Core Certificate: Foundations of Strategy and Policy

Description

As stewards of the public trust, public procurement professionals are expected to demonstrate strategic value to stakeholders throughout both their governmental entities and the suppliers with whom they work. Providing an overview of the ever-changing profession by identifying concepts, common legal and ethical issues, and the precise role of both the procurement function and the public procurement professional in governmental entities, the Foundations of Public Procurement Strategy and Policy Core Certificate provides learners with a holistic, introductory focus on the profession, using practical examples, discussions, group exercises, and case studies to promote application-ready experiences. As a career orientation or refresher course detailing the basic tenants of the public procurement function, NIGP’s Foundations of Public Procurement Strategy and Policy Core Certificate promotes targeted activities and implementable concepts designed to enhance the mission and strategic value of your entity, empowering learners to become more confident in their role as they perform the procurement function in line with commonplace legal requirements and ethical standards.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of the certificate, the certificate holder will be able to:

• Participate effectively in strategic planning activities.
• Advise internal and external clients on the strategic function of procurement.
• Identify the differences between Law, Regulation and Policy, and Common Law.
• Manage risk through proper identification and mitigation.
• Operate with transparency.
• Select the relevant procurement legislation, regulation, and laws that apply to the work.
• Recognize and manage ethical and legal issues.

Intended Audience

This certificate is targeted to individuals who meet or exceed the following professional demographics:

• Entry-level public procurement and central warehouse professionals who serve as assistants, coordinators, buyers, or equivalent functions within their respective entities.
• Non-procurement managers and supervisors who are responsible for either the procurement function or staff who provide procurement functions under delegated authority.
• Professionals who are employed by governing entities and special authorities (such as K-12 and higher education, publicly-owned utilities, transportation providers, and other publicly-funded or created organizations) that either serve within or manage the procurement function.
• Suppliers or representatives of suppliers seeking to understand the public procurement function from a holistic level, including the policies, standards, and procedures by which public entities must function.

Pre-Work

Prior to entering the classroom environment, students will be enrolled in the following self-paced pre-work courses to learn and practice necessary concepts.

• Mission & Public Benefit Pre-work
• Legislation & Legal Environment Pre-work
• Enabling Regulations & Compliance Pre-work
• Ethics, Integrity, and Transparency Pre-work