Tag: Recruitment and Retention

Emergency Procurement & Risk Management

3 Tips for Re-Building Your Post-Pandemic Office

Both the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the National Conference of State Legislatures project that budget shortfalls for FY 2020 and FY 2021 could create millions of dollars’ worth of deficits. In order to save money, some state information technology workers are already planning to work permanently from home, even after the pandemic has subsided. Keep the possibility of permanently working from home in mind as budgets shrink and innovative solutions are explored. What could your procurement office look like in the post-pandemic? Here are 3 tips for re-building your post-pandemic procurement office. Read more “3 Tips for Re-Building Your Post-Pandemic Office”
NASPO Events & Education

A Day in the Life: George Schutter

This week we caught up with GEORGE SCHUTTER, Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) for the District of Columbia to learn more about himself and his current role in the District. George leads the District’s Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP), where he oversees over $5.6 billion worth of acquisitions for over 78 agencies.
Supported by a staff of 228, George and his staff manage the contracts and relationships between the District and industry to acquire the supplies, services, and construction requirements of their client agencies.  His previous leadership roles included Chief Financial Officer of the Peace Corps; Chief Financial Officer for TechnoServe (an international non-profit providing business solutions to poverty); and Grant Thornton’s Global Public Sector Executive Director in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, where he opened regional operations in Dubai’s International Financial Center and developed offices in Iraq.
George is a former Major in the U.S. Marine Corps serving for 10 years domestically and abroad, including four years as a Director of a Regional Contracting Office. He has worked and traveled internationally throughout his career (to over 75 countries) and has extensive expertise in finance, procurement and contracts, change management, transparency, as well as capacity building efforts in developing countries.
George is a licensed Certified Public Accountant, Certified Professional Contracts Manager and Chartered Global Management Accountant. He holds degrees in Accounting from the Illinois Institute of Technology and an M.S. in Acquisitions and Contracts Management from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.
He is a resident of the District of Columbia where he lives with his daughter.

Read more “A Day in the Life: George Schutter”

NASPO Events & Education

Climbing the Summit: Government Performance and Innovation Recap

A couple of weeks ago (June 4th – 6th), I attended the Summit on Government Performance and Innovation in Minneapolis, which is organized by Governing and has been held annually since 2015. This is the second time I represented NASPO at this event to learn about the innovative initiatives of cities and governments around the country and bring that information back to NASPO members. Demographics, inclusive procurement and challenging the status quo were just some of the topics discussed. These innovative topics helped to set the tone for modernizing the way government does business. This conference highlighted the creative solutions governments are using to address a changing world. Read more “Climbing the Summit: Government Performance and Innovation Recap”
NASPO Events & Education

Build Today for a Better Tomorrow

NASPO’s Higher Education initiatives are built upon our relationships with academic partners. After more than three years of working with these impressive academics and their students, the answer to a need of our membership often lies with one of our partner schools. NASPO encourages its membership to participate in academic partner career fairs, case competitions and many other events, but the ultimate goal is to build an example for the states to model when reaching out to their local institutions. NASPO has worked to establish relationships with top-tier Supply Chain Management programs across the country. Of course, the primary goal in everything we do is to serve our members, and these partnerships are no different.

Read more “Build Today for a Better Tomorrow”

Professional Development

Building a Sustainable Workforce Through College Student Outreach

Recruitment of emerging talent is an effort NASPO has focused on as an integral part of our higher education initiatives.. Since we began this project in 2017, we have attended supply chain management career fairs at each of our six academic partner schools. We take a two-pronged approach; at least one NASPO staff member attends to grab students’ attention and explain what public sector procurement is and why it is an excellent career opportunity; and state members attend to talk to students  specifically about their state’s career opportunities.
We have learned so much from the first career fairs we attended in 2016. In order to gain students’ attention, we e have colorful pop-up banners, NASPO “swag,” and more of a visible presence on these campuses. Through our work with our internship and scholarship programs, as well as speaking in supply chain management classes and supply chain student groups, we have increased our brand awareness. Now, we often have a small handful of students at each fair who come up to our table and know what we do! We have come a long way from that first fair, we still have work to do.
Read more “Building a Sustainable Workforce Through College Student Outreach”