Day in the Life Day in the Life Day in the Life 
During the Annual Conference we announce that year’s recipient of the Mazzone Award. The prestigious Mazzone Award recognizes the exemplary service of procurement officials to the public purchasing profession. Today we are catching up with Norma Hall, the 2019 Mazzone Award winner who discusses her career accomplishments and the importance of certification and giving back to the public procurement community. Her passion for public procurement was palpable throughout our interview and incredibly inspiring.
Continuous Improvement Methodologies Keeping Up with Continuous Improvement
No matter how well your office is running, there is always room for improvement! Consistently looking for ways to improve your processes can lead to greater efficiencies and cost savings in the long run. Models like Six Sigma and Kaizen are often used to help identify ways to improve on a day-to-day basis. This process of continuous improvement can help eliminate inefficiencies and wasteful activities or time-consuming steps in the procurement cycle. It’s about taking a critical look at your processes, finding gaps and opportunities for improvement. Read more “Keeping Up with Continuous Improvement”
Transparency Create Your Road Map to Transparency!
Imagine having to justify every decision you’ve ever made, to anyone who asks. Transparency is the cornerstone of the entire procurement process and is necessary throughout the contracting lifecycle, from the definition of need to the expiration of the contract. Recently, the OECD, an international nonprofit, created a “Transparency Checklist” to assist public procurement professionals in reaching their transparency goals. Procurement Pulse breaks down the three founding principles listed in the checklist and highlights what to include in your office’s transparency checklist.
NASPO Strategic Partnerships Academic Partner Perspective: Kelly Lynch
Written by Olivia Hook Frey
NASPO’s academic partnerships are paramount to our higher education initiatives. Without these impressive partners at colleges and universities across the country, none of this programming would be possible. When we started this endeavor in 2016, we set out to build relationships with top-tier Supply Chain Management Programs and faculty, because we believe Supply Chain Management is the degree program that most closely aligns with the work our members do in state procurement. Since then, we have had some majors wins with each partner. Over the past three years, our goals with each academic partner have morphed. We have discovered the different specialties of each partner.
News To Growth and Beyond: NASBO Fiscal Survey of States
It’s important to stay up-to-date on the nationwide trends for revenue and state spending. These trends affect the resources available for you to do your work and the long-term financial health of your state. 2019 marks the ninth consecutive year of moderate growth in both state spending and revenue growth according to currently enacted budgets. General fund spending for 2019 grew by 5.8 percent when compared to general fund spending in 2018. This increased general fund spending is followed by a projected 4 percent growth in general fund revenues for 2020 with a 3.7 percent increase in projected general fund spending based on proposed governor budgets. Let’s examine the current and projected financial situation of states further.
Read more “To Growth and Beyond: NASBO Fiscal Survey of States”
Procurement Professionalization Don’t Get Left Behind, Get Certified!
Many professionals reach a point in their career when they ask themselves: Should I get certified? Whether you work in IT or the healthcare industry, public procurement or supply chain management, we all know certifications matter. We also know that getting certified is a big-time commitment and requires financial resources.
NASPO Internships Meet Your Future Workforce: 2019 NASPO Internship Program
By mid-September, our interns from NASPO academic partner schools completed their positions with 11 state procurement offices across the nation. This is the third year of the NASPO internship program, and largest pool of student interns to date. Sixteen students from academic partner schools worked in 11 central purchasing offices, from Alaska to Connecticut and Texas to Wisconsin.
Read more “Meet Your Future Workforce: 2019 NASPO Internship Program”
Day in the Life A Day in the Life: Louise Terry
This week, NASPO’s own ProcurementU is providing another professional development opportunity by hosting the State Training Training Coordinators Conference (STCC) in Madison, Wisconsin! The goal of STCC is to facilitate the sharing of materials and best practices between state trainers. During the three day conference, ProcurementU has an agenda full of opportunities to learn how to best leverage the training and education provided at the conference to advance state government in participants’ home states. Networking sessions, interactive general sessions, a keynote speaker, an emphasis on collaborative learning efforts and the sharing of resources are just a few things participants will engage in! To highlight the great work state training coordinators across the country do this week Pulse is highlighting the state training coordinator from Oklahoma and an active NASPO member, Louise Terry.
NASPO Strategic Partnerships NASPO’s Strategic Partnerships Shape a Strategic Future
What do you picture when someone says, “Oh! Here is a resource for you!”? Traditionally, most people imagine a tangible, physical item. But resources can take many forms, and often the most helpful resource isn’t books or paper, but people. Read more “NASPO’s Strategic Partnerships Shape a Strategic Future”
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