Pathways

NIGP-CPP Bridge Prep

Description

The NIGP-CPP certification is a must-have for anyone is public sector procurement. The NIGP-CPP certification is designed to elevate professional standards, enhance individual performance, and designate public procurement professionals who demonstrate the competencies essential to succeed in the public sector. NIGPs NIGP-CPP Prep course promotes learner engagement in the seven focus areas of the Public Procurement Competency Framework—including Strategy, Policy & Legislation, Planning & Analysis, Sourcing & Solicitation, Contract Administration, Leadership, and Business Principles.

Included within this course enrollment are several items designed to help you prepare for the NIGP-CPP Certification exam, including:

  • NIGP-CPP Prep Guide
  • Instructor-led Course
  • Student Workbook (Includes Job Aids, Handouts, Practical Application Exercises, etc.)
  • NIGP-CPP Prep Study Tips
  • Mock NIGP-CPP Exam

Candidates of this course should enroll a minimum of six months prior to the selected test date in order to provide sufficient time for independent reflection and additional study. Please note that participation in this course does not guarantee success on the examination.

Intended Audience

The NIGP-CPP Bridge prep course is targeted to individuals who are preparing to sit for the NIGP-CPP Bridge Exam and meet or exceed the following professional demographics:

  • Current CPPO or CPPB or lapsed with one year of the expiration date of certification

  • Mid-level public procurement and central warehouse professionals who serve as senior buyers, managers, directors, or equivalent functions within their respective entities.

  • Non-procurement managers and supervisors who either provide procurement functions that support entity programs under delegated authority, or who already have a good understanding of basic procurement principles but wish to get more in-depth, hands-on training.

  • Professionals who are employed by local governing entities and special authorities (such as K-12 and higher education, publicly owned utilities, transportation providers, and other publicly funded or created entities) who either serve within or manage the procurement function.

  •  Supplier managers and supervisors seeking to understand the public procurement function from a more in-depth holistic level, including the policies, standards, and procedures by which public entities must function.

Competency Alignments

This course is designed as an exercise-based learning experience and is tied to NIGP’s Public Procurement Competency Framework. Upon completion of the course requirements, learners will have demonstrated the successful foundational knowledge, skills, and abilities in alignment with the NIGP Public Procurement Competency Framework.

Delivery Formats Available

Virtual Instructor-Led

In-Person (Virtual until 2021)
(To schedule, contact events@nigp.org)

Contact Hours

22.5

CEUs

2.3

Length

In-Person (Converted to Virtual) - 3 Days

Virtual Instructor-Led - 4 Weeks

Level

Advanced

Designed for public procurement professionals who have at least five years’ experience.

UPPCC BOK Alignment

Domains: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6

Available in these learning formats...

 Virtual Instructor-Led

This format combines the best of in-person learning by offering live participation with instructors and peers.

  In-Person (Virtual until 2021)

Instructor led discussion style classroom setting for those who prefer focused learning with maximum in-person interactions with instructors and peers.

4 Week Course

  • Digitally-based learning experience housed in Aspire, NIGP’s learning management system.
  • Please Note: As part of this two-week period, learners are required to participate in one, two-hour OLLE per week of course instructional time.

Completion Requirements

In order to successfully complete the prep course, learners must:

  • Complete any pre-work materials provided prior to the course start date.
  • Attend and participate in the entirety of the instructional event., including collaboration via Aspire-based discussion boards and submission of assignments.
  • Complete the post-course evaluation survey available in Aspire.
  • Participate in one, two-hour OLLE per week of course instructional time (two OLLEs total).

3 Day Course

Includes pre-class assignments at least one week in advance of the course and post-class follow up within one week.

 

Completion Requirements

In order to successfully complete the prep course, learners must:

  • Complete any pre-work materials provided prior to the course start date.
  • Attend and participate in the entirety of the instructional event.
  • Complete the post-course evaluation survey available in Aspire.

The NIGP-CPP Prep Course focuses on the following key areas:

  • Focus Area 1: Strategy — For the public procurement function to serve as a valuable, contributing asset to the entity, it must think, plan, and act strategically, aligning entity mission and public benefit alongside social responsibility.  As an extension of the procurement function, the public procurement professional must actively serve to the public benefit, helping create the entity’s strategic vison to assist the public as a whole.
     
  • Focus Area 2: Policy & Legislation — As stewards of the public trust, procurement professionals are held to a higher standard of ethics than are most public employees, acting with confidence to wisely expend the taxpayer dollars.  It is vital they not only understand and follow applicable laws but also that they act in accordance with the intent of laws created to guard against favoritism, unfairness, and unnecessary spending, meeting the needs of their entity without bowing to either internal or external political pressures. Knowledge of the political environment and entity management are necessary tools in order to do so.
     
  • Focus Area 3: Planning & Analysis — The direction of public sector organizations has generated increased demand for strategic procurement planning and participation by procurement professionals in the implementation of many projects—particularly out-sourcing, privatization, and public-private partnerships.  Risk is a critical consideration in the contracting and procurement process, and a thoughtful and proactive approach toward risk, as it relates to specific procurement actions, contributes to the success of contract performance.
     
  • Focus Area 4: Sourcing & Solicitation — In addition to knowing the approved methods of procurement, the procurement professional must know the appropriate situations to use each in order to achieve the best value for the entity while meeting the needs of the end user. To do this, procurement professionals must understand how to deal effectively with individual clients across a variety of situations while ensuring the contractor’s financial strength, ethics, past performance, etc. are duly considered prior to award.  Furthermore, procurement professionals must establish positive, pro-active relationships with end users and suppliers (both domestic and international) in both positive and negative situations.
  • Focus Area 5: Contract Administration — Public procurement professionals must be prepared to demonstrate good contract writing and management skills when pursuing procurement engagement and supporting uninterrupted public service delivery of commodities for their entity.  For the procurement professional, this includes all aspects from the time the need is recognized until the commodity is used or disposed of, including but not limited to receipt, inspection, logistics, inventory management, and contract/supplier management.
     
  • Focus Area 6: Leadership — Public procurement professionals must be prepared to demonstrate good leadership skills when faced with everyday challenges, striving to ensure that both employees and leaders have the necessary agility, innovation, and drive to proactively transform their procurement cultures in strategic, practical ways. In addition, the procurement professional must master communication strategies, problem solving and critical thinking skills, and relationship management skills, learning to operate as forward-thinking stakeholders in their entity to ensure continuous, proactive solutions that align with their entity’s strategic objectives.  As the practitioners leave the profession or age and retire, public procurement professionals must ensure that talent recruitment and development, along with long-term succession planning, play a critical role in their public service, working collaboratively to establish and oversee expectations for career progression, retention, and life-long learning for the procurement function.
     
  • Focus Area 7: Business Principles — Public procurement professionals must be prepared to demonstrate good leadership skills when faced with everyday challenges, striving to ensure that both employees and leaders have the necessary innovation and drive to proactively transform their procurement cultures in strategic, practical ways. In addition, the procurement professional must master communication strategies, problem solving and critical thinking skills, and relationship management skills, learning to operate as forward-thinking stakeholders in their entity to ensure continuous, proactive solutions that align with their entity’s strategic objectives.  As the practitioners leave the profession or age and retire, public procurement professionals must ensure that talent recruitment and development, along with long-term succession planning, play a critical role in their public service, working collaboratively to establish and oversee expectations for career progression, retention, and life-long learning for the procurement function.