NIGP Board And Committees Set Strategies For Next Four Years

The NIGP Board of Directors met with their appointed national Committee members and Chairs to chart a new Strategic Plan that will carry the Institute forward into 2010.  Coupled with their Fall Committee and Board meeting held last weekend in Phoenix, the national committees recommended, and the NIGP Board adopted, wholesale revisions to their existing plan that align with the Institute’s three-pronged mission to develop, support and promote the profession.  The key initiatives established through the strategic plan include:

•  Obtaining accreditation from the American Council on Education by 2009
   in an effort to earn college credit for NIGP training and experience

•  Establishing ANSI standards through public procurement best practices by 2010

•  Creating a procurement technician certificate by 2010 for those non-buyers
   who wish to transition to entry level buying positions

•  Launching the Government Pricing Index (GPI) by 2007 as a market basket
   benchmark for the public sector

•  Expanding relationships with academia through research, education and
   increased national memberships by students and faculty

•  Targeting research studies that focus on K-12 public education, the federal/central
   governments, and special authority districts

•  Expanding educational offerings through partnerships with professional
   associations and contractors

•  Establishing international training and educational opportunities for emerging
   governments in Africa and elsewhere by co-hosting programs with
   Florida Atlantic University

•  Providing greater partnership opportunities with NIGP’s chapter affiliates
   through online registration options, online resource kits, chapter leadership
   mentoring, and web site support

NIGP staff will assess the cost of each initiative and will recommend changes to the
FY2007-08 budget to accommodate the development and delivery of these initiatives.

In addition to the strategic plan revisions, the NIGP Board adopted the following
actions during their Fall meeting:

•  Approved changes to the Bylaws and policies that provide voting rights
   to individuals who are currently employed in public purchasing entities and to
   retired members. These individuals will be able to vote in the upcoming
   2007-08 Board of Director elections.

•  Adopted two resolutions on Strategic Sourcing and Social Responsibility that were
   developed by the Institute’s Advocacy Committee

•  Waived national membership fees for students and faculty as a stimulus for
   strengthening NIGP’s presence in the college and university community

•  Approved steps in developing a Procurement Response in Emergency
   Preparedness program (PREP),  which, when implemented, will serve as
   a support network for members to proactively respond, aid and assist other
   members during natural disasters and other times of need.

•  Appointed Corrine Culver and Bill Irish to terms on the LES Professional
   Development Foundation as NIGP’s representatives

•  Recommended that the Universal Public Purchasing Certification Council appoint
   Wendy Geltch and Jill Klaskin-Press to their Board of Examiners (BOE)

GSA Fiscal 2006 IT Sales Released

For Fiscal Year 2006,  October 1, 2005 through September 30, 2006, GSA sales to state and local governments rose to $241,000,000. (Source:  IT 70 Schedule).

Compared to sales of $141,000,000 in fiscal 2005, this represents a 70 percent increase.

The $241 million spending for 2006 breaks down to:

•  Software  $38 million
•  Hardware $55 million
•  Services  $148 million

Since it's inception, GSA sales have grown from:

•  Fiscal Year 2003        $33million
•  Fiscal Year 2004        $75million
•  Fiscal Year 2005        $141 million
•  Fiscal Year 2006        $241 million

Total combined sales to Federal, State, and Local Government entities in FY 2006 was $17.25 billion.

There are  5,190 contractors with 60 percent of the sales going to large businesses and 40 percent going to small businesses.

For detailed information visit www.gsa.gov/itcenter and click on the  "IT Center Library Section".  

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Virginia Renews Contract For eProcurement Support

(UPDATED) Virginia has renewed its contract with CGI-AMS Inc. to run the state’s
electronic procurement portal, known as eVA. The five-year, $65 million contract extends the current relationship with CGI-AMS.

Since its launch, the state has used the secure electronic portal to process
more than one million orders for $10 billion in goods and services. The system
assists 171 agencies, institutions and other Virginia entities in all phases of the
procurement process, from managing requests and solicitations to evaluating
responses. It also is used in the state’s efforts to electronically manage vendor
invoicing, online ordering and contract management.

State governments in recent years have focused on revamping procurement
processes through strategic sourcing, which involves consolidating purchases,
analyzing the market and determining the lowest cost supplier for goods and
services, while taking into account total cost of ownership.

For more information www.washingtontechnology.com.

Excerpted from 10/9/06 Washington Technology. Article by Ethan Butterfield.
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Is Skateboarding In Your Future?

It just may be.  There are over 16 million skateboarders in the US today.  Public procurement professionals must be aware of the issues and complexities of installing skateparks from a safety perspective to getting community suppport.

Skateboarding and Action Sports

Skateboarding is not a hobby or a fad, it is here to stay. It started in the 1950’s and has been growing ever since. There are more people skateboarding today than playing baseball. Since 1998, overall participation is up by 81% and frequent participation (52+ days a year) has surged by 173%. The growth has occurred because of the overall action sports trend, the activity’s appeal as a spectator sport, expanded TV coverage for skateboarding, and its visibility in the video game market.

