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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

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition reform, acquisition workforce, competition, cooperative purchasing, customer service, e-procurement, government reform, market research, Onvia, procurement integrity, procurement reform, SLED, state and local government, training resources, transparency, workload

June 22, 2017 By AMK

Contracts, firings, and favoritism: Explaining the latest DC government scandal

Another week, another apparent scandal involving D.C. government officials. This one gets a bit wonky, involving a city agency that isn’t often in the headlines, contract bids, and hundreds of pages of testimony before a D.C. Council committee.

D.C.’s Department of General Services oversees construction projects—and the lucrative bids for them. Director Christopher Weaver abruptly and mysteriously resigned last August. Within two weeks, it came out that Weaver stepped down rather than fire two employees, as directed by City Administrator Rashad Young, who had recalibrated how DGS evaluated bids. A heavyweight local construction company that donated to Mayor Muriel Bowser’s campaign lost out on two contracts, and it appeared the administration wasn’t happy about it.

One of the employees filed a lawsuit, suing the city and Young for $10 million, saying he was “terminated in retaliation for failing to cooperate with [the Mayor’s office’s] efforts to award the contract” to a political donor and then “publicly defam[ed] and embarass[ed].”

Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, who oversees the D.C. Council committee with oversight of DGS, decided to look into the situation. “I wanted to see if there was anything improper, but I was also interested to report if there’s nothing improper,” Cheh tells DCist about her decision to open an investigation. “It’s not a good thing for the government for allegations to swirl around, that there’s a notion that improprieties are occurring.”

Keep reading this article at: http://dcist.com/2017/06/whats_this_about_a_dgs_investigatio.php

 

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: abuse, conspiracy, corruption, fraud, investigation, state and local government, waste

May 10, 2017 By AMK

How do state and local programs fare in the FY 2017 federal spending deal?

Legislation has emerged to keep the federal government running through September. But tougher negotiations could be on the horizon for the upcoming budget cycle.

Funding levels for many of the federal programs state and local governments rely on are largely unchanged from the previous fiscal year in the roughly $1 trillion spending deal congressional lawmakers have reached.

The 1,665-page bill marks a rare compromise between Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill. If passed by Congress and signed by President Trump, the legislation would keep the federal government running for the rest of the 2017 fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30.

White House budget director Mick Mulvaney during a briefing described the fiscal 2017 bill as “really solid” for the Trump administration and said it “lines up perfectly with the president’s priorities.”

But debates about fiscal year 2018 spending are on the horizon. And those negotiations could get tough. In the “skinny budget” proposal Trump sent to Congress earlier this year he proposed cuts that were steep and sweeping.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.routefifty.com/finance/2017/05/2017-federal-spending-deal-state-local-programs/137478/

Also see related article, “Trump’s Proposed Budget Cuts Would Be Hard Hits for State and Local Governments,” at: http://www.routefifty.com/finance/2017/03/trump-budget-state-local-government-impacts/136200/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: budget, Congress, infrastructure, spending, state and local government

April 3, 2017 By AMK

Your agency need a helicopter? GSA can help with that

If you’re in the market for a helicopter capable of tactical law enforcement operations or snuffing forest fires, the General Services Administration can hook you up.

The agency posted on its Interact site that it was expediting the awarding of helicopters configured for law enforcement, firefighting, and search and rescue operations under its Multiple Awards Schedule 84 — Total Solutions for Law Enforcement.

The awards schedule provides several law enforcement products — from vehicles to drug testing equipment and fire safety materials — and offers state and local governments access to those products through the Cooperative Purchasing Program.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/articles/need-a-helicopter-gsa-can-help-with-that

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: FAS, Federal Supply Schedule, GSA, law enforcement, MAS, state and local government

January 30, 2017 By AMK

State procurement officers release priorities for 2017

Fundamental growth of centralized procurement leads the way.
The National Association of State Procurement Officers released a ranked list of their members’ top ten priorities for 2017. It’s perhaps not surprising, “the strategic role of central procurement” is ranked No. 1—including “creating an enterprise vision for the state” and “an elevated role in the hierarchy of the executive branch.”

The list paints a broad-brush picture of procurement officials focused on the growth and maturation of their agencies as a core statewide function, with workforce development, measuring performance, e-procurement / enterprise resource planning solutions, and effective sourcing strategies rounding out the top five.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.routefifty.com/2017/01/state-procurement-officers-priorities-2017/134962/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: centralization, NASPO, state and local government

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