Professional Development Professional Development Professional Development 
Professional Development Executive Leadership Training: Why You Should Consider It
Let’s face it, the workplace changes fast. Change is a topic that is daunting to some, but with proactively trained leaders change can and should be embraced. Read more “Executive Leadership Training: Why You Should Consider It”
Professional Development Be a Better Boss
When I became a new supervisor in 2008, I realized right away that I was woefully under-prepared. My agency offered no training at all! I was a newly minted public librarian so I dug into our collection and started reading. I spent the next decade reading every kind of management book, psychology book, and motivational book I could find.
Here are my reading recommendations for your path to being a better boss: Read more “Be a Better Boss”
NASPO Events & Education NASPO Members Eligible for Mini-Scholarships
Are you in search of an opportunity to enhance your procurement knowledge? Do you enjoy learning from your peers in other states? Are you looking to challenge yourself while adding valuable insight to your profession?
Professional Development Succession Planning: Don’t Just Plan for Your Future
As a greater proportion of the workforce reaches retirement age each year, the importance of succession planning has never been more apparent. Talent management and succession planning ranked #6 on NASPO’s Top Ten priorities for 2020 . Never fear! Pulse is here to help with some tips and tricks for a successful planning process. Read more “Succession Planning: Don’t Just Plan for Your Future”
Market Research Back to the Value
Thirty-Five years ago, when the Value Chain Model was first introduced, procurement was viewed narrowly as cut and dry cost savings. But as suppliers become more citizen-centric, central procurement officers (CPOs) need to become more value-aware of procurement’s unique position. Public procurement should no longer be viewed narrowly for cut and dry cost savings, but for the additional value the procurement process can add as a strategic partner. 
Read more “Back to the Value”
Professional Development Eliminate these four Productivity Killers in 2020!
At NASPO, we know our members are usually involved in multiple projects at one time. Not only is each project timely, and essential, but chances are it’s complex by nature too. Do you want 2020 to be your most productive year yet? Let us help. Thanks to our friends at TopThink and Forbes, we want to highlight four common habits to avoid to help make you as productive as possible.
Read more “Eliminate these four Productivity Killers in 2020!”
Professional Development 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”
NASPO Events & Education 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.
NASPO Events & Education 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”