state and local government | The Contracting Education Academy

November 13, 2018 By AMK

PA bill would open door to competitive school construction bids, away from cooperative purchasing

Pennsylvania state representative Jesse Topper has introduced a bill that would open major construction projects to competitive bidding, reports The Inquirer of Philadelphia.

The bill, which is with the State Government Committee, was precipitated by a study from research firm Ducker Worldwide that found from 2005 to 2010, schools across the state wasted more than $100 million in taxpayer money on roofing by using cooperative purchasing rather than competitive bidding.

The proposed bill would outlaw cooperative purchases for construction projects, which the bill’s backers say will save money, especially for public schools having financial troubles. One school district received a roofing bid from a cooperative for $2.4 million, whereas an open bid for the same project totaled $1.4 million.

Still, many Pennsylvania school officials say cooperative purchasing agreements have merit, offering quality assurance, consistency and reduced maintenance, reported The Inquirer. They also say that open bids, unlike cooperatives, don’t take design costs or project monitoring into account.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.constructiondive.com/news/pennsylvania-bill-would-open-door-to-competitive-school-construction-bids/541536/

August 7, 2018 By AMK

How cities can get strategic about procurement

Louisville is pioneering an approach that aims to make purchasing and contracting a key ingredient in successfully delivering services.

The Louisville, Kentucky, Free Public Library needs its security guards to do more than simply monitor the entrances to its buildings. “They have to respond to medical emergencies, address disruptive behavior and make sure no one is using drugs in the bathrooms or hiding under the stairwells at closing,” says Belinda Catman, the library’s executive administrator for operations. The toughest part of the job, she says, is dealing with “a diverse population that includes children, elderly, individuals who are homeless, use substances or are mentally ill.” Too often, security guards assigned to the library have been unable or unwilling to fulfill key aspects of the job, leading to excessive turnover.

In trying to fix this problem, Catman uncovered a mechanism driving the mismatch: Security guards were not being hired by the library directly. Instead, the library had tacked on to a $6.5 million Facilities Management Department contract with a private security firm without updating the scope and qualifications requirements. “Unlike at the library, the security-guard job at Facilities involves little interaction with people beyond greeting visitors at the door and asking them to sign in,” explains Catman.

Louisville was treating contracting as a rubber-stamping activity rather than a crucial ingredient to the success of city services. The procurement system was highly compliance-oriented and siloed between departments, which became a particular pain point when departments shared products or services. Louisville is not alone: Cities across the country are falling short of achieving key objectives due to their rote approach to contracting. But the good news is that many of them are ready to get out of the contracting rut and reinvent how they partner with the private sector.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.governing.com/blogs/bfc/col-cities-strategic-procurement-systems-louisville.html

December 4, 2017 By AMK

Inaugural mayors’ leadership forum on smart cities and inclusive innovation

On Thursday, November 2, Georgia Tech and the Georgia Municipal Association hosted mayors and public officials from 10 Georgia hub cities and counties at the inaugural Mayors’ Leadership Forum on Smart Cities and Inclusive Innovation.

Officials from Albany, Augusta-Richmond County, Brunswick, Columbus, Dalton, Gainesville, Macon-Bibb County, Rome, Savannah, and Valdosta gathered at the Centergy Building in Tech Square for the day-long event. Together, the populations of these metropolitan areas represent 23-percent of Georgia and their gross domestic products (GDPs) make up 18-percent of the state’s overall GDP. The purpose of the forum: translate innovative research and development on smart communities into collective action and deployment.

“We are witnessing some exciting times for local government leadership and action. Never before have we seen as wide advancement and rapid deployment of technologies, data, and other similar tools to drive improvements in government operations, accountability, and transparency,” said Debra Lam, managing director of Smart Cities and Inclusive Innovation at Georgia Tech. “Georgia with its rich, diverse and dynamic communities is a natural testing ground, and it becomes more powerful when local governments come together.”

