This training covers the role of the Statewide Procurement Division and the Open Market Requisition (OMR) process. The training will review delegation, OMR forms and procedures, as well as best practices for state agencies to submit Open Market Requisition documents.

This session covers the Statement of Work requirements for Texas state agencies when utilizing certain DIR services contracts. Participants will learn when and how to submit a Statement of Work and what content should be included in the submission. **Students will only receive credit once for either the in-person event or the the webinar.**

Think Addendums are just some minor administrative burden? Think again! Learn how to communicate clearly and professionally to help ensure the vendor community responds to a formal solicitation with all clarifications included in the response. **Students will only receive credit once for either the in-person event or the webinar.**

Know the difference between Professional, Technical, and Consultant Services and how to procure Consultant Services for your programs. **Students will only receive credit once for either the in-person event or the webinar.**

This training reviews enhanced contract monitoring standards and methods in Texas. Per 34 TAC § 20.166, this training is required for those contract managers whose agencies are designated by the State Auditor’s Office as requiring additional monitoring during the contract management and termination phase of the procurement process.

The Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Program was created to promote full and equal procurement opportunities for small, minority, women, and service disabled (at least 20%) veteran-owned businesses. This webinar provides details regarding agency requirements for utilizing HUB's for contracting and reporting measures. Directions for training: **Students will only receive credit once for either the in-person event or webinar.**

Texas Administrative Code (TAC) revisions specific to the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Program were updated in August of 2023. The purpose behind this training is to understand the updates and ensure HUB compliance accordingly.

Class background: The Statewide Procurement Division is offering in-depth training of the Vendor Performance Tracking System (VPTS) including the role of VPTS, reporting requirements, the impact of VPTS on the procurement cycle, and basic system access and use. Purchasers, contract developers, and contract managers are encouraged to take this training as an introduction to the system and also for the latest system updates or rule changes that have impacted the VPTS.

As an alternative purchasing method, the Statewide Procurement Division establishes Texas Multiple Award Schedule (TXMAS) contracts that have been developed from contracts awarded by the federal government or other governmental entities. The General Services Administration's (GSA) Federal Supply Service awards Federal Supply Schedule contracts by competitive procurement procedures for more than 20 schedules that cover multiple commodities and services. The prices reflected on GSA schedule contracts are the most favored customer (MFC) prices and the maximum price allowable. TXMAS contracts take advantage of the MFC pricing and under certain circumstances, an agency or local governmental entity may negotiate a lower price for the goods or services offered on a TXMAS contract. A "best value" purchase must be made by following the TXMAS purchasing procedures.

The Electronic State Business Daily (ESBD), managed by the Statewide Procurement Division, and the Texas Register, maintained by the Secretary of State, are the primary advertising methods for public procurements for state agencies. This training explains both advertising methods, including the posting requirements for each.

Overview: This training covers the role of the Procurement Oversight & Delegation team and portal. The training covers delegation, accessing the Procurement Oversight & Delegation portal, and actions that the Procurement Oversight & Delegation team take in response to submitted solicitations.

Kellie Pendleton, the Chief Procurement Official for the City of Plano will be presenting Federal Grants and Information.  This training session will help participants to: *Gain in-depth understanding of the procurement regulations in the 2 C.F.R. 200. *Learn practical strategies and best practices for ensuring compliance while effectively procuring goods and services using dollars subject to Federal requirements.

As a part of their fundamental role as contract developers and managers, public procurement officials oversee the critical challenges in a bid protest. This training on navigating bid protests emphasizes the requirements mandated by the Texas Government Code Chapter 2155, Section 2155.076. The curriculum introduces: bid protest types, reasons for bid protests, advantages and disadvantages of bid protests, bid protest administrative procedures in Texas, and the ways to navigate bid protests.

This training outlines the appropriate usage of payment cards; the forms, workflow, and turnaround time for requisitions and purchase orders; and the purchase order change notice (POCN) process.

