Massachusetts Certified Public Purchasing Official Program

-Who Should Attend?
-Earn Recognition and the MCPPO Designation
-Frequently Asked Questions
-Registration Information
-The Seminars

• Public Contracting Overview Seminar
• Supplies and Services Contracting Seminar
• Design and Construction Contracting Seminar
• Advanced Topics Update
• Construction Management at Risk Under M.G.L. c. 149A: Legal Requirements and Practical Issues
• Charter School Procurement
• Drafting a Model IFB
 
 
• Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) requirements
• Certification for School Project Designers and Owner's Project Managers

The Massachusetts Certified Public Purchasing Official (MCPPO) Program has been established to promote:

• cost-effective, ethical, and modern purchasing practices,
• dialogue and exchange of ideas and best practices among procurement officials,
• stewardship of resources in the public's interest, and
• compliance with Massachusetts contracting laws.

In short, the program promotes professionalism and excellence in public procurement, preparing participants to make best value procurements for their jurisdictions. The Office currently offers three three-day MCPPO seminars: Public Contracting Overview, Supplies and Services Contracting, and Design and Construction Contracting. In addition, the Office is offering a two-day continuing education seminar: Advanced Topics Update and a one-day seminar:Construction Management at Risk Under M.G.L. c. 149A: Legal Requirements and Practical Issues

The program has been developed in consultation with public purchasing officials, including members of the Massachusetts Public Purchasing Officials Association, the Massachusetts Association of School Business Officials, and the City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association.

Anyone with responsibility for public procurement, contracting for public works and building projects, contract management or oversight, or auditing in Massachusetts will benefit from these seminars, including:

• Procurement officials and staff
• School business officials and staff
• Public works directors and staff
• Housing authority officials
• Superintendents
• Architects and engineers performing public work
• Auditors
• Contracting officers
• Department heads and staff

Vendors have also attended seminars to develop a better understanding of the procurement process and improve their ability to compete and meet jurisdiction's needs.

Earn Recognition and the MCPPO Designation

All participants receive a certificate upon successful completion of each seminar. Individuals who successfully complete required seminars and who possess the requisite qualifications and experience are eligible to apply for MCPPO designation.

MCPPOs will be required to continue education in the field of public procurement to qualify for periodic recertification. Click here for details on the requirements for continuing education.

The three three-day seminars provide a comprehensive overview of purchasing principles and legal requirements for public contracting, as well as hands-on workshops that apply contracting knowledge and skills to practical problems faced by procurement officials. The seminars prepare participants to obtain best value for their jurisdictions. Each three-day seminar concludes with a written examination.

• Public Contracting Overview flyer[pdf]
• Supplies and Services Contracting flyer[pdf]
• Design and Construction Contracting flyer[pdf]

• Obtaining best value
• Public purchasing principles and goals
• Overview of state procurement statutes
• Reforms to the public design and construction laws signed into law on July 19, 2004
• Sources of law and legal requirements for public contracts
• Public contracts under Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code
• Practical considerations for contract drafting
• Consumer protection, fraud in procurement, and antitrust laws
• Fair labor standards
• Ethics laws and considerations

• Overview of the supplies and services procurement law
• Writing effective specifications
• Obtaining best value using an invitation for bids
• Making the request for proposals process work for you
• Common bidding problems and how to resolve them
• Effective contract administration
• Multi-year contracts, leases, and lease-purchases
• Public-private partnerships

• Reforms to the public design and construction laws signed into law on July 19, 2004
• The project development process
• Procuring architectural and engineering services
• Construction bidding laws: legal requirements and practical applications
• Selecting qualified contractors
• Effective design and construction contract management
• Proprietary specifications
• Common bid protests

ADVANCED TOPICS UPDATE

The Advanced Topics Update course is targeted to MCPPOs that have taken Public Contracting Overview, but would like a refresher. The two-day seminar will include:

• a review of M.G.L. c. 30B exemptions
• an update on sole-source procurements
• a brief review of real property transactions
• segments on municipal finance, public records, and the open meeting law
• a discussion of energy issues, cable TV issues, and telecommunications contracts
• a discussion of emerging issues, including income-producing contracts and quasi-public entities created by governmental bodies
• an update on the reforms to the public design and construction laws signed into law on July 19, 2004
, and
• a segment on fraud, false statements, and bid rigging in public contracting.

