Procurement Basics
This is the primary parent organization that establishes and guides the NASPO ValuePoint cooperative purchasing program.
Answer: What is the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO)?
The "RFP" is the standard competitive solicitation document used to kickstart the master agreement process.
What is a Request for Proposals?
Laptops, tablets, servers, and data storage systems fall under this massive, heavily utilized portfolio.
What is Computer Equipment?
This is the first step a Sourcing Team takes to gauge market availability and vendor interest before publishing a formal solicitation.
What is issuing a Request for Information (RFI)?
Cooperative purchasing drastically reduces this internal business cost by cutting down the time and staff required to run individual solicitations.
What are administrative costs (or transaction costs)?
This specific type of agreement is signed by an individual state to formally adopt a NASPO ValuePoint master agreement into their jurisdiction.
What is a Participating Addendum (PA)?
Local governments, school districts, and public higher education institutions often use cooperative contracts under this collective acronym.
What is MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Operations)? (Alternatively: What is CO-OP?)
Copiers, multi-function printers, and digital duplicators are grouped under this managed output category.
What is the Multi-Function Devices & Related Software, Services & Cloud Solutions Portfolio
During the evaluation phase, this specific scoring method is used to determine which vendor offers the best balance of technical capability and cost.
What is Best Value evaluation?
This term describes the contractual mechanism ensuring that if a vendor lowers prices for one entity, those savings are extended across the board.
What is a Most Favored Customer clause (or price protection)?
This is the underlying structural benefit achieved when public agencies combine their purchasing power to secure lower pricing and better terms.
What are economies of scale?
This administrative fee, paid by contractors based on total sales volume, finances the operational costs of the ValuePoint program.
What is the administrative fee (or management fee)?
Police, fire, and emergency medical services leverage these contracts to procure radios, body armor, and tactical gear.
What is Public Safety Communications Products, Services & Solutions Portfolio
If a state wants to modify the standard terms of a Master Agreement to comply with its own unique state laws, it does so during this step.
What is negotiating the Participating Addendum?
Because these contracts are already fully vetted and competitively awarded, they give agencies this major operational advantage during emergencies or tight deadlines.
What is speed to market (or expedited procurement)?
NASPO ValuePoint contracts are generally structured this way, meaning they are available for use by eligible entities but do not mandate a minimum volume commitment.
What is a permissive (or optional-use) contract?
This term refers to the cross-functional group of procurement professionals from multiple states who collaborate to write the solicitation and evaluate vendor proposals.
What is the Sourcing Team (or Evaluation Committee)?
This infrastructure category covers hosted software solutions, platforms, and infrastructure accessed over the internet without local hardware deployment.
What is Cloud Solutions Portfolio?
This is the required final action taken by a vendor to report quarterly sales figures and remit administrative fees back to the program.
What is sales reporting (or usage reporting)?
ValuePoint contracts help mitigate this type of legal vulnerability by utilizing standardized, pre-vetted terms reviewed by state attorneys.
What is contractual risk (or liability)?
In a cooperative contract, this individual or entity is the primary state that administers the contract on behalf of the cooperative.
What is the Lead State?
This legal framework, abbreviated as "MA," is the final contract awarded to a vendor that contains the core terms, conditions, and base pricing for all participating states.
What is a Master Agreement?
This portfolio keeps public entities mobile, offering master agreements for sedans, trucks, SUVs, and alternative-fuel vehicles.
What is the Passenger Vehicle and Box Truck Rentals Portfolio
To maintain legal compliance, a Lead State must publish all ValuePoint solicitations on this specific type of public electronic portal.
What is an e-Procurement system (or state bidding portal)?
NASPO ValuePoint ensures its solicitations meet strict legal mandates by adhering to these rules, which require open, transparent, and fair vendor selections.
What are competitive bidding requirements?