Procurement Boot Camp: Virtual Edition
- Start: August 5, 2020 9:00 am
- End: August 5, 2020 4:00 pm
Back by popular demand! Learn how to purchase goods and services using Federal grant funds while avoiding costly procurement problems by attending this live “boot camp” style online training on August 5, 2020, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Pacific Daylight Time (10:00 am to 5:00 pm Mountain Daylight Time).
Grants professionals in the West requested a live, online edition of the Procurement Boot Camp with a schedule convenient to their time zones, and we listened. When you join us on August 5, 2020, for the Procurement Boot Camp: Virtual Edition, you will learn about the detailed procurement standards for grant-funded organizations found in the Office of Management and Budget’s Uniform Grants Guidance (which is also known as the “Uniform Guidance” or the “OMB Super Circular”). Having non-compliant procurement policies and procedures or simply failing to follow the Uniform Guidance can result in costly problems and even loss of grant funding. However, the complexities of the Super Circular’s procurement standards and their interactions with other requirements (including the cost principles) increase the probability of a problem. These issues can be avoided, though, by acquiring a thorough knowledge of the Uniform Guidance’s procurement standards and how they apply in commonly encountered scenarios. By attending this online course, you will gain a better understanding of the procurement standards and how to identify problem areas and implement a compliant procurement system for your organization. Register today to attend the live, one-day Procurement Boot Camp: Virtual Edition on Wednesday, August 5, 2020, and make sure you know the right way to purchase goods and services with grant funding.
TOPICS
Learn the Uniform Guidance’s procurement standards in detail. The Procurement Boot Camp will explain required policies, methods of procurement, contract terms, and more. During this special, one-day course, you will learn about the following topics:
- Basic procurement requirements under the Uniform Grants Guidance
- Standards of conduct for individuals involved in procurement
- Signs of sufficient (and insufficient) competition
- Requirements for providing opportunities to disadvantaged businesses
- Approved methods of procurement under the Uniform Guidance and when to use each
- Acceptable and unacceptable types of contracts
- Required and optional terms and conditions for procurement contracts
- Avoiding common procurement problems under the Uniform Guidance
- Mandatory and suggested policies and procedures under the Super Circular
- OMB’s proposed changes to the procurement standards
You will explore these key requirements of the Super Circular for purchasing goods and services with Federal grant funds over the course of the day. The online boot camp will also feature two live question-and-answer periods. Attendees will be able to ask their individual questions about procurement.
SCHEDULE
Join your fellow grants management professionals for the Procurement Boot Camp: Virtual Edition on August 5, 2020. The live event will start at 9:00 am Pacific Daylight Time (10:00 am Mountain Daylight Time) and will conclude at 4:00 pm Pacific Daylight Time (5:00 pm Mountain Daylight Time). The Procurement Boot Camp will be presented in two parts, with a one-hour break between each part of the program and shorter fifteen-minute breaks between the individual segments. All registrants for the live event will also receive access to an on-demand recording of the program for 30 days. Please note that all session and break times listed in the schedule are Pacific Daylight Time.
This session will begin with relevant background information before discussing the basic standards for procurement found in the Uniform Grants Guidance (or "OMB Super Circular"). Participants will learn about required policies and procedures as well as standards for adequate competition under the Uniform Guidance. Examples of adequate and inadequate competition will be discussed. In addition, the session will explain the Super Circular's requirements for contractor selection and management by recipients and subrecipients.
Enjoy a 15-minute break between the morning sessions.
During this session, attendees will learn about the acceptable methods of procurement under the Uniform Guidance. Micro-purchase and small purchase procedures and the differences between the two will be explained. In addition, procedures for formal advertising (sealed bids), competitive proposals (requests for proposal or RFP), and noncompetitive proposals will be covered. The session will discuss advantages and disadvantages of each method as well. Attendees will also learn about how the OMB's proposed changes to the Uniform Guidance would affect the existing permissible methods of procurement.
Enjoy an extended break between the morning and afternoon parts of the Procurement Boot Camp: Virtual Edition.
In addition to including standards for how to procure goods and services, the Uniform Grants Guidance also contains requirements for the award instruments (contracts). This session will explain the required terms and conditions in grant-funded contracts. This session will also look at contracting best practices and recommended contract terms. Finally, participants will learn about acceptable and unacceptable forms of contracts and the advantages and disadvantages of different types of contracts as well.
Enjoy a 15-minute break between the afternoon sessions.
Many of the procurement-related issues that grant-funded issues face fall within a few broad categories. This session will look at these common problem areas and the steps that grant-funded organizations can take to avoid them. Participants will learn how to identify potential problems areas and how to implement strategies to minimize the risk of noncompliance with the Uniform Guidance's procurement standards.
The Procurement Boot Camp: Virtual Edition will conclude at 4:00 pm Pacific Daylight Time (5:00 pm Mountain Daylight Time).
After completing the online Procurement Boot Camp, you will be able to:
- Outline the requirements for procurement using Federal grant funds
- Identify required procurement policies and procedures (as well as best practices) under the Super Circular
- List the Uniform Guidance’s five acceptable methods of procurement
- Describe the major advantages and disadvantages of common procurement contracts
- List the terms required under the Uniform Grants Guidance for procurement contracts
- Describe at least three problems in procurement using grant funds and at least one strategy for overcoming each
AUDIENCE
The Procurement Boot Camp: Virtual Edition is recommended for all grants management professionals who want to know more about procurement requirements under the OMB’s Super Circular. The experience level for this program is overview. No advance preparation and no prerequisites are required to attend.
SPEAKER
R. Brian Tipton is a practicing attorney with more than two decades of experience working with nonprofits, governmental units, and other grant-funded organizations across the United States. Currently, Brian is Managing Director with Kirk Private Client Law, LLC, in Atlanta, where he heads the firm’s tax-exempt and grant-funded solutions practice. He is a summa cum laude graduate of the Louisiana State University and the Cumberland School of Law of Samford University. Brian regularly represents grant-funded entities of all types in the areas of regulatory compliance, audits, funding source disputes, administrative appeals, and litigation. Brian also consults with organizations on governance, human resources, programmatic, and corporate matters, and develops and presents training programs for nonprofits and grant-funded organizations.
BONUS: All registrants will receive free access for 30 days to an on-demand recording of the live event.