But no one wants to deal with inflexible RFPs. And no one wants to go to prison for fraud.
Those were among the main messages Tuesday morning at the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO)'s 2025 Annual Conference in Denver.
Panelists joked that the subject isn’t exactly the most exciting when it comes to state government. But the issue is part of a 2025 initiative from Amanda Crawford, the Texas CIO who serves as NASCIO’s president.
And, all kidding aside, procurement serves as one of the main mechanisms of work for public agencies — nothing really gets done without contracting.
“Unless we do this well and come together on this, we are going to have the same problems” that agencies have traditionally suffered, said Bill Kehoe, Washington’s CIO.
He called the RFP “problematic for all of us” because of the long time it can take to issue, score and negotiate contract proposals, even as digital and mobile technologies help to bring more flexibility, speed and agility to public-sector business.
RFPs are in no danger of going extinct.
But Kehoe encouraged more use of “master contracts” from which public officials and vendors can craft specific agreements.
“That has been a game-changer for us,” he said to a crowd that included not only state officials but gov tech suppliers.
One of the main problems with RFPs, according to Crawford, is that quotes received from vendors can expire in 30 days, which is “less time than it takes for us to secure approval or adequate funding” for a project.
“Those quotes that expire in 30 days are not helpful,” she said, “especially if it’s a large dollar amount.”
Public agencies desire more flexibility in procurement, the panelists said.
That call comes as public-sector procurement — like the larger world of business-to-business transactions — becomes ever more digital, and more reliant on cooperative contracting.
As that happens, concerns over such fiscal issues as tariffs also are injecting uncertainty into this particular part of gov tech.
Panelists said they are willing to put in the work to help suppliers get more contracts. That includes putting more information about the procurement process on state websites, according to Denis Goulet, CIO for New Hampshire.
A veteran of the private sector, Goulet said he’s worked with three of the state’s governors, and each have “focused on making New Hampshire easier to do business with.”
Webinars also can help contractors ink deals with public agencies, as can digital “personas” that help suppliers start navigating the contracting process, Crawford said.
But suppliers need to also understand the needs and processes of public agencies.
“Help us give you money,” she said.
The stakes are high, and not because public agencies need outside tech, goods and services to function. Bad contracting can lead to job losses, public hearings before lawmakers and even criminal charges for fraud, she pointed out.
“No one wants to be the poster child for that,” she said.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story misidentified Amanda Crawford's role within NASCIO; this has been corrected.