The forum began with welcome addresses from Lam, Dene Sheheane, Georgia Tech’s vice president for Government and Community Relations, and Georgia Tech President G.P. “Bud” Peterson. Peterson discussed Georgia Tech’s culture of innovation and collaboration, including the Institute’s partnership with the City of Atlanta on the North Avenue Smart Corridor project.

WATCH: Forum Introductions

“What we’d like to do is help you understand how can you take some of the ideas that we have here and perhaps apply them in your communities to enhance innovation and apply some of the techniques and technologies of smart cities to make a better, more robust living environment in your communities, not to try to replicate what we’re doing,” said Peterson.

The first panel of the day explored the role of technology in socio-economic development and its limitations when faced with persistent disparities, such as the “digital divide.” The panelists discussed ways in which technology is currently being used to spur economic and community growth and who those efforts include and exclude. The discussion also provided some ideas about how local governments can support the organic growth of technologies, services, and applications that promote social inclusion, participation, and economic equality.

WATCH: The Role of Technology in Socioeconomic Development

“I think it’s important to understand what the cities are thinking, what the mayors are thinking, what are their priorities and what are their pain points?” said Hardik Bhatt, vertical lead, Smart Cities and Mobility, World Wide Public Sector – State & Local Governments, Amazon Web Services. “Having [nine] hub city mayors sitting in one room and thinking through collaboratively not only how can they share their challenges and problems but also jointly come up with solutions that they can apply to their cities. I think this is a fantastic way of learning what’s happening in American cities and how they are addressing those challenges.”

After lunch and a tour of Tech Square, a second panel discussed how to address infrastructure failures and reexamine our social and physical infrastructure. The goal is to not only better withstand natural and human-caused disasters but to build more resilient communities.

WATCH: Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities

“The smart city conversation is a catalyst for a much larger conversation. Not just how do we bring more technology to our cities, but how do we utilize technology as a tool to solve the challenges that have been in our cities for decades on end?” said Rohit Malhotra, founder, Center for Civic Innovation.

WATCH: Meet the Speakers

After each panel, the mayors and other local officials gathered in small groups to discuss challenges to and opportunities for smarter growth and development in their own communities. After sharing their own struggles and successes, they identified common issues, including concentrated and generational poverty, communication and coordination — both internal and cross-jurisdictional — accessibility and transportation options, educational programs and workforce development, and disaster preparedness.

“Anytime we can come together and talk about how cities are utilizing technologies to improve services to their citizens, to coordinate partners, that’s a very good day and a good use of our time,” said Teresa Tomlinson, mayor, Columbus, Georgia.

ADDITIONAL VIDEO COVERAGE

Meet the Mayors:

Mayor Hardie Davis – Augusta, Georgia
Mayor Teresa Tomlinson – Columbus, Georgia
Mayor Robert Reichert – Macon-Bibb County Georgia
Mayor Dennis Mock – Dalton, Georgia
Mayor Dorothy Hubbard – Albany, Georgia
Mayor Cornell Harvey – Brunswick, Georgia

August 17, 2017 By AMK

Why are local governments using a Russian software the feds won’t?

The Washington Post revealed on July 23rd that several local governments across the U.S. are using a Russian brand of security software that the federal government fears could be leveraged by the foreign country for cyberespionage.

In July, the federal government removed Kaspersky Lab, a Moscow-based company that sells anti-virus security software, from its list of approved vendors. Meanwhile, nearly all the local governments interviewed by the Post appeared unaware of the controversy. Upon learning about it, most said that they had no immediate plans to stop using the product.

The news is merely the latest development in an ongoing debate about whether local governments are doing enough to protect themselves from cyber threats.

