Year IHE elected position currently held by Sherry Ford
- A 2-Year IHE elected position currently held by Terry Hindsman
- A Group II non-IHE elected position which is currently vacant
Anyone can submit a nomination, but only Procurement Officials will be allowed to vote. The voting results will be shared by email.
Nominations will be accepted until 4:00 Wednesday, October 16th. The SPCO will confirm with any nominated Procurement Official that they are willing to be placed on the voting ballot.
Use this link to submit your nomination.
Updates From the Statewide Equity Office
The following is from DPA's Statewide Equity Office (SEO). If you have any questions or need more information, please contact them as directed below.
The Colorado Supplier Diversity Navigator has been busy helping businesses navigate the State procurement process. Types of information requests relate to availability of opportunities to include where the business may find procurement opportunities within State agencies, bond assistance, solicitation response procedures and best practices, available certifications, and business support (access to capital, training, etc).
As a reminder, please consider adding the following language to your solicitation documents to inform respondents of available SEO resources. This language has been 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.
Procurement Training Update
The SPCO is currently working on two training projects:
- An in-depth course on cooperative purchasing that will be part of our online purchasing certificate for procurement agents. We hope to make this course available by the end of the calendar year.
- An on-demand replacement for the SPCO’s Contract Drafting Bootcamp. Once completed, this course will be available through your agency’s LMS, similar to the new Statutory Violations training that we rolled out earlier this year. It will be delivered in two parts, one covering Terms & Conditions, the other covering Statements of Work. Keep an eye out for more details in the coming months.
We recently completed the Basics of Cooperative Purchasing course, for agencies to share on their own intranets. Please contact your procurement official for more information!
Questions about procurement training should be sent to thomas.wilson@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.
|
