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Colorado Procurement News

December, 2024

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

From the CPO

I'd like to thank Terry Hindsman and Sherry Ford for their service on the Executive Procurement Advisory Council! I appreciate their feedback on behalf of the higher education community. 

As we previously announced, Terry Hindsman was elected to another term, and Stacy Tino and Molly McLoughlin were also elected to join the council. Their terms began on December 1st, and I look forward to working with them.

Happy Holidays (however you celebrate),

Sherri Maxwell, CPPB
Chief Procurement Officer

2024 Excellence in Procurement Award

The Excellence in Procurement Award is given out by the Chief Procurement Officer each fall, and recognizes outstanding achievement within the Colorado procurement community. Nominations are sought for procurement professionals who deserve special recognition, and are open to both state agencies and institutions of higher education.

This year we had seven outstanding nominees, each a state procurement professional who is doing outstanding work. The Executive  Procurement Advisory Council (Exec PAC) is responsible for the very difficult task of choosing just one winner, and this year it is... Ion Cotsapas from the Department of Natural Resources! As the Procurement Official for Natural Resources, Ion is known to his staff and colleagues as experienced and knowledgable, and someone who remains calm and level-headed in any situation. Congratulations, Ion!

You can read the nominations and watch Sherri announce the winner here. 

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

• Mathew Bailis from the Department of Transportation
• Kathy Chang from the Department of Agriculture
• Ion Cotsapas from the Department of Natural Resources
• Nathan Manley from the Department of Personnel and Administration
• Jennifer Risley from the Department of Revenue
• Jenny Sigler from the Department of Revenue, and 
• Elizabeth Wills from the Department of Education

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

As a reminder, all past nominations and winners can be viewed on the Procurement Advisory Council webpage.

Accessibility Updates to Contract and Solicitation Templates

The OSC has updated seven additional contract templates and special attachments, which meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1, levels A and AA criteria. They can be located on the Central Contracts Unit Contract and Grant Forms webpage.

Updated documents:

• Interagency Agreement
• Interagency Short Form
• Intergovernmental Agreement
• Information Technology Provisions Exhibit
• Contract Federal Provisions Exhibit
• Federal Tax Information Exhibit
• Model HIPAA BAA

The IT Contract template is being revised and will be updated for accessibility after revisions are completed.

Please refer to the final Accessibility and Contract and Grant Templates policy, which went into effect on 12/1/2024.

In addition, we have also updated all of our solicitation templates to meet the same accessibility criteria. They are available on our Procurement Resources webpage under "Solicitation Templates."

Canary for State Price Agreements

The State Purchasing & Contracts Office has launched a supplier performance management tool called Canary for State Price Agreements!

With Canary for State Price Agreements, you can now provide feedback on the suppliers that you’ve worked with! Similar to Yelp or TripAdvisor, you’re able to submit ratings and reviews that are visible to fellow procurement professionals and suppliers. 

Everyone who can use State Price Agreements can also use Canary- both to contribute reviews and to read the reviews written by other users. This includes all state agencies, institutions of higher education, local governments, and certified nonprofits. Suppliers can see the reviews written about them. 

Please visit and bookmark our Canary for State Price Agreements webpage. In addition to the link to Colorado’s Canary portal and more information, we also have a recorded user demonstration of Canary, along with the slides. 

When you’re ready, please take a few minutes to share your feedback on suppliers you have worked with. Please note that you will be prompted to register on Procurated before submitting your first review. This verifies that you are an approved price agreement user, so please use your work email address to register.

If you have questions about State Price Agreements, please contact john.chapman@state.co.us. If you have questions about the Canary platform, please contact Jenny Doherty at jenny@procurated.com.

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.

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.

Did You Know?

We've reorganized the Contract & Grants Forms webpage, and contract templates and modification tools are now listed separately from those used for grants. Please note the blue headers titled "Contract Templates & Modification Tools" and "Grant Agreement Templates".

Questions about contracts should be sent to the CCU contracts specialist assigned to your agency. Questions about grants should be sent directly to the Grants Unit.

