Chapter Governance

Writing and Updating NIGP Chapter Bylaws

Bylaws are the fundamental rules that define your chapter. Unlike a policy manual or strategic plans, Bylaws have a specific order to follow. They must be accurate as they are a legal document.  

• Bylaws should be reviewed regularly by your board and follow the NIGP and chapter membership approval process. 
• Once the chapter board has agreed on changes, this document should be sent to NIGP either in red-lined or itemized format for review prior to going to the membership for a vote. 
• NIGP will review and offer any changes or updates recommended.  The purpose of the review is to ensure conformance with current NIGP Bylaws and policies (reference in the 2021 Chapter Operating Framework document GOVERNING DOCUMENTS #12). 
• Once NIGP has reviewed your bylaws and provided feedback, send your bylaws to your membership for a vote. 
• Once approved, please send a clean copy back to NIGP to post below and for our historical records. 

Ten Most Common Bylaw Pitfalls

Articles to Include in Your Chapter’s Bylaws

While the specific information included in  your chapter’s Bylaws will be unique, the Bylaws should include these articles in the following order:

• Name
• Object
• Membership
• Officers
• Meetings
• Executive Board
• Committees
• Parliamentary Authority
• Amendment

You can use this sample Bylaws template to create new Bylaws or revise old ones. 

Sample Bylaws from NIGP Chapters

Bylaws should be revisited and revised regularly to make sure they reflect the current standing of the chapter.

Sample Bylaws from Small Chapters

• Alaska-Hawaii Governmental Procurement Association
• Assiniboia Chapter of NIGP
• California Chapter of NIGP
• Canada West Chapter of NIGP
• Central Gulf Coast Chapter
• Copper Chapter of NIGP
• Grand Canyon Chapter of NIGP
• Gulf Coast Association of Governmental Purchasing Officers
• Idaho Public Purchasing Association
• Iowa Public Procurement Association
• Mid-Tennessee Public Purchasing Association
• North Florida Procurement Association
• Pennsylvania Public Purchasing Association
• Public Purchasers Association of Northern Ohio
• Public Purchasing Association of Connecticut
• Tallahassee Area Chapter
• Washington DC Chapter of NIGP

Sample Bylaws from Medium Chapters

• Arkansas Chapter
• Capital Area Purchasing Association
• Columbia Chapter of NIGP
• Dallas Ft. Worth Metroplex Chapter 
• East Tennessee Purchasing Association
• Greater Miami Chapter of NIGP
• Southeast Texas Association of Public Purchasing
• Utah Chapter

Sample Bylaws from Large Chapters

• Central Florida Chapter
• Central Ohio Organization of Public Purchasers
• Georgia Chapter of NIGP
• Governmental Procurement Association of Georgia 
• Kentucky Public Procurement Association
• Louisiana Chapter of NIGP
• Michigan Public Purchasing Officers Association
• Missouri Association of Public Purchasing
• Tampa Bay Chapter
• Washington State Chapter
• Wisconsin Association for Public Procurement

Sample Bylaws from Extra Large Chapters

• Arizona State Capitol Chapter
• Carolinas Association of Governmental Purchasing
• Maryland Public Purchasing Association, Inc.
• Mississippi Association of Governmental Purchasing and Property Agents
• New Mexico Public Procurement Association
• New York State Association of Municipal Officials
• Oklahoma Association of Public Procurement
• Oregon Public Purchasing Association
• South Carolina Association of Governmental Purchasing Officials
• South East Florida Chapter

The backbone of every successful chapter is made up of the Board of Directors and chapter committees. In addition to leading meetings, events, and programs, these two groups set chapter policy and give counsel and guidance to the chapter in all its social, financial, educational, and membership operations.

To maximize the effectiveness of the organization, all volunteers need to have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The best way to do this is to have a job/position description for all volunteer positions. 

There is no correct list of positions within a chapter. Positions should be formed around the unique needs of each individual chapter. Below is a recommended committee list. 

