Purchasing and Contract Negotions Courses for Election Officials

Photo of Auburn University Campus building

InfoSENTRY Courts on Purchasing Procedures and Contract Negotiation Strategies

InfoSENTRY’s President has assisted the Election Center in teaching courses over several years on purchasing procedures and contract negotiation strategies for election technology. The courses covered general approaches to procurement of information technology and the differences among Requests for Proposals (R F P), Requests for Information (R F I), and Invitations to Bid (I T B).

The courses began by covering initial steps in the procurement process, including development of feasibility studies and requirements analyses. It covered development of RFPs and strategies for structuring those documents to encourage qualified vendors to participate and provide their best offers. The courses covered contract negotiation strategies and skills, as well as common mistakes government organizations make when dealing with vendors’ experienced contract negotiators. The courses involved role playing exercises and hands-on analyses of RFPs and contract sections for statewide voter registration systems and voting systems.

InfoSENTRY’s approach to the course deals with the important and inextricable links between contract management and project management.

The course has been part of the Election Center’s certification process for election officials offered by a leading university throughout the United States, leading to the Certified Elections and Registration Administrator certification.