FAQs for Buyers

NASPO ValuePoint is the contracting arm of the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) and is a unified, nationally focused cooperative alliance aggregating the demand of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the US territories, working together to pursue cooperative contracting opportunities and conduct competitive solicitations using our Lead State Model® and through the development of Multistate Sourcing Teams® following the procurement laws of the state chosen to lead the procurement.

The sourcing teams develop the request for proposals, evaluate responses, and recommend awards to the NASPO ValuePoint Executive Council. Once awarded, Master Agreements are available to all states, their political subdivisions, and other eligible entities.

NASPO ValuePoint provides the highest standard of excellence in public cooperative contracting. By leveraging the leadership and expertise of all states with the purchasing power of their public entities, NASPO ValuePoint delivers best value, reliable, competitively sourced contracts that offer public entities outstanding pricing and value adds. Since 1993, NASPO ValuePoint has been NASPO’s cooperative purchasing arm, encouraging, fostering, and guiding the nation’s most significant public contract cooperative.

There are many benefits to NASPO ValuePoint cooperative contracting. Suppliers benefit considerably by avoiding the repetitive bid preparation expenses of bidding time and again on the same solicitations for different public entities throughout the country. Suppliers also factor in greater volumes for multiple jurisdictions when determining their pricing. These savings are then passed along to end users.

Portfolio ideas come from several sources, including member suggestions, from the annual Emerging Market Initiative (EMI), or from buyers from NASPO ValuePoint portfolios.

Researched ideas include a membership interest survey to identify goods and services that would be beneficial to members through a NASPO ValuePoint cooperative portfolio. If there is sufficient interest among the states, portfolio market research is performed and a recommendation to pursue a portfolio solicitation is presented to the NASPO ValuePoint Executive Council.

NASPO ValuePoint determines which state leads a particular cooperative procurement based on interest and capability.

No. There is no buyer membership, registration process, or membership fee required to use NASPO ValuePoint cooperative contracts.

If you are an eligible public entity – such as a state agency, city, county, public school district, higher education institution, or qualifying non-profit, you have access to review NASPO ValuePoint portfolios. To get started buying, review the ValuePoint portfolio and specific contract(s) being considered to determine if your state or organization has an active Participating Addendum (PA).

If the state you are located in has executed a statewide participating addendum (PA) with one or more NASPO ValuePoint suppliers, then local entities and political subdivisions typically may purchase from that PA as they would any other state contract.

If the state has not executed a statewide PA, local entities and political subdivisions and other eligible entities may have access to NASPO ValuePoint cooperative contracts if the state’s Chief Procurement Official (CPO) approves or has no objection to the local entityexecuting a Local Entity Specific Participating Addendum (LPA).

For additional support on this topic, please email [email protected] and we will assist you.

Pricing is available on each supplier’s contract page. Use the search function on this website to search the supplier by name or the portfolio by name if known.

From the NASPO ValuePoint Website homepage, users may also navigate to portfolios using the Portfolio Listing button. The supplier’s page may also include a price list under the Documents Section.

A Multistate Sourcing Team® is comprised of procurement staff and subject matter experts from the Lead State and other states for the commodity or service being procured.

If you’re interested in participating on a NASPO ValuePoint Multistate Sourcing Team in the future, please complete the Lead State and Sourcing Team Interest Form. Sourcing team members must have the approval of the state’s Chief Procurement Officer to serve on the team. Roles include the portfolio lead, sourcing team members, or subject matter experts.

Lead State & Sourcing Team Interest Form – Form by Asana

The Master Agreement is the contractual agreement executed between the winning supplier(s) and the Lead State that conducted the procurement on behalf of NASPO ValuePoint.

Participating Entities execute Participating Addendums (PAs) against the Master Agreement.

A Participating Addendum is a bilateral agreement executed by a supplier and a participating entity incorporating the terms and conditions included in the original solicitation and any other additional participating entity-specific language or other requirements, e.g. ordering procedures, or other terms and conditions unique to the participating entity.

How does the participation process work?

Participating Addendums are executed between a Participating Entity and the supplier. The Participating Addendum is a contractual document that binds the supplier and the Participating Entity to the terms and conditions of the Master Agreement. Participating Entities have the flexibility of negotiating additional terms and conditions to meet the unique needs of their state. Negotiation of the Participating Addendum is between the Participating Entity and the supplier. The Lead State and NASPO ValuePoint are generally not involved in these negotiations. Once a Participating Addendum is executed, a signed PDF copy must be sent to [email protected].

Participating addendums signed by states are posted on the NASPO ValuePoint website.  Go to our homepage at www.naspovaluepoint.org and click on your state on the map to see all participating addendums signed by your state. Send an email to [email protected] to find out if your non-state government entity has signed a participating addendum.

Yes. Please visit the NASPO eMarketPlace to shop online.  The cost-free eMarketPlace empowers buyers to find what they need quickly and efficiently, simplifying the quoting and buying processes.