The Statewide Procurement Division (SPD) Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Program has been tasked with the reporting of expenditures made by state agencies and institutions of higher education. This training session will provide details regarding agency responsibilities for reporting HUB activity to SPD.

Senior Counsel Trace Tankersley of CPA's Operations and Support Legal Services Division explains Texas law governing state agencies' proprietary procurements. His presentation includes the legal definition of a proprietary specification and its practical application, step-by-step purchasing instructions and drafting an effective justification.

Public procurement is a government activity vulnerable to fraud, corruption, or collusion. Bad actors are constantly attempting to exploit vulnerabilities within the public procurement process, given the volume of transactions, the potential financial benefits, the complexity of the process, the ability to capitalize on the close interactions between procurement professionals and businesses, and the multitude of internal and external stakeholders.  You are our first and best line of defense to ensure that the public maintains free and open competition to obtain the best goods and services at the lowest prices!This class is going to provide “real world” instruction on how to: Prevent procurement fraud, corruption, and collusion in the ordinary course of your work; Provide you with tools to identify and detect different types of procurement fraud, corruption, and collusion; Reinforce what you have learned through case studies in procurement fraud, corruption, and collusion; and Let you know when and where to provide the tip of suspected fraud, corruption, or collusion to the Agency’s Anti-Fraud Coordinator or a member of your management team.

This course will focus on foundational knowledge about assessing contractor financial capability and using insurance to mitigate risk to state agencies. The following topics will be addressed: assessing financial capability before and after contract award, understanding types of insurance used in a contract, reading a Certificate of Insurance (COI), determining coverage limits, and understanding the use of an additional insurance endorsement.

Tom Hay with the Department of Information Resources will share tips on contract management. Learn ways to effectively manage contracts, with additional information about technology contracts from the procurement through end of contract life. Areas covered include understanding the contract documents, managing risk, contract monitoring, and vendor performance.

Tom Hay and Tere Shade provide an overview of DIR’s programs and services as they pertain to information technology procurements. DIR’s Cooperative Contracts allow eligible entities to purchase I.T. products and services directly through DIR vendor contracts. DIR’s Shared Technology Services gives eligible entities access to managed I.T. services which allows them to focus on other critical missions. Learn how DIR can serve your I.T. needs through programs available through DIR’s programs.

Seerat Noor, Tax Auditor, covers the basics of reading and understanding various financial statements (e.g., Balance Sheets, Profit & Loss Statements, and Cash Flow Statements). Gerard MacCrossan, of the Statewide Procurement Division, provides an overview of when procurement professionals might reference these types of documents as part of the procurement process.

TFC’s Rico Gamino presents important tips for state agencies to keep in mind when working with construction contracts.

DIR’s Matt Kelly gives an overview of the Texas Risk and Authorization Management Program (TX-RAMP), best practices to assist agencies and cloud service providers in complying with TX-RAMP requirements, and the future of TX-RAMP.

Jared Davis of DPS will covers the subject of federal and state grants, including an overview of the grant process, the interplay of federal and state law, subrecipient award process, the Common Rule, TxGMs, and cost allowability.

Overview: This training focuses on the supporting documentation required for audits performed by CPA’s expenditure audit section relating to the procurement process. Pointers for agencies on how to prepare for an audit as well as common audit findings and how best to avoid them will also be presented.

The Statewide Procurement Division's Gerard MacCrossan, manager of contract development and data management, explains state print services and the Comptroller's print shop portal process.

In the realm of ever changing and emerging technology, market research for technology related solicitations can be key to your organization’s procurement success. Join Pete Casals and Jared Fortenberry from DIR’s Procurement Services Division and discover how DIR conducts its market research along with some helpful tips and best practices.***If you attended this session in person at DIR CONNECT, you will not also receive credit for this webinar.***

Learn about the DIR Exemption process for Texas State Agencies who need to make an information technology purchase outside of a DIR contract. You'll also learn how to submit and exemption request and what information is required for your request. ***If you attended this session in person at DIR CONNECT, you will not also receive credit for this webinar.***

