Procurement Excellence Network

We're revisiting the City of Long Beach's feature in Results for America’s Economic Mobility Catalog: in 2020, the City collaborated with the HKS Government Performance Lab to implement an Extreme Procurement Makeover, a comprehensive retooling of Long Beach’s procurement process. The makeover made wholesale changes to procurement practices, solicitation materials, staff training, and vendor engagement, while centering efforts around efficiency and equity. The results speak for themselves: 🏪 Between March 2021 and June 2022, 64% of vendors who were awarded contracts through the Long Beach Recovery Act initiative were first-time vendors with the city  📈 Response rates for priority ARPA procurements doubled from the past year  📉 The average RFP cycle time decreased by 56% from 8 months to 3.5 months. To read more about Long Beach’s inclusive procurement reform, click here: https://lnkd.in/eK6H4fwx

When governments streamline vendor certification programs, they create more inclusive opportunities and reduce barriers for small and diverse businesses. Certification programs are a powerful tool to advance procurement equity, but they must be thoughtfully designed to ensure success. Whether you are considering launching a new program, improving existing processes, or supporting certified vendors beyond certification, PEN is here to help! Join us for an engaging training session where we will explore best practices for vendor certification. We’ll cover when certification programs are most effective, how to reduce administrative burdens, and how to ensure certified vendors have the tools they need to secure government contracts. Date: Thursday, November 7, 2024 Time: 1:00-2:00 PM ET Registration Link: https://lnkd.in/eQyCVswv

PEN team members Colin Erhardt, Laura Merryfield, Damonique Sonnier, and Christiana Kim enjoyed connecting with several innovative governments pursuing procurement excellence at the National Procurement Institute Annual Conference and Annual Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Gala! They particularly enjoyed presenting sessions on procurement training best practices, designing and distributing vendor surveys, and making procurement more accessible to vendors. Thanks to National Procurement Institute, Inc. for inviting us to attend this celebration of procurement excellence!

A career in procurement offers so many opportunities to grow and give back to your community! If you're in the procurement job market, check out the postings below:   👩💼 Purchasing Supervisor | Jefferson County, CO | https://lnkd.in/df7D42rS 📈 Purchasing Analyst | U.S. Department of Commerce (Washington, DC) | https://lnkd.in/dMrimUG3 📋 Procurement Compliance Associate | Port Authority of NY & NJ | https://lnkd.in/duWTabaa 💼 Contract Compliance Coordinator | City and County of Denver, CO | https://lnkd.in/dS2Mzyw7?   #JobBoard #GovernmentJobs #ProcurementJobs #JobOpportunity

When governments streamline vendor certification programs, they create more inclusive opportunities and reduce barriers for small and diverse businesses. Certification programs are a powerful tool to advance procurement equity, but they must be thoughtfully designed to ensure success. Whether you are considering launching a new program, improving existing processes, or supporting certified vendors beyond certification, PEN is here to help! Join us for an engaging training session where we will explore best practices for vendor certification. We’ll cover when certification programs are most effective, how to reduce administrative burdens, and how to ensure certified vendors have the tools they need to secure government contracts. Date: Thursday, November 7, 2024 Time: 1:00-2:00 PM ET Registration Link: https://lnkd.in/eQyCVswv

Our colleagues Francisco Aras and Evan Matthew Karl recently attended the Minnesota Chapter of NIGP's 2024 Annual Conference in Duluth, MN to present a session on results-driven contracting and equitable procurement strategies. Their session, "Transforming Procurement Practices for Resident Impact," emphasized strategies to increase opportunities for small, minority-owned, and women-owned businesses, such as unbundling contracts, writing clearer RFPs, and conducting vendor engagement surveys.   Thanks to Minnesota Chapter of NIGP for inviting our team to present at this exciting event!

Our team is excited to participate in this event on incorporating sustainability into RFPs! If you have an upcoming RFP you want to make more sustainability-conscious, join us on Wednesday, December 11 from 2:00-3:00pm ET.

Attention PEN members representing city governments! We are extremely excited that Bloomberg Philanthropies has launched the largest-ever Global Mayors Challenge. The new competition calls on municipalities to work together with residents to reimagine core municipal services. Fifty finalists will receive $50,000, and 25 cities with the most innovative ideas will each be awarded $1 million, alongside operational assistance. Cities from anywhere in the world with 100,000 residents or more can apply until December 20, 2024. More information below, including application details: https://lnkd.in/eqBXywMr

LAST CHANCE to apply for our Active Contract Management Bootcamp running from January through April 2025! Applications are due by end of day this Friday, October 25. To learn more and submit your brief application, click here: https://lnkd.in/esHiyA4j

If you're looking to develop a contract management plan for an upcoming or existing contract, don't forget to apply for our Active Contract Management Bootcamp! Applications are due Friday, October 25. Learn more and apply here: https://lnkd.in/esHiyA4j