- October 9, 2019
- Posted by: James
- Category: News
LEXINGTON, Ky. (October 9, 2019)—A proactive contract management program developed by the State of Michigan’s Central Procurement Services achieved the Gold Award, the highest honor in the George Cronin Awards for Procurement Excellence, presented annually by the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO).
Designed to ensure greater compliance by state agencies and its vendors, Michigan’s Gold Award winning entry “Circumventing Risk with Contract Management,” was selected by the Cronin Awards Committee for its achievements in innovation, transferability, service improvement and cost reduction.
“As public procurement professionals, we have the opportunity to implement process improvements and strategies that make government more efficient and effective,” said NASPO President Lisa Eason of Georgia. “For more than 40 years, the Cronin Awards have showcased the value public procurement brings to the table, and I am thrilled to see my colleagues and their home states recognized for their contributions.”
The NASPO Cronin Awards were established in 1977 to recognize outstanding and innovative state procurement initiatives while also spotlighting state procurement personnel who have successfully undertaken projects resulting in distinct benefits to their state’s economy and the efficient delivery of services. By calling attention to these efforts, the Cronin Awards seek to raise awareness of these initiatives and encourage adoption by other states. Cronin awardees and finalists create opportunities for implementation of best practices, improving the procurement function nationwide.
The 2019 Cronin Awards for Procurement Excellence were presented during the NASPO Annual Conference, September 8-11, 2019, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Eighteen projects were submitted for the Cronin Award Committee’s consideration this year. Of those 18, five projects were named Cronin Awards finalists and those states were invited to deliver presentations on their submissions during the NASPO Annual Conference.
In addition to Michigan’s Gold Award, Cronin Committee Chair Kelly Sanders of Ohio also presented to the State of Florida’s Division of Purchasing the Silver Cronin Award for its submission, “Market Analysis and Procurement Strategy (MAPS).” MAPS is a detailed process Florida follows to examine previous procurement decisions and determine the best course of action for future purchases.
The Cronin Bronze Award went to the State of Minnesota for its submission “Innovation Begets Innovation: How Challenge-Based RFPs Have Been a Winning Solution for Minnesota,” which outlines the Minnesota Connected and Automated Vehicle Challenge.
Two additional states were named finalists for this year’s Cronin Awards; the State of New York for their submission, “Online Filed Requirements System” and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for their submission, “Excellent Data = Meaningful Analytics: Improving Vendor Report Information Management.”
Beginning in November 2019, NASPO will host a webinar series with each of the five 2019 Cronin Awards finalists. The webinars are free and open to the public. You can view webinars of previous Cronin Award recipients here.
The George Cronin Awards for Procurement Excellence have been a foundational part of NASPO’s benefits and member engagement for more than 40 years. To learn more about NASPO and the Cronin Awards, visit www.naspo.org.