Featured Article: Strategic Procurement Training in San Diego
By Carrie Hoff
In Strategic Procurement Training in San Diego, Carrie Hoff evaluates the strategic training process of the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency and how they evaluate contract proposals. Hoff uses the San Diego HHSA as a model, for other agencies to follow, when training for contract procurement and strategic plan development.
Excerpt Taken Directly From Strategic Procurement Training in San Diego by Carrie Hoff
Training Strategically at HHSA
Using the contracting process to promote strategic outcomes is no different than Starbucks aligning its drinks, products, staff training, and marketing initiatives. This sort of cohesion has multiple benefits.
The contracting process is a powerful tool for engaging community partners and expanding the impact of your agencys strategic goals. Recognizing this lost opportunity, the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) has adopted a strategic approach to procuring services, evaluating proposals, and training staff in contracting techniques.
HHSA is comprised of public, physical, and behavioral health services, as well as social and protective services. Typically, these services are provided through multiple HHSA divisions and regions via contracts with community-based vendors. HHSA maintains a portfolio of approximately 900 contracts totaling nearly $413 million annually.
With such a large amount of services being provided by contractors, HHSA recognized the need to ensure that its strategic plan was guiding not just internal programs, but also contracted programs. As a result, HHSA developed a single, one-page strategic plan referred to as the HHSA Strategy Agenda to provide cohesion and highlight opportunities that integrate services from various disciplines for seamless delivery to shared clients.
