Upcoming Dates

Fundamentals of Public Purchasing

• Purchasers new to the government procurement process who need an overview of the fundamental functions of government procurement.
• Any government employee authorized to purchase goods and services.
• Government employees who wish to understand the purchasing process and how it impacts their operations.

• Discussion of ethics and standards of conduct
• Organization of the procurement function
• Procurement authority
• Public Information Act
• Cooperative purchasing
• The purchasing cycle
• Purchasing methods
• Source selection and solicitation
• Receipt and tabulation
• Evaluation and award
• Receipt of goods and services
• Payment
• Property disposal
• Proprietary/sole source purchases
• Emergency purchases
• Small/minority business programs
• Procurement cards

• Explain the major elements of the Purchasing Cycle
• Locate and use NIGP commodity codes
• Understand the differences of using an IFB, RFP, RFQ, and RFI
• List the 5 elements to include in an informal solicitation
• Locate and use cooperative contracts
• Find bidders using various source selection methods
• Justify using proprietary or emergency purchases
• Evaluate bid responses and complete a bid tabulation
• Make award decisions based on evaluation factors
• List the elements of a "3 way match" for payment
• Know the 10 pieces of documentation to include in the purchasing file