State and Local Government Procurement

The National Association of State Procurement Officials is proud to make the State and Local Government Procurement: A Practical Guide, 3rd Edition, available to government professionals, students, suppliers, educators, and others interested in learning about public procurement. Whether you are a seasoned procurement professional or new to the field, this guide should provide you a valuable reference tool in your efforts. This edition of NASPO's flagship guide features many changes, improvements, and additional content.This 3rd Edition of State & Local Government: A Practical Guide (hereafter referred to as Practical Guide) identifies the current and rapidly changing forces that are encountered by state or local government procurement officers and suggests ways in which they may be addressed. The text also describes the principles and practices that are at the heart of a procurement system that must remain both flexible and accountable. A combination of the factors that are discussed in the pages of this Practical Guide indicates that the challenges that public procurement officers are facing are rapidly evolving. State and local central procurement offices are obliged to find creative and innovative ways to adapt to new situations while still upholding traditional legal and ethical standards. There are several differences between this and the second edition:• Issues such as the procurement of information technology (IT), sustainability principles in procurement, and the use of eProcurement systems have been updated. Additionally, the narratives relating to the bones of the state and local government procurement process—such as procurement planning, source selection methods, evaluation of bids and proposals, quality assurance, and contract management—have been significantly expanded.• Each chapter of this Practical Guide includes a comprehensive list of recommended best practices that are pertinent to that chapter's topic. Lists of recommended topics for statutory and regulatory coverage have been eliminated in favor of more practical best practices lists.• A comprehensive list of the resources that were used in the text of this Practical Guide is noted for each chapter through endnotes citing those resources.• There is a significant increase in cross-referencing within each chapter to demonstrate the interrelationships among the various subject matter.• Many of the changes in this edition are aimed at providing foundational definitions and explanatory overviews to benefit those readers who have no knowledge of state and local government procurement.