Procurement Excellence Network’s Post

Implementing change in any organization can be tough, and in public procurement, it can be even trickier. Many governments have faced challenges, resistance, or avoidance from key stakeholders when attempting to launch a procurement reform.    Join us for a training session that will discuss common change management barriers and strategies to help overcome obstacles in driving procurement transformation within your government. Whether you are thinking about standardizing procurement templates, adjusting purchasing thresholds, or implementing equitable contracting initiatives, this session can help as you embark on your change management journey. This session will explore the following themes: ⚡ Why is implementing change in public procurement so difficult? 🚦 What strategies can resolve common roadblocks to change? 📈 How do you know if change is happening? Special Invitation: Following the event, we invite you to join us for an optional post-event session (30 minutes) for an open dialogue with peer governments about change management success stories and common challenges. This is an event you don't want to miss!   Date/time: Friday, September 20, 2024 | 12:00-1:00pm ET Register here: https://lnkd.in/eNajrEA6

Since last year, the HKS Government Performance Lab has supported the City of Jackson, MS through an Extreme Procurement Makeover to make procurement more efficient, results-oriented, equitable, and strategic. An early priority focused on managing Jackson’s payment backlog by centralizing procurement data and making all contracts and purchase orders accessible and transparent.     Government Innovation Fellow Brent Westergren, who leads this work in person with the Jackson team, shared three key strategies for jurisdictions facing similar invoicing challenges: 1. Centralize and access key procurement data early: Understand the end-to-end procurement pipeline to anticipate and address payment issues.  2. Triage and prioritize biggest backlog pain points: Focus on clearing the most critical payment backlogs first with support from legal and budget teams.  3. Invest in long-term sustainable solutions: Implement technology and administrative clarity to support long-term stability in procurement practices. For a closer look at the city’s challenges and progress, read the The Clarion-Ledger article here: https://lnkd.in/eHv7pHWS #governmentinnovation #procurementexcellence 

There are so many great opportunities to plug into procurement! If you're looking for a new role in the public procurement space, check out the job postings below:   💰 Grants Administration Officer | City of Long Beach, CA | https://lnkd.in/eur7Xw5C 👩💻 Procurement Specialist I | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania | https://lnkd.in/eSKrsr3k 📒 Procurement Officer II | State of Maryland | https://lnkd.in/dHpVibZm 📊 Purchasing Agent Senior | Broward County, FL | https://lnkd.in/eK-Ym-JE   #JobBoard #GovernmentJobs #ProcurementJobs #JobOpportunity

Our team loved connecting with PEN members (like Zak Kelley and Tammy Corb, pictured below) and meeting new procurement changemakers in Charlotte, NC for the #NIGPForum2024! Special thanks to everyone who attended our session on Removing Process Bottlenecks to Drive Organizational Efficiency. See you next year!

If you'll be attending the #NIGPForum2024 next week, come say hi to our colleagues Colin Erhardt and Isabel Garcia!

We love seeing governments use PEN tools to demonstrate procurement excellence! Last month, government practitioners from the Dominican Republic participated in an activity facilitated by our friends at the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). The activity allowed them to step into a vendor's shoes by building paper airplanes in response to two different RFPs: one that is well-designed and outcome-driven, and one that is compliance-oriented and tough to respond to. If you're interested in facilitating a similar activity with your team to help them better understand vendor perspectives, you can find an activity kit complete with facilitator instructions and participant materials in PEN's Resource Library!   Click here to download the kit in English: https://lnkd.in/eGX6TGZU Click here to download the kit in Spanish (new!): https://lnkd.in/ejyEJs6N #procurementexcellence #governmentinnovation

Don't miss this exciting virtual event on Unlocking Economic Opportunity Through Procurement happening tomorrow at 3:00pm ET! Register here: https://lnkd.in/eqduMdrs

We are thrilled to see so many incredible government changemakers honored by National Procurement Institute, Inc. with their Achievement of Excellence in Procurement (AEP) award! We look forward to meeting or reconnecting with many of you at the NPI Annual Conference in Denver on October 13-16. Congratulations to the governments and individuals selected (especially our friends in PEN)! We're always seeking to scale and spread best practices, so we look forward to continuing to learn from you. Daniel Ford Gary Holcomb Brian Brown Rene M. Almaraz Michelle Wilson David Billingsley, CPSM, C.P.M. Jennifer McCoy, CPPO Troy Elliott Jenn Myers, MPA, CPPO, NIGP-CPP, CPPB DeAnna Faggart, MBA, NIGP-CPP, CPPO, CPPB Lisa Goodman Josh Lauber Maria Agrusa John M. (Jack) Pellegrino, NIGP-CPP, CPPO, CPCM Brian Garrity, CPSM, C.P.M., CPPB Joel Neaveill Ash Shetty Carrie Mathes, MPA, NIGP-CPP, CPPO, CFCM, C.P.M., CPPB

Meet the people behind PEN: a sense of collaborative community-building is what drew Project Leader Isabel Garcia to procurement.

Our team was so excited to be invited to speak at the National League of Cities City Inclusive Entrepreneurship Speaker Series! In this virtual event on Unlocking Economic Opportunity through Procurement, Isabel Garcia and Damonique Sonnier will share an array of strategies you can use to diversify your vendor pool and work in collaboration with policymakers and entrepreneurship supporters to make procurement processes more accessible and fair. The event will take place virtually on Wednesday, August 21 from 3:00pm - 4:00pm ET. Learn more and register here: https://lnkd.in/eqduMdrs