Events such as the X-Games and the Gravity Games can be seen on network television, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game is part of most kids’ video game collections, Kids 6-17 rated the X-Games second only to the Olympics in sports they enjoyed watching most. The Super Bowl came in third. 55 million people watched the X-Games. 5.9 million were teenagers. That number represents 27% of the teenagers in the country. 4.2 million of these viewers were male, equaling 37% of all males teens.

The Need for Community Skateparks

Skateboarding is athletic, challenging, social, safe and clean. The one thing that distinguishes it from other activities such as baseball, basketball, tennis and golf is that the participants often have no place to play, leaving them to their own devices to practice their sport.  This “finding a way” unfortunately can result in destruction of public or private property, and the vilification of the skaters themselves. Providing safe and accessible places for them to practice their sport can prevent these issues.

There are over 16 million skateboarders in the U.S. and fewer than 1000 skateparks. The goal of a skatepark is to get the youth off the street and public property and into a safe and challenging environment.  Through the U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance, skatepark design and installation are offered through a nationally solicited public agency contract to any public agency in the United States.  The City of Charlotte, North Carolina acted as lead public agency on this solicitation and awarded the contracts for parks and recreational facilities to Gametime, Landscape Structures and Little Tykes.  Landscape Structures provides the skatepark offering under the contract.

Some of the issues that public agencies must address before installing a skatepark:

•  Location and community support
•  Public agency liability
•  Appropriate design and construction
•  Lighting and supervision of the park

Location and Community Support

The U.S. Community suppliers indicate that the biggest challenge in building a skatepark revolves around community acceptance and appropriate sites for locating such parks.  To overcome this, public agencies have provided the statistical value of having teens located in a supervised, well-lighted, safe and clean environment, rather than seeking out public rights-of-way in which to practice their sport.  By offering a professionally designed and installed facility, communities have found that destruction of public and private property, juvenile mischief and police involvement have diminished.  Landscape Structures worked with the community in Buffalo, Minnesota, to overcome objections to the park by an adjacent assisted living facility.  Residents of that facility now enjoy watching the teenagers at the park due to the consultative nature of the installation by the city.

What About Liability?

The data collected in 1998 found that fewer injuries occur as a result of skateboarding or skating than occur for baseball, basketball, football, and ice hockey.  The most significant injuries caused by skateboarding are auto accidents as a result of practicing the sport in the street, rather than in a designated location.

Public agency risk managers can limit liability by insisting upon a professionally designed and installed facility.  Signage, height limitations, safety equipment and other injury prevention measures can also assist in limiting liability.  Like baseball, soccer, football and other sporting events, skateboarding can cause injuries.  The normal risk management techniques applied in parks and recreational endeavors should also be applied for skateparks.

Creating a Win-Win

By offering skateparks as a part of a comprehensive parks and recreation plan, communities create a win-win for both the public and for the teenagers who predominate this sport.  The community wins by providing a safe, supervised and concentrated center for the skating activities.  Kids win because they have a place to go to practice their sport, compete with their peers, and improve the image of their game of choice.  Skateparks allow teenagers to hone their skills without impacting public and private property.

For more information, visit www.uscommunities.org, and click on “Parks and Recreation” or visit Landscape Structures.  (U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance is a national non-profit program formed by governments to serve governments.  It is the largest strategic sourcing cooperative purchasing program for local agencies in the United States, charges no participant fees, is open to all state, local and non-profit agencies, and requires no minimum spending by agencies.  All contracts are publicly solicited by a large lead public agency on behalf of all program participants.)

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Want To Save Money and Relationships? ADR Is Your Answer.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

ADR is all the things litigation is not.

It’s faster, less expensive, creates unity rather than conflict, and provides win-win outcomes.

The popularity of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is growing as the time, costs and risks of litigation increase.  ADR approaches provide creative and flexible ways of resolving disputes while improving communications and preserving relationships with the involved parties.

In 1990 the Federal Government signaled its approval and preference for the use of ADR to settle disputes with the passage of the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act.  Since then, its acceptance at the state and local level has varied.  Whether you are a purchasing supervisor, senior buyer, project manager or contract officer, if you want to know more about this approach that allows those best informed to solve a dispute consensually, this course is for you.

Alternative Dispute Resolution, the book and the two-day course, are now available.  The course is designed to provide procurement professionals with basic knowledge and processes required to evaluate ADR and start your own agency program.  Course highlights include:

•  ADR pros and cons
•  When to use ADR
•  Major ADR approaches and when each is appropriate
•  Starting an ADR program

Registration is $350 per person. (Textbook, materials, networking and learning included!).
For more information go to ADR.

Experience this two-day course and learn how to save money and relationships!
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