Conference success highlights need, desire for procurement education By Frank Whitman Journal Staff
Those attending the Summer 2012 Guam Procurement Conference were "hungry for more information - hungry," said Danielle M. Conway, Michael J. Marks distinguished professor of business law and director of the University of Hawaii Procurement Institute at the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii, and main presenter at the conference.
"That means you have good people that have just not had access to good training and educational opportunities."
The conference was presented by the Guam Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Judiciary of Guam, the U.S. District Court of Guam, the Guam Bar Association and the Guam Procurement Advisory Council at the Hyatt Regency Guam on July 23 and 24.
John Thos. Brown, general counsel for Jones & Guerrero Co. Inc., a member of the Guam Procurement Advisory Council, and a conference organizer said that he was delighted with the number and caliber of attendees.
"We had people from a lot of different agencies, from desk clerks to directors," he said. "They showed that we have a strong core of people that know what they're talking about and have a desire to learn more."
Sen. Benjamin J.F. "BJ" Cruz of the 31st Guam Legislature attended the entire conference, and Sen. Shirley A. "Sam" Mabini attended parts of it.
Conway's message to the procurement professionals was to do their work properly from the beginning, she said. "Those of us who are procurement professionals are the stewards of the taxpayers' dollar," she said. "We work for the taxpayer; we have to protect and enforce that obligation. To do that means doing our job properly.
Part of doing the job properly is doing the planning it takes to do a good purchase. ... Do the homework up front instead of waiting for a problem to arise on the back end." Following the correct procedures also protects those who are involved in the process, she noted.
While Conway acknowledged problems with procurement implementation, Guam's problems are no different than those of other jurisdictions, she told the Journal. "If you step back, you realize that you're having the same or similar issues as all of the procurement professionals in the 50 states and the other territories."
Though procurement protests are often viewed as problematic, they are a valuable part of the process, Conway said. "I would hope we have challenges when agencies make mistakes," she said. "Most times industry is in a better position to understand when something has gone wrong."
During her visit, Conway was also a guest speaker at a procurement course at Guam Community College on July 24 and met with college officials afterward. The discussions included the establishment of a procurement institute, which Brown said he has been promoting.
"It's hopeful that we will have a program up within the next six months at GCC," Brown said. "So we can get the people educated who are doing all the paperwork and who are making the decisions, so they understand the rules that are there to protect them and are there to protect the taxpayer."
While no definite plans have been made for Conway's continued involvement with Guam procurement, "We have her number," Brown said.
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