How many surveys have you completed this year? Chances are you have already participated in several reviews and customer satisfaction surveys. The real question is how many surveys we complete actually matter? In today’s big data world, businesses need to gather data and understand customer behavior in order to gain a strategic advantage or identify new business opportunities. Requests to participate in customer satisfaction surveys, guest surveys after returning from a domestic or international travel, or surveys to evaluate your recent dentist’s visit have become a part of life. The average consumer seems to be bombarded with a lot of “tell us how we did/tell us about your visit” surveys and requests for feedback. Researchers try to strike the right balance between gathering the right amount of information while being mindful of survey fatigue which can lead to low response rates. Rightfully so.

If you are interested in a survey that matters, a survey that offers a comprehensive nationwide perspective of state procurement practices, look no more! NASPO has the best vantage point to provide insight into how various state central procurement offices handle the procurement of goods and services across the country and infer valuable trends. NASPO’s Survey of State Procurement Practices is a comprehensive data collection, and the longest running survey for the association.

This year’s compilation of state procurement practices is centered around 70 data points, including state procurement authority, delegation, solicitation and contracting practices, and many other aspects of the procurement process. Check out the results to find out which state procurement code is modeled after the American Bar Association Model Procurement Code, or which states have implemented green purchasing policies and offer statewide contracts with green products and services.

The NASPO survey information is a basic reference for anyone interested in understanding how central procurement offices around the country are funded, what services they provide to user agencies, how they handle various types of purchasing, including technology goods, services, construction, and many more. A few trends highlighting changes based on the recently-released 2018 survey results compared to the 2016 survey data are worth noting:

• The use of cooperative purchasing continues to increase. All responding member states participate in NASPO ValuePoint (NVP) and other national cooperative contract opportunities. See below for a visual from the 2018 Survey Executive Summary showing that the state usage of NVP cooperative purchasing contracts for the period 2015-2018 has gone up from 72% (as reported by the CPOs responding to the 2015 survey) to 100%. This is particularly significant since cooperative purchasing has continued to grow over the past couple of decades and deliver results and efficiencies by leveraging resources and the purchasing power across states.

• The use of electronic procurement (eProcurement) or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems continues become more prevalent as well. All CPOs participating in the NASPO survey indicated that their state implemented such electronic systems. This represents a 4.3 increase compared to the eProcurement usage reported in 2016.

• Unfortunately, procurement workforce challenges continue to be present in most state central procurement offices per the 2018 NASPO Survey of State Procurement Practices. Eighty-three percent of survey respondents noted that procurement responsibilities assigned to their office have increased in the past two years. This is a 9% increase compared to the increase in responsibilities reported two years ago by the 2016 survey respondents, which is not matched by an increase in staffing. State central procurement offices are asked to do more with less, given that only 35% of survey respondents indicated a staff increase.

This year’s NASPO survey data is presented as individual state CPO responses, a complete online report, as well as a summary report for a bird’s-eye view. Want to learn more about the multi-faceted role of the state central procurement office? Check out the Executive Summary which includes highlights, trends, and charts for most of the survey data points. For a more in-depth look at complete survey results from all 48 participating states, check out the online REPORT where you can access individual state responses, as well as summary data.