Sample Volunteer Position Descriptions

• Central Florida Officer and Committee Responsibilities (Signed acknowledgement of duties and conflict of interest) 
• Columbia Chapter of NIGP
• Copper Chapter of NIGP
• Copper Chapter of NIGP - Committee Policy
• Minnesota Chapter of NIGP - Officer, Board, and Committee Chair Job Descriptions
• Mississippi Association of Governmental Purchasing and Property Agents Chapter of NIGP
• New York State Association of Municipal Officials Chapter of NIGP
• Public Purchasing Association of Connecticut Chapter of NIGP - Job Descriptions
• Rocky Mountain Governmental Purchasing Association Conflict of Interest Policy
• SE Florida Chapter Committee Chair Agreement
• Tampa Bay Area Chapter of NIGP
• Sample - Chapter Officer Monthly Task List
• VAGP Diversity and Inclusion Committee 
• Volunteer Coordinator Job Descriptions

• 2023 Webinar: Title: Crafting an Engaging Board Meeting (2023 Chapter Academy follow-up)
  • Board Meeting Remake
  • From Boring to Bright – A chapter Board Meeting Make-Over
     

• Consent Agenda: https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/nigp-prod-media/assets/chapters/events-and-conferences/chapter-academy-2023/Consent_Agenda_FAQ.pdf

• Round Robin: https://jurassicparliament.com/round-robin/

• Fist to 5: https://www.lucidmeetings.com/glossary/fist-five

• Micro and Ad Hoc Volunteer Jobs https://marinermanagement.com/resource/blog/2015-05-02/the-list-micro-ad-hoc-volunteer-jobs-in-associations/
• Micro Volunteering Jobs https://marinermanagement.com/resource/blog/2016-10-17/finding-micro-volunteering-jobs-to-offer/
• We have to Fire this Volunteer!  https://marinermanagement.com/resource/blog/2012-10-25/we-have-to-fire-this-volunteer/
• Fixing the Volunteer Pool (see links for job descriptions)  https://marinermanagement.com/resource/blog/2014-11-13/fixing-the-volunteer-pool-the-talent-scout/
• Get Involved Survey sample (PRSA Society)
• Volunteer Flyer (PRSA Society)
• Volunteer Adhocracy in Action Worksheet (how to create micro and small volunteering roles)
• Script for Call for Volunteers
• Volunteer Flyers

A policy manual is a key element of good governance and management for your chapter. It should be regularly updated to ensure policies and procedures are current and relevant to the chapter's needs.

What is a Policy Manual?

A policy manual is a document that contains written rules, operations, procedures, or policy that governs conduct within your chapter. In best use situations, policies play a strategic role in a chapter. Policy manuals are developed in light of a chapter's mission and objectives.

While some chapters create separate procedure and policy manuals, it is OK to combine these into one document for your chapter by first creating your policy and then documenting the procedure for it.

How to Create or Update a Policy Manual

Effective policies lead to chapter  success. If your chapter has an existing policy manual, revisit it often to add new policies that are relevant to your chapter's current needs and remove or adapt policies that are no longer relevant.

Here are some tips to follow when creating or updating your chapter’s manual:

• Create a table of contents
• Abolish outdated policies or procedures
• Make sure the manual grows with the chapter
• Identify gaps in policy and check for consistency
• Keep it simple – use clean, concise, simple language
• Don’t include information that may become outdated quickly

Sample NIGP Chapter Policy Manuals

Here are samples of policy manuals from select NIGP chapters. Use them as a guide to create or revise your chapter's policy manual. While every chapter's policy manual will have information that is unique to the chapter, these samples can help you format and structure your policy manual. 

• Carolinas Association of Governmental Purchasing
• Central Florida Chapter
• Idaho Public Purchasing Association
• Iowa Public Procurement Association Chapter of NIGP
• Kentucky Public Procurement Association
• Maryland Public Procurement Association, Inc.
• Oregon Public Procurement Association Chapter of NIGP
• Public Purchasers Association of Northern Ohio
• Pennsylvania Public Purchasing Association
• Rocky Mountain Governmental Purchasing Association
• South Carolina Association of Governmental Purchasing Officials
• Tampa Bay Area Chapter of NIGP
• Utah Chapter

Succession planning is a systematic effort and process of identifying and developing candidates for key chapter leadership positions to ensure the continuity of the chapter. Succession planning is critical to a chapter's success. When done successfully, it creates a process for recognizing, developing, and retaining top leadership talent within your chapter.

Succession planning is accomplished by identifying individuals with high leadership potential and ensuring they are given the necessary experience and training to prepare them to assume higher-level leadership positions in the future.

