Course

Learning Labs

Hands-On Workshops

An educational series that provides learners with best practice guidance on a variety of technical and hard skills needed for public procurement success.

Upcoming Learning Labs

Course Availability:

View upcoming dates for this course.

Seeing Excellence: Learning from Great Procurement Teams

The essence of teams is working together toward a common goal. What makes a great team?

This Learning Lab series is designed around the chapters in Seeing Excellence: Learning from Great Procurement Teams by Richard Pennington, CPPO, C.P.M. J.D.

Each Learning Lab is interactive featuring a live presenter and a subject matter expert who share their knowledge and insights on these relevant topics.

Learning Lab 4: Step to Their Side Often: Help Mold and Promote the Team
Learn what specific actions during a team's lifecycle can improve a team's prospects for success.
November 18, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab 5: Use Just Enough Structure: Plan, Communicate, Follow-Up
Understand how to move a team from the early establishment of purpose and goals to achieving objectives.
December 9, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab 6: Use Meaningful Measures of Merit
Measurement is critical to assessing procurement office operations. Learn how to development an approach to measurement that works for you.
January 13, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab 7: First Ask How? Then Why? Then Decide?
Decision making is a process full of possible errors, get insight on how to identity potential errors and how to reduce them.
February 17, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab 8: Manage Risk and Change
Risk management and change management are two sides of the side coin. Gain an understanding and assess the different business models for risk and change management.
March 17, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab 9: Keep Learning and Make It Stick!
Discover key tools that can make you and your team more effective at learning.
April 14, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab 10: Lead Laterally: Choose to Help
Understand the five behaviors of effective team leaders and distinguishing between the dimensions of leadership, from transactional through team to transformational leadership.
May 19, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Cost

Members: $79

Non-Members: $179

Contact Hours

2.0

CEUs

0.2

Length

90 - 120 minutes

Participants

Limited to 45 participants.

Delivery Format

Virtual Instructor-Led

Additional Learning Labs

RFPs
From Janet Arrowood, The Write Source, Inc.
Microsoft Excel

Download Flyer

Learning Lab 1: Introduction to Request for Proposals
A general discussion on RFPs theory and practice along with presentation of the new RFP Global Best Practice
January 19, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab 2: Start With the End in Mind
Selecting the right type of RFP based on evaluation methodology. One size fits all? Not so when it comes to RFP. During this Learning Lab, we will review various types of RFPs and evaluation methodologies.
February 9, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab 3: The Importance of Flexibility and Organization
The good, the bad, and the ugly. There is a method behind the madness. During this learning lab, we will review various template components and dissect examples.
February 11, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab 4: Evaluation Committee/Process
Learn about creating an effective team as an essential part of a defensible evaluation process.
February 23, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab 5: Responsiveness, Compliance, and Responsibility
Evaluation methodologies include multiple criteria used in the evaluation process. Learn to differentiate between the various types of criteria and their applications.
February 25, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab 6: Communication / Engagement with your Suppliers
Did you know you can engage with suppliers during the procurement process? A well thought out Supplier engagement can provide tremendous value to both the supplier and entities.
March 9, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab 7 Part 1: Treasure Map for Suppliers
We will discuss examples of essential information required to portray intent correctly in the RFP. This is essential in order for suppliers to understand your needs and provide the best proposal possible.
March 23, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab 7 Part 2: Statement of work/Requirement writing (pre-requisite: Learning Lab Part 1: Introduction to Request For Proposals)
This learning lab will be focused on practicing spec writing for actual procurements students are involved in.
March 25, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab 8: The End in Mind - Post Evaluation Steps
This session will cover various steps we often forget about and must be prepared for should they occur. This is where the scrutiny will make a well crafted and executed RFP shine.
April 20, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab 9: Tales from the Trenches: When Rubber Hits the Road!
This lab will focus on practitioners' tips, lessons learned and application of professional judgment.
April 22, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab 10: RFP Misfits
Improve your solicitation by including often overlooked, seldom used variations/elements to customize your RFP documents and evaluation methodology.
April 29, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab: Professional/Business Writing
Learn to write the clearest and most concise emails, memos, reports, policies & procedures, and similar documents.
March 31, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab: Writing Effective Procurement/Solicitation Documents
Improve the quality of your procurement/solicitation documents by using a logical format that is audience- (bidder) focused, plain and concise and uses a structured approach that avoids repetition and redundancy.
April 21, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab: Effective Proposal Writing: Laying the Groundwork
Learn to create a logical structure for your proposal to ensure all requirements are addressed.
May 25, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Learning Lab: Creating Effective Presentation Slides
Create attention-getting presentations that focuses on "less is more" and the "bottom line up front"
June 16, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Microsoft Excel: Linking & Sharing Data
Useful and time-saving features in Excel such as referencing and summarizing data from other worksheets, controlling and protecting critical procurement data, and creating external links.
January 20, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Microsoft Excel: Top Essential Functions
Explore Excel's top essential functions, learning how to provide value-driven growth to your entity through superior data management.
February 10, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)

Microsoft Excel: How to Save Countless Hours with Excel PivotTables
Explore the steps to quickly work with PivotTables to manage and analyze complex Excel worksheets.
March 3, 2PM - 4PM (EDT)