Cybersecurity experts have long been sounding the alarm about local governments’ vulnerability to cyberattacks and the impact such an intrusion could have. They say most local governments face great barriers to protecting their data and systems, including lack of funding, shortage of cybersecurity professionals and general ignorance about the seriousness of the threat.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.governing.com/topics/mgmt/gov-local-governments-cybersecurity-kaspersky-russia.html

June 26, 2017 By AMK

Report shows procurement staffs overworked, impacting competition

“With a noticeable decline in performance since the last survey, state and local government procurement is facing some difficult challenges that may result in unwanted consequences for both buyers and sellers.”

That’s a conclusion drawn from a survey conducted by government business intelligence company Onvia, in a report released last week.

The report shows a 5% decline in performance on the part of procurement officials working for state, local and educational (SLED) institutions of government. And the decline in performance is occurring in spite of 40% of the survey respondents stating that they are working longer hours than ever.

In the report SLED buyers complain that they:

Do not have adequate time to conduct market research and prepare adequate bid invitations and requests for proposals.
Lack staffing resources in the procurement function, and
Face challenges working with end-users and stakeholders.

To better understand the government contracting environment, Onvia surveyed 668 procurement professionals and key decision-makers from state, county and city agencies, plus school and special districts nationwide. 59% of the survey respondents said they operate in a decentralized acquisition environment.

Another report – conducted by IHS Global Insight – documents a 3.4% increase in state and local agency current spending levels. That’s consistent with what 39% of procurement staff surveyed by Onvia said. They predict 4% growth in bid volume in the next 12 months. There’s little doubt this is linked to the recent surge in demand for infrastructure bids stemming from the $200 billion in tax initiatives for these projects approved by voters nationwide last November.

In addition to 24.8% of the respondents saying that they are challenged by conducting pre-bid research and planning, SLED procurement personnel say their top challenges are:

Meeting regulatory, contracting guidelines and rules (18.1%),
Dealing with workload and staffing limitations (17.8%), and
Working with stakeholders and end-users (15.8%).

Given these conditions, it’s no surprise that the next top-ranked challenge faced by buyers (14.9%) is “getting enough participation from vendors.” Four out of ten agency respondents indicate that they are failing to attract enough interest among vendors and contractors to their competitive solicitations. The frustration and inefficiencies within agencies, the report notes, “have negative impacts on the experience of bidders as they compete for work and interact with those involved in the purchase decision.”

The report also documents an 8% decline in the agility of purchasing organizations in the last 12 months. Agility is measured in terms of factors such as wait times for processing bids and making award decisions.

In addition, only 69% of agency staff rate themselves as high or above average in friendly, responsive customer service – down 9% from last year.

Perhaps most troubling, over the last year there was a 6% decline in the percentage of procurement staff reporting above-average or high levels of integrity and transparency (83% down to 77%).

Among the conclusions and observations offered by Onvia are:

“Attracting attention from bidders is not simply a function of agency and contract size. [There is] a strong case for investing in the procurement function itself within an agency, with the goal of providing the most effective buying services.
“Government that provides a more fair, consistent, timely and smooth buying process can attract attention from established bidders that have options on where to focus their marketing efforts and may not have time to bid on every deal.”

The report also contains information about the use of purchasing co-ops and the use of e-procurement systems. To download a copy of the full report, free of charge, visit: https://www.onvia.com/market-research/surveys/survey-government-procurement-professionals-2017

Pennsylvania state representative Jesse Topper has introduced a bill that would open major construction projects to competitive bidding, reports The Inquirer of Philadelphia.

Louisville is pioneering an approach that aims to make purchasing and contracting a key ingredient in successfully delivering services.

On Thursday, November 2, Georgia Tech and the Georgia Municipal Association hosted mayors and public officials from 10 Georgia hub cities and counties at the inaugural Mayors’ Leadership Forum on Smart Cities and Inclusive Innovation.

The Washington Post revealed on July 23rd that several local governments across the U.S. are using a Russian brand of security software that the federal government fears could be leveraged by the foreign country for cyberespionage.

“With a noticeable decline in performance since the last survey, state and local government procurement is facing some difficult challenges that may result in unwanted consequences for both buyers and sellers.”

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