The paper highlights the value that state procurement professionals bring to state government, focusing on ways in which procurement generates state savings, creates and sustains private sector jobs, and ensures state procurement integrity. It also includes a discussion on how state executive leadership can help support state procurement's ability to add value to states.

This research provides information on bid protests processes in state central procurement offices, debriefing practices, the level of effort to respond to protests, and the value of allowing the process. Statutory and policy language regarding definitions for bid protests, timing for filing, timeline for response and the decision process, as well as states’ experiences implementing bid protest bonds policies are presented in four appendices.

This guide is designed to support the evaluation of procurement office preparedness to support an emergency situation. An emergency generally means an extraordinary event which occurs with very little time to develop a unique concept of response for that event. This paper identifies issues to consider before, during and after a catastrophic event, highlights potential problem areas of which to be aware, and offers suggested best practices.

This paper reviews recent reforms to interchange fees, discusses potential implications for state governments’ procurement card programs, associated with the terms of the proposed settlement agreed between payment card networks and merchants.

In addition, the paper identifies key areas for procurement officials to consider in order to guide potential adjustments to state procurement card programs and accommodate expected changes in the industry.

During these difficult economic times, state governments are often pressured to do more to assist their local suppliers. This brief defines in-state preference, outlines the implications of this tactic and also discusses recent statistics, as well as advantages and disadvantages of this approach.