Competency Module: Management Protests and Appeals

Description

Despite following procedures and planning in advance, many procurement operations face protests from suppliers. Protests are often delicate situations that require appropriate responses and cautious actions. The burden of judgement and accountability often falls on procurement leaders. Managing a procurement team during a protest raises many issues beyond evaluating the legitimacy of potential violations raised by the supplier. For example, if a highly publicized procurement is protested, a procurement leader needs to face pressure from entity leadership, politicians, and the public with confidence.

For this reason, it is imperative for current and future procurement leaders to develop confidence when considering future supplier protests. These leaders are responsible for ensuring that all procedures are followed during a protest and strategies are in place to prevent protests.

NIGP has recognized these challenges and created an in-depth course offering that provides guidance on managing a procurement team through the process of a protest, while also developing strategies to address and prevent issues related to supplier protests.

NIGP’s Management Protests & Appeals course creates a dedicated learning experience where students leave with the ability to:

• Review protests with a high-level perspective
• Be able to anticipate protests on high-risk procurements and deal with them proactively
• Navigate organizational challenges with leadership and elected officials while following established processes
• Develop strategies to improve processes
• Respond with emotional maturity to potential pressures within the organization
• Develop a process to acknowledge and celebrate successful protests outcomes

Intended Audience

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

• 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.