Colorado Department of Personnel & Administration

Colorado Procurement News | September 2025

Colorado Department of Personnel & Administration sent this bulletin at 09/09/2025 09:00 AM MDT

Colorado Procurement News

September, 2025

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

From the CPO

This summer has marked big steps forward in our commitment to procurement training and professional development. With the launch of our new procurement training policy, we're strengthening the foundation for consistent learning across the state. We're also in the process of transitioning all of the CCU trainings from live Zoom sessions to an on-demand format, making it easier to access training when it fits your schedule. And that's just the beginning - more online courses are currently in development to provide you with even more tools and resources to grow your procurement expertise.

And don't forget, Procurement Officials- Contract Management training reporting is due by September 30th!

Sincerely,

Sherri Maxwell, CPPB
Chief Procurement Officer

SPCO Staffing Updates

Many exciting changes are happening at the SPCO! Theresa Fraijo is our new Strategic Sourcing Specialist, the first position of its kind in our office. Theresa will work towards creating more consistent processes for the State Price Agreements, particularly in market research and utilizing data to determine which agreements to use.

We are also excited to announce Amanda Carroll as the new Central Contracts Unit Manager! With her knowledge and experience, we're confident she will thrive and lead the team to continued success.

Congratulations, Theresa and Amanda!

Finally, a very heartfelt thank you to John Chapman, who stepped in as Acting CCU Manager, taking on two jobs without complaint. Thank you, John!

NASPO REACH 2025

We were honored that Colorado hosted NASPO REACH in July. This annual conference leverages the collective experience of state procurement staff from all US states and territories, offering opportunities for networking, learning best practices, and exploring innovative approaches to public procurement. Attendees were able to engage with other members, creating connections and building networks. Chief Procurement Officer and NASPO President-Elect Sherri Maxwell kicked off the conference with a warm Colorado welcome, accompanied by a video from Governor Polis thanking attendees for leading state procurement efforts.

John Chapman, Brian Swift, Tammy Lichvar, and Theresa Fraijo participating in the Western Regional Session.

Updated Contract and Grant Templates

Updated contract and grant templates are now available on the State Purchasing & Contracts Office website. These templates have been remediated and also revised to align with the new Office of the State Controller policy regarding accessibility that went into effect on August 6, 2025. Please see below for a complete list.

Agencies should begin using these updated versions immediately for all new agreements.

Agencies should direct any contract-related questions to their assigned Central Contracts Unit Specialist. Questions about grant templates should go to the OSC Grants Team.

Contract Templates

Interagency Agreement
Interagency Short Form
Personal Services Contract
Intergovernmental Agreement
Main Task Order Contract

Contract Modification Tools

Amendment
Assignment
Option Letter
Task Order

Grant Templates

Grant Agreement
Intergovernmental Grant Agreement
Interagency Grant Agreement
Model Small Dollar Grant Awards & Content

Grant Award & Modification Tools

Grant Amendment
Grant Assignment
Grant Option Letter

Executive Procurement Advisory Council (Exec PAC) Nominations

Nominations are being sought for one position on the Executive Procurement Advisory Council (Exec PAC):

A Group II non-IHE elected position, which is currently vacant

Anyone may submit a nomination, but only Procurement Officials will be allowed to vote. The voting results will be shared by mail.

Nominations will be accepted until 5:00PM on Wednesday, September 10th. The SCPO will confirm with any nominated Procurement Official that they are willing to be placed on the voting ballot.

Please use this link to submit your nomination.

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.

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, aligning with the new Office of the State Controller policy regarding accessibility that went into effect on August 6, 2025.

Procurement Training Update

In 2025 we've launched three new training courses in COPROU:

Cooperative Purchasing,
State Contract Terms and Conditions, and
Introduction to ITNs micro-training.

Upcoming training projects include:

Specification Drafting,
Market Research, and
Statement of Work Drafting.

We hope to make all three courses available by the end of the calendar year, and will share more details in the coming months.

Questions about procurement training should be sent to thomas.wilson@state.co.us.

Did You Know?

Procurement is ancient! The first known procurement laws were in the Code of Hammurabi (circa 1754 BC), covering contracts for goods and services.

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
11/18/2025 | 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Register

The SPCO will launch a new on-demand SOW training course before the end of the year. We will share additional details as we get closer to the launch date.

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.

Procurement Official Series

Procurement Official Training
Protests and Appeals Processes

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

Purchasing Certification

Documented Quotes
Cooperative Purchasing

Contracts Certification

Contract Terms

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:

Evaluation and Award Strategies,
Data Analytics Demystified,
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.

Upcoming Changes to Procurement U!

Since its launch, Procurement U has been a cornerstone of NASPO’s commitment to supporting the education and professional development of the public procurement workforce.

