London, England – Following the signing of a joint collaboration agreement at the NASPO International Summit, which took place prior to the NASPO Exchange conference in Nashville, TN, in March 2024, NASPO leaders have continued to strengthen their relationships with senior commercial officials from the UK, Scottish, and Welsh governments.

Last week, a team of UK, Scottish, and Welsh Chief Commercial Officers met in London with Dr. Lindle Hatton, CEO of NASPO; Valerie Bollinger, State of Idaho Chief Procurement Officer and NASPO Board President; Daniel Kruger, Chief Development Officer, NASPO; David Gragan, Chief Strategic Operations Officer, NASPO and Bart Lemmon, Director of International Initiatives, NASPO.

Topics discussed included the benchmarking of global standards, sharing standards of both people and commercial functions, practical ways and platforms to share best practices, leveraging academic research and innovation to assist in long-term decision-making, AI use in procurement and mitigating the risks associated with it, and meeting the challenges of modern procurement – how to do more with less and exploring new technology and economic growth.

Additionally, the group discussed how to make procurement the profession of choice and methods to attract, recognize, retain, and reward those within the field. NASPO officials also met academics in Cardiff and attended the PROCUREX Conference in Liverpool.

“NASPO is thrilled to continue strengthening our relationship with the UK, Scottish, Northern Ireland, and Welsh governments. Our meetings in London covered critical topics shaping the future of public procurement on both sides of the Atlantic. By continuing the conversation, we are building a strong transatlantic partnership to advance excellence and drive meaningful results in public procurement.” stated Dr. Lindle Hatton, NASPO CEO.

“This collaboration demonstrates the power of global partnerships in advancing public procurement. During our meetings, we discussed the unique challenges and opportunities we face and how we may work together to explore innovative solutions, elevate procurement standards, and better serve our communities. The procurement profession is undeniably stronger when we are unified, sharing knowledge, experiences, and best practices across borders.” said Valerie Bollinger, NASPO Board President.

“It was a pleasure to discuss our ambition to be the best commercial function in the UK with NASPO and how we are working across the UK to continue to improve capability and standards and share best practices. The deepening of this relationship between the UK nations and the USA will benefit our professionals, who will be able to share, collaborate, and innovate together more than ever before.” Gareth Rhys Williams CB, UK Government Chief Commercial Officer, Cabinet Office

In a global first, officials from NASPO and the UK government have pledged to explore ways to create a Senior Leader Exchange whereby senior officials can spend time with respective States and UK Nations. This would offer unapparelled opportunities for personal and professional capability development.

Scottish Government Director of Procurement and Property, Nick Ford, said “We are delighted to be sharing our journey with others equally enthusiastic about making procurement a career of choice and are committed to supporting its leverage across North America and UK Nations.”

Welsh Government Director of Commercial and Procurement, John Coyne, said, “We were delighted to host the NASPO delegation in Wales at the start of their UK visit. This visit included a meeting with Professor Jane Lynch, who leads the Cardiff University Centre of Public Value Procurement. The work of the new research centre, which focuses on delivering public value through procurement, was explored along with its ambition to be internationally recognised as a Procurement Centre of Excellence. In the afternoon, after a whistle-stop tour of Cardiff Castle and the Senedd (Welsh Parliament), our visitors met with Rebecca Evans MS, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office who also holds portfolio responsibility for Welsh Government Commercial and Procurement matters.”

About NASPO: The National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) is a non-profit association dedicated to advancing public procurement through leadership, excellence, and integrity. It is made up of the directors of the central purchasing offices in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and territories of the United States. NASPO is an organization that helps its members achieve success as public procurement leaders through the promotion of best practices, education, professional development, research, and innovative procurement strategies.

Contact:

Kate Davila
Director of Marketing and Communications, NASPO
kdavila@naspo.org