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An initiative of the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab

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  • Procurement Excellence Network turns one year old!

    The Procurement Excellence Network (PEN) is a community for procurement professionals, for innovators and changemakers, for those who believe procurement is a powerful tool for good.

    1400+ members

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  • Resource Library

    Our resource library include quick reads, templates, and how-to guides available for free download. Check out our publication What Is Procurement Excellence? for an overview of our framework for procurement excellence.

    Read Procurement Excellence Publication

  • Events & Opportunities

    Join us for roundtables and trainings that will support your growth as a leader. Our interactive events are also a great opportunity to learn from your peers about how they’ve implemented procurement reforms in their jurisdictions.

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  • About Our Community

    PEN members are doing big things! Our members come from state and local governments of every structure and size, but they all have one thing in common: a desire to transform procurement.

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About the Procurement Excellence Network (PEN): Transforming Procurement

Procurement is one of the most powerful tools state and local leaders have to improve resident outcomes and equitably deliver services. But in many state and local governments, procurement simply isn’t working the way it should -- RFPs take too long, not enough companies bid on contracts, and archaic procedures make it impossible to implement innovative solutions.

The goal of the GPL Procurement Excellence Network is to help cities, counties, and states transform their procurement practices—so that, ultimately, governments achieve better outcomes for residents, businesses, and community stakeholders.

Pillars of Procurement Excellence

The Government Performance Lab's Procurement Excellence Framework is a set of strategies designed to help governments use procurement and contracting to achieve better outcomes for residents.

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Efficient & Fair

Transforms the procurement process to be efficient, inviting, and transparent

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Results-Driven

Improves the outcomes of contracted programs, products, and services

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Equitable

Invests in equity to improve economic mobility and achieve better outcomes for historically marginalized populations

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Strategic

Elevates and resources procurement as a strategic function

TJ Martin

Chief Assistant City Attorney

Phoenix, Arizona

"In Phoenix, we are always looking to learn from peer communities across the country, especially when it comes to reforming procurement policies. We’ve already gained useful ideas on new tactics to try from GPL-hosted events, and we’re excited that PEN will make the process of connecting and learning easier and more targeted!"

Amber Paxton

Director, Office of Financial Empowerment

Lansing, MI

"In my department, we partner with contracted local organizations to run programs that advance economic mobility for the Lansing community. We’ve increasingly worked to write RFPs that aren’t so prescriptive, which has enabled the vendor community to offer more innovative solutions. It’s a win for us, our vendors, and the residents of Lansing."

Michael McKenna Miller

Director of Strategic Procurement

Boston, MA

"Our vision in the City of Boston is to transform procurement from a compliance function to a force for achieving our policy goals and addressing income inequality. Tools, support and templates from the GPL have helped us leverage procurement as we work to make change."

Featured Resources

Unbundling Large Contracts to Diversify Your Vendor Pool

If your government is looking for ways to help small, local, diverse firms receive their fair share of contracting dollars, unbundling large contracts, or breaking them apart into smaller scopes of work that multiple firms can bid on, is a great way to make contracting opportunities available to firms who otherwise wouldn’t be able to compete. In this quick read, you’ll learn why unbundling can be a key strategy to diversify your contracting pool, how to prioritize contracts for unbundling, and best practices for successful service delivery once contracts are in place.

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Solicitation Getting Started Toolkit - Overview

A purchasing office can be a valuable partner in collaborating with departments or agencies on solicitations by providing strategic support, whether through helping staff write effective and clear specifications, guiding them to use correct procurement processes, or by informing them of existing contracts that meet their needs. This quick read introduces PEN's toolkit for getting solicitations started on the right foot, including a procurement intake form, a kickoff meeting slide deck, and an RFP getting started worksheet.

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Results-Driven RFP Template

Writing a Request for Proposals (RFP) can feel daunting. As you face an upcoming need for goods or services, you may be tempted to fall back on a previously issued version of an RFP, simply mimic what a peer city or state has done, or renew an existing contract - even though you know you could probably find a better-performing vendor. But an RFP is the foundation for achieving strategic goals and improving outcomes for residents through contracting, and such an opportunity shouldn't be wasted. This results-driven RFP template will help you craft an inviting RFP that attracts quality proposals from vendors.

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Surveying Your Vendor Community to Assess Satisfaction and Identify Pain Points

One effective tool for understanding vendor perspectives on your procurement process is a vendor survey. In this how-to guide, you will understand how hearing from both current and prospective vendors can provide valuable feedback on your procurement process, learn how to design and implement a vendor survey, and read about concrete examples and promising practices in survey implementation across different governments.

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