When done well, succession planning enables chapters to:

• Identify the best candidates for positions
• Develop potential successors in ways that best fit strengths
• Build a leadership pipeline/talent pool to ensure leadership continuity
• Identify and transfer key knowledge and information that might otherwise be lost
• Ensure that the chapter’s current mission and vision are carried forward by future leaders
• Define competency requirements along with strategies to develop both existing and new volunteer leaders to meet these needs

Succession Planning Resources

A key benefit of having 70 chapters nationwide is that you have plenty of resources available to help you with your leadership succession planning. Here are a few helpful resources from NIGP chapters.

Discover a proven method to develop your succession plan by downloading this helpful NIGP succession planning toolkit. 

• Central Florida Bootcamp
• Missouri Association Board Retreat Agenda

• Missouri Chapter Board Expectations and Conflict Document

Newly elected officers should be installed at a chapter meeting. When a new officer is installed in a chapter, the NIGP National office or a Board representative will use this NIGP installation script

Strategic planning is an organizational tool that provides a chapter with a big picture view of what it is now, what it hopes to be in the future, and what steps it will take to get there. Strategic planning involves a series of steps designed to help a chapter define its future.

Keep in mind that strategic planning is a constantly evolving process as a chapter changes and grows. You will need to go through the process on a regular basis to ensure that your chapter is meeting its objectives and taking the necessary steps to grow and succeed.

Benefits of a Strategic Plan

A strategic plan gives Board members and general members a clear vision of the chapter's goals for now and the future. Specific benefits of creating and using a strategic plan include the following:

• Develops a broad outlook of your goals
• Provides a road map for the chapter's future
• Sets clear progress markers along the way
• Identifies and warns of  potential upcoming threats
• Shows where and when help is needed to meet your goals
• Helps evaluate the journey to make improvements along the way

How to Create a Strategic Plan

You can create a strategic plan for your chapter in three steps. As you are creating it, make sure you consider how you will implement the strategic plan into your chapter. Implementation can be the most difficult stage of a strategic plan. Chapter leadership must demonstrate a strong commitment to the strategic plan and clearly communicate the plan’s values and importance. To ensure progress, establish and monitor benchmarks and timelines.

 Step 1

Ask the question, “Who are we and what do we really want?”

To answer that question a chapter must focus on itself by looking at the following areas:

• Vision
• Value statement
• Mission statement

 Step 2

Ask the questions, “Who else is out there? What do they really want? Can we work together? Do we have similar views, values?”

To determine these answers a chapter must focus on an environmental assessment. A way of doing this is by doing a SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis assesses:

• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities
• Threats

 Step ​3

Ask the questions, “How are we going to get there, what do we need to do, and with whom?”

To answer these questions focus on the following:

• Goals
• Tactics
• Objectives
• Strategies
• Priority objectives

Samples to Get You Started

• Strategic Planning for NIGP Chapters (From Forum 2011)
• Benefits and Concerns
• Putting Your Chapter Strategic Plan into Action – (From Forum 2015)
• Strategic Planning SOAR Analysis – (From Forum 2015)

Samples of Chapter Strategic Plans

Use the samples below to guide the creation of your chapter's strategic plan. 

• Central Ohio Organization of Public Purchasing – Pre-Strategic Survey
• Central Florida Chapter Strategic Plan
• Governmental Purchasing Association of Georgia – Strategic Plan
• Michigan Public Purchasing Association Strategic Plan
• New York State Association of Muncipal Purchasing Officials Strategic Plan
• Oregon Public Purchasing Association Power Point on Strategic Plan
• SE Florida Chapter of NIGP Strategic Plan
• Tampa Bay Chapter
• Virginia Association of Governmental Purchasing Strategic and Action Plan

 Columbia Chapter - Committees

 Minnesota Chapter – Policy

 Rocky Mountain Governmental Purchasing Assoc. – Handbook and Awards

 Columbia Chapter – Committees 

 Delaware Operational Management

 Kentucky Operation Processes

 Maryland Public Purchasing Assoc.  – Awards Program   

 Oregon Public Purchasing – Officer Roles and Volunteers

 Washington DC Chapter  - Committees and Awards

 = Best Practices from the Outstanding Chapter Awards