Live Procurement Training

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

Controller Pre-Delegation Training
2/20/2025 | 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Register

Contract Drafting Boot Camp
1/16/2025 | 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
• Cooperative Purchasing - 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 Scopes of Work (SOW)
• Challenge Based Procurement,
• Fundamentals of Project Management, 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: Jeanette Stroud

Title: Deputy Procurement Director

Organization: Department of Natural Resources

Tell us a little bit about your background:I was born in Boulder County and grew up in Niwot, CO. My family have always been active in outdoor recreation, so my childhood was filled with all sorts of outdoor adventures. My father is an avid mountain biker and advocate for trail building and open space, and my mother is a skilled rock climber. As a kid I competed in mountain bike competitions and I redpointed my first climb when I was 10. I moved around CO a bit after highschool, but eventually landed in Denver, where I attended Metropolitan State University and earned a Bachelors in the Arts focusing on Journalism and Political Science. College was a great time for me - I found a passion for both writing and political philosophy there. I currently live in Thornton with my 8-year-old son, two pups and my husband. We enjoy riding our bikes, hiking, and paddle boarding. During the colder months, I love to curl up with a hot cup of tea and read a good historical fiction novel or do a puzzle.

How long have you been with your current organization? Four years in January!

How did you get into the procurement field? My experience in sourcing laid a great foundation for understanding the basic principles of purchasing, and my project management experience played well into the tasks and responsibilities required of a State Purchasing Agent. I never imagined I would someday be in a position to help implement public policy though purchasing - it is something I am super proud of!

Did you work in other professions, and if so where and for how long? Yes - it is kind of all over the place so bear with me here! 

When I graduated from Metro I worked for 303 Magazine as the Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief. The majority of my time with that publication was spent doing concert and restaurant reviews, entertainment pieces, and editorial work. When the magazine went digital I continued writing as a blogger and started working for a Chiropractor in Denver as a Community Outreach Specialist part time. At some point, a friend pointed me in the direction of a temp staffing company, where I worked as a manager for about three years. From there, I moved to a project management position with a soft goods company. It was a start-up that made reusable totes.  At that company, I got my first taste of purchasing as I moved from Project Manager into a Sourcing Manager position, which required purchasing textiles and finished goods from domestic suppliers as well as suppliers in China and Jordan, and paved the way for where I am today.

Please share a professional or personal accomplishment you’re proud of: Professionally, I take a lot of pride in where I have been, and where I landed. Looking back,  I feel like I have rebooted my career (at least) three times. My writing career seemed to hit a dead end with the advent of the digital age, and the soft goods company I was with went under in 2019. Each time I have hit a wall with my professional development I have pivoted - and each time I have found something new and even better further down the road. I had pretty much given up hope in using my degree in my career at some point along the way - but now I get to use both my writing and political science knowledge in my work, and this is something I hang my hat on.

Tell us something interesting and unique about yourself: In addition to the writing I did at 303 Magazine, I blogged for an online music resource called Listen Here Denver! for a while. Not only did I get to go to a ton of great concerts working for these two publications, but I also got to interview and interact with many musical artists - it was an inspirational and exhilarating time.

State Price Agreement Updates

• There are a number of solicitations for price agreement portfolios that have recently closed  including Police Body Armor (11/5)  Envelopes (11/12), Janitorial and Paper Products (11/19), and Laundry Warewash (12/4). Please contact John Chapman with any questions. 
• NASPO ValuePoint recently published a solicitation for Cloud and Software Solutions. SPCO plans to participate in this portfolio and execute multiple Participating Addenda once awards are made. Please contact Theresa Fraijo for more information.
• The revised solicitation for Advertising and Marketing Services will be posted soon. Please contact Brian Swift if you are interested in participating or providing input for that solicitation, or if you have any questions. 
• The SPCO has begun negotiations with vendors in the recently-announced NASPO Valuepoint portfolio for Grounds Maintenance Equipment. You can reach out to Mandy Zila with any questions. 
• New agreements have been executed with Fastenal and MSC, and negotiations are ongoing with other Facilities MRO vendors. The Price Agreement website will be updated and communications will be sent as new agreements are executed. Reach out to Brian Swift for more information.
• The current agreements for Procurement Acquisition Services have been extended through May 31, 2025. NASPO ValuePoint and the lead state of Hawaii also hope to announce additional information about the re-solicitation of this category very soon. Please contact Mandy Zila with any questions. 
• Multiple new agreements were executed in October, including agreements with Toshiba and Lexmark for Copiers, as well as Bridgestone for Tires. You can contact the listed Price Agreement Administrator for more information

• The agreement with McKesson for medical supplies has been extended to 12/31/2026. Additionally, the agreement with Emergent Devices for Naloxone has been extended through October 31, 2025. Contact Amy Risley if you have questions about either of these agreements.

• Additional awards have been made for model year 2025 fleet vehicles. Please reach out to Amy Risley for additional information about this category.

• Multiple new agreements have been signed in the Facilities MRO portfolio, including agreements with Grainger, Global Equipment, and Lawson Supply. Contact Brian Swift for more information.