NASPO Letter to Members

Lexington, KY – On January 3, 2022, the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) Board of Directors submitted a letter to the Executive Committee of the Universal Public Procurement Certification Council (UPPCC) to formally request the removal of National Institute of Government Procurement (NIGP) members from participating in UPPCC’s Board of Directors.

As detailed in the letter, NIGP has not been a faithful partner of the UPPCC and to the wider procurement profession. Not only has NIGP refused to financially support UPPCC, it created and marketed its own certification program that directly competes with UPPCC’s Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO) and the Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) programs, the two universally recognized certifications. This action from NIGP causes confusion for the already challenging work of procurement officials and creates division between our community. UPPCC as an organization was founded to facilitate cooperation between procurement professionals across the country. Unfortunately, NIGP is refusing to uphold this mission by taking advantage of its position of privilege as a UPPCC board member to pursue its own objectives.

As a committed member of UPPCC, NASPO felt it necessary to request NIGP’s removal to preserve UPPCC as the universal standard for public procurement certification. More importantly, we took this measure to ensure that the agenda of a single organization does not complicate the essential work of NASPO’s members and lower the quality of public procurement that serve the broader society.

By releasing this letter to our membership, NASPO aims to remain as transparent as possible in our mission of providing sound professional development and leadership for procurement officials around the country and deliver superior purchasing solutions for the public.