Completion of the Public Contracting Overview Seminar is recommended, but not required. Seminar participants may earn 14 CPE credits or may qualify for 14 PDPs. The cost to attend is $350 for government or non-profit employees and $600 for all others. 
 

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AT RISK UNDER M.G.L. c.149A:
Legal Requirements and Practical Issues

The Construction Management at Risk Under M.G.L. c.149A course is targeted to procurement officials who are not construction experts. The one-day course will provide an overview of the legal requirements, explain the roles of major participants in the process, and identify sources of risk and best practices for controlling risk in CM at risk projects. The course will include:

• a discussion of design-bid-build and CM at risk
• a description of the role of the construction manager on a CM at risk project
• an overview of the procurement process, including the owner's project manager procurement requirements, the two-phase selection process, and contracting requirements, and
• a segment on planning the CM at risk project organization and monitoring the CM at risk contract.

Completion of the Design and Construction Contracting Seminar is recommended, but not required. Seminar participants may earn 6 CPE credits or qualify for 6 PDPs. The cost to attend is $275 for government or non-profit employees and $600 for all others. 
 

CHARTER SCHOOL PROCUREMENT

This two-day seminar was developed to assist charter schools in satisfying the requirement (Section 11 of Chapter 46 of the Acts of 1997) that certain charter school administrators earn a Massachusetts public purchasing official certificate. Charter schools are subject to some state procurement laws, are exempt from others, and are always responsible for sound business practices and best value procurement. Efficient, effective, and ethical contracting practices are essential for charter schools working to achieve their goals and objectives in a cost-effective manner. This seminar concludes with an examination. The course will include:

• Massachusetts procurement laws and Commonwealth charter schools
• DOE expectations and recommended procurement practices
• Overview of legal requirements for public contracts
• Procuring supplies or services
• Acquiring or disposing of real property
• Legal requirements and best practices for procuring construction services including a summary of the 2004 public construction reform law.

Seminar participants may earn 13.5 CPE credits or qualify for 13.5 PDPs. The cost to attend is $400 for government or non-profit employees and $600 for all others. 
 

CERTIFICATION FOR SCHOOL PROJECT DESIGNERS AND OWNER'S PROJECT MANAGERS

This four-day seminar was developed for the private sector to meet new Massachusetts School Building Authority requirements that the project director for the owner's project manager (963 C.M.R. 2.11(12)) and the individual directly assigned to the project by the design firm (963 C.M.R. 2.12(6)) be certified in the Office of the Inspector General's MCPPO Program. The course topics include:

• MSBA regulations
• Overview of public construction laws in Massachusetts
• Role of the designer
• Role of the owner's project manager
• Legal requirements for public contracts
• Procuring building design contracts
• Unique features of bidding requirements for building contracts
• Emergency contracts
• Effective design and construction contract administration
• Conflict of interest law
• Prevailing wage law
• Public records law

Seminar participants may earn CPE credits. The cost to attend is $1,200. 
 

The Drafting a Model IFB course consists of drafting a model IFB for the supply or service of your choice. You will be provided with a template IFB on disk and you will be assigned to an attorney from the Office’s Chapter 30B Team. The objective of this course is to draft a well-written IFB that may be posted on the IG website and used by other jurisdictions. The computer disk included with this course contains a model IFB in Microsoft Word 7.0. You must have Microsoft Word 7.0 or higher to use the model IFB template. For technical questions about this course, contact Joyce McEntee Emmett at 617-727-9140. The registration form for this course must be accompanied by a check -- $75.00 for government and non-profit employees and $200 for all others. This course qualifies for 4 CPE credits that may be applied to MCPPO recertification and participants may qualify for 4 PDPs.

You may download the registration form (in PDF format). (A free reader for PDF files may be obtained from Adobe Systems, Inc.)

For more information contact Joyce McEntee Emmett, Director, at 617-727-9140.

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Revised June 29, 2009