To continue to advance the procurement profession, NASPO has created the Procurement Professionals Alliance (PPA)-—a new, member-based nonprofit organization. PPA was formed to serve the broader procurement community including public, private, nonprofit, and academic stakeholders.

Procurement U remains a core NASPO program, and it will now be offered as a benefit to PPA members through a strategic collaboration, expanding its reach to a new audience, while also ensuring that its quality, innovation, and accessibility continue to thrive within a sustainable, long-term model.

What's Changing?

Beginning January 1, 2026, full access to Procurement U’s free course catalog—including self-paced courses, microlearning's, and all instructor-led trainings—will be available only to NASPO members and PPA members.

Visit Join PPA to learn more about PPA.

Questions about ProcurementU? Email procurementu@naspo.org

Questions about PPA Membership? Email info@joinppa.org

Procurement Spotlight: Where Are They Now?

Name: Ryan Yarrow

Title: Center for Procurement and Contract Services Director

Organization: Department of Transportation

Previous Procurement Spotlight: November, 2023

Years Worked in State Procurement: Eight

Tell us about your current role: The Procurement Official position at CDOT is an incredibly unique role. Tourism is a $28.5 billion industry for our State, which means that Colorado’s roads must be open and our mountain towns must be accessible. This requires the Department to be proactive in engaging vendors who can be available to address highway concerns at all hours of the day. It also allows me to see the intricate systems and coordination the State maintains to ensure consistent transportation access. In my short time in this position, I have participated in helicopter refuelings, aided in the procurement of explosives for avalanche mitigation, and seen the NASA-like Real-Time Operations Command Center.

What is your favorite thing about your current role? CDOT employees, including those in the Center for Procurement and Contracts Services unit, truly care about the state’s transportation functionality. There is a dedication that CDOT employees have to the agency, and I regularly meet colleagues who have been with CDOT for 20+ years. It is refreshing (and definitely makes my job easier) working with leaders who are the go-to Subject Matter Experts for their projects because of the decades of dedication that they have put into working with CDOT.

How did your previous work experience prepare you for this new role? I think all of my previous roles helped prepare me for this role in unique ways. As a Purchasing Agent at HCPF, I received the basics of the Colorado government procurement process and was challenged by folks like Challon Winer to learn more about the relevant statutes, rules, and policies that govern the process. This experience also taught me the full cradle-to-grave procurement process. As a Procurement Manager at CDHS, I learned how to work with and manage a team. I was introduced to a new style of procurement, where purchasing and contracting were separate groups within the same unit. The realization that there was no one-size-fits-all method for Colorado government procurement helped me in my next role as the Central Contracts Unit Manager because I worked with all Executive Branch Agencies and Public Institutions of Higher Education in Colorado. I was able to take what I learned from CDHS and meet agencies where they were at in their procurement operations, whether decentralized, centralized, or hybrid, in order to provide solutions under the Fiscal Rules and Office of the State Controller policies. Finally, the Central Contracts Unit role helped me explore and understand the complexity and nuances within Colorado procurement statutes, rules, and policies. My experience has shown the various models that can be utilized for Colorado government procurement and has provided me with a greater understanding of the rules. This knowledge is what I intend to use to help CDOT achieve success.

What’s your secret talent that no one knows about? I’m no Michael Bublé, but I might surprise you if we went to karaoke together!

State Price Agreement Updates

New Price Agreements or Participating Addenda:

The following agreements or categories have recently been executed. Please check the Price Agreement website or contact the appropriate Price Agreement administrator for more information. Additional new agreements may have been completed that are not listed below.

A new portfolio of agreements for Advertising and Marketing Services has been awarded, and all contracts have been executed. Vendors have been awarded specific subcategories for the services they can provide. These subcategories are noted in the “commodity” section of each vendor's page on the Price Agreement website.
New agreements for Body Armor and Ballistic Resistant Products have been executed with GH Armor, effective July 31, 2025 and Safariland, effective August 11, 2025
An agreement for Security and Fire Protection Services has been signed with Johnson Controls, effective July 31, 2025

Extensions:

The following categories or agreements have recently been extended. Please check the Price Agreement website or contact the appropriate Price Agreement administrator for more information. Additional extensions may have been completed that are not listed below.

Multiple agreements for Fleet Vehicles have been extended, with those agreements now active until September 30, 2026
Agreements with multiple vendors for Ammunition have been extended through July 31, 2026, and pricing on some products has increased for some vendors.
All agreements for Procurement Acquisition Support Services have been extended to January 18, 2026, as NASPO ValuePoint and the lead state of North Carolina work towards announcing awards and executing new lead agreements.

Other Updates:

Price lists have been updated for multiple agreements, including Electric Vehicle Charging Stations, Translation and Interpretation Services, Tires, and Furniture
Price increases have been negotiated with multiple vendors in the Copiers and Managed Print Services portfolio to allow for some various increases due to both tariff and non-tariff related reasons

See Price Agreement Details Here

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