Competency Module: Negotiations

Description

Negotiations serve as the apex of the sourcing process, bringing together research, strategy, specifications, and all associated criteria in order to achieve a best value solution for the entity. Negotiations, broken down into preparation, negotiation, and agreement, help the procurement professional achieve the greatest public benefit possible in situations ranging from pens and paper to major construction initiatives.

Objectives

In order to successfully earn a digital badge, learners must:

• Prepare to conduct a negotiation by engaging in market research, determining negotiating strategy and goals, and selecting the negotiating team.
• Conduct and document negotiations with each selected offeror to determine the proposal that best meets entity needs.

Intended Audience

Designed to promote applicable experiences for practitioners working in the public sector, NIGP’s Pathways competency courses empower learners with the ready-to-implement actions they need to succeed in public procurement. This introductory course is designed for:

• 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.