Agenda

One on One Breakdown (Thursday)

Discover how laughter and humor can work to your advantage when dealing with the seemingly unfunny business of balancing risk and managing change. Learn how flexibility and responsiveness are critical qualities for thriving in a world of ever-accelerating change.

This fun, innovative keynote also explores how the successful use of humor can reduce stress, build morale, and help you lead others through difficult times of change. You will also discover the importance of maintaining a positive attitude and clarifying values when facing change – or when simply pursuing a happier, more satisfying life. Embrace Risk, Manage Change, and Laugh Often also shows you how to develop the skills of a successful problem-solver by using creativity, humor, and divergent thinking.

This session will include insights from NASPO’s recent academic research project studying the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the state procurement office. The project included in-depth interviews with over 45 State Chief Procurement Officers exploring their role in response to the pandemic. This session will explore the long-term impact of the pandemic on state procurement and their interactions with the supplier community.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Identify the key challenges and environmental factors that procurement officials faced when responding to the pandemic.
• Discuss the strategies utilized to combat challenges and effectively collaborate with suppliers in procuring essential commodities and services.

All suppliers are welcome to attend this session! Attendees will learn about the latest online training tools and how to integrate these resources into your Learning Management System. Additionally, we will touch upon other resources such as the ValuePoint Supplier Toolbox and the newly introduced Marketing Toolkit. Finally, we will discuss our emerging market and growth initiatives, as well as other strategies to help ValuePoint suppliers maximize their contract award opportunity.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Discover online training tools for use in the Learning Management System.
• Identify emerging marketing and growth areas.
• Develop strategies to maximize contract award.

This session will explore the different factors that suppliers consider when determining whether to submit a proposal for a solicitation. The discussion will focus primarily on IT solicitations and the complexities related to a supplier’s decision to respond.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Identify the components of a solicitation that influence a supplier’s decision to respond.
• Discuss opportunities for improvement and better communication around solicitations.

This session will focus on identifying how states define “small” businesses and the efforts they are taking to engage them in state procurement. This will include a discussion of opportunities and resources for suppliers that may not view themselves as falling within the traditional “small business” category. This session will examine ways in which states can foster relationships with small businesses and how small businesses can interact with the state to ensure they have better opportunities to secure contracts.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Discuss how states define small businesses and the strategies utilized for engagement.
• Identify how preference laws affect small business opportunities with state procurement.
• Develop best practices for relationship building between small businesses and central procurement offices.

This interactive session will explore strategies to appropriately communicate and engage procurement officers and eProcurement office on potential business opportunities.  Participants will hear tips gathered from experienced suppliers and procurement officers.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Discuss strategies for developing business relationships with the different levels and agencies within state government.
• Recognize opportunities to engage with state central procurement and agency users to promote existing contracts.
• Recognize the role of central procurement and how best to leverage the information provided by the department.

One on One Breakdown (Wednesday)

Check back for our engaging discussion topics!

Please note the time zones for Topical Discussions below.

• Hawaiian Time    8:00 am-9:00 am
• Alaskan Time       9:00 am-10:00 am
• Pacific Time         10:00 am-11:00 am
• Mountain Time   11:00 am-12:00 pm
• Central Time        12:00 pm-1:00 pm
• Eastern Time        1:00 pm-2:00 pm