Dive into the contract development process of elicitation and documenting contract requirements for your new procurement project. Learn how to get started by identifying stakeholders, business needs, and the different types of requirements to meet the business outcomes and goals of the contract.***If you attended this session in person at DIR CONNECT, you will not also receive credit for this webinar.***

An in-depth discussion on DIR's Shared Technology Services (STS) program. Learn about specific offering available under the program and the multiple ways your entity can benefit from the STS program. ***If you attended this session in person at DIR CONNECT, you will not also receive credit for this webinar.***

The Statewide Procurement Division (SPD) is proud to offer this Specification Development training which will identify different types of specifications used in solicitations, identify common problems that can arise from poorly written specifications, and offer best practices to public procurement professionals to develop clear and thorough specifications.

Overview: Each state agency must independently determine who qualifies as a member of a governing body for the agency. Any such determination requires studying the enabling statutes and any other applicable law regarding the particular agency at issue. If you have questions about who in your agency is required to complete this training for governing bodies, please consult your agency's legal counsel.

Overview: The Texas Purchasing from People with Disabilities program is dedicated to furthering the state’s policy of encouraging and assisting persons with disabilities to achieve maximum personal independence by engaging in useful, productive employment activities. Under the program, individuals with varying levels of disabilities produce products or perform services through a Community Rehabilitation Program.

This DIR Town Hall session from the Department of Information Resources covers DIR offerings and how to go about procuring during Covid-19. The goal of the session is to provide useful information on how to navigate procurement during a pandemic.

Overview: Agile procurement systems are unconventional contracting methodologies based on a dozen core principles emphasizing collaboration, flexibility and problem solving. This approach seeks to align organizations' and suppliers' interests and values the importance of speed as well as savings. Procurement Services Director Colleen Berkley of the Texas Department of Information Resources explains how to adapt agile procurement to a state agency's needs in this 41-minute presentation to Statewide Procurement Division staff in November 2019.

Overview: John Hoffman, Chief Technology Officer from the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR), discusses cloud computing. What is it, what does it mean and how is the cloud changing what we do?

Procurement Services Director Colleen Berkley of the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) discusses how to negotiate contracts for information technology (IT) and related services. In this 50-minute presentation made in November 2019 to Statewide Procurement Division staff, she explains the necessity for detailed planning, goal setting, team building and scheduling; the various negotiator types and techniques; resource acquisition; and the finer points of requests for offers.

Disaster Finance Unit Chief Cody Hays gives an overview of the procurement role played by the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) during statewide emergency and disaster situations. His 42-minute presentation also covers TDEM's role during emergencies and how to develop contingency contracts.

This training provides guidance to help you identify Invoice Processing Best Practices. 

In this presentation, Information Security Officer Joshua G. Kuntz of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles discusses the essential elements of information security in state agency contracts for information technology.

Overview:This webinar is provides guidance to help you Identify appropriate situations for using the RFP. •Develop an RFP• Advertise an RFP in accordance with Texas Statues and other rules. •Conduct a pre-proposal conference. Evaluate and Score responses• Notify appropriate parties of contract award• Identify basic contract administration duties• Prepare a Purchaser RFP Checklist

Overview: CPA Project Manager David LaChance shares insights from the planning arena that apply to the procurement process.

Overview: This session from the Department of Information Resources covers IT negotiations basics, what is and is not allowed and a short overview of DIR contracts. The goal of the session is to provide basic guidelines to assist you in making IT negotiations more successful.

Overview: Megan Sim of the Texas Facilities Commission explains how to use programs administered by the State of Texas and the U.S. government to both obtain and dispose of surplus personal property (not real estate). Property/asset managers and purchasers, among others, will learn time- and money-saving tips for acquiring equipment, furniture, vehicles etc., along with proper methods of reporting and divesting excess and salvage property.

Overview: For the purposes of this webinar, we will limit our discussion to business relationships with suppliers who have one or more agency contracts that you are assigned to manage and other internal stakeholders who support putting the contract in to place.