Management

NASCIO 2025: CIOs Recommend State Government Procurement Reform

Cumbersome technology acquisition processes create stumbling blocks for IT modernization, officials say.

Mickey McCarter is the senior editor of StateTech Magazine.

Given that both state governments and technology vendors are generally unhappy with cumbersome government IT procurement processes, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers spent the past year listening to those communities in an attempt to prescribe changes to ease acquisitions.

At the NASCIO 2025 annual conference in Denver on Tuesday, Texas CIO and outgoing NASCIO President Amanda Crawford led a panel to review recommendations that came out of listening sessions on the topic.

“Sometimes, the laws and frameworks that we work with are a bit challenging for the technology procurement process, but we are doing what we can,” Crawford said.

Speaking on the panel, Washington CIO Bill Kehoe described how establishing master contracts that speed individual procurement awards has helped his state overcome some barriers to procurement.

“The RFP progress is problematic for all of us because of the duration required to create the RFP, issue the RFP, score the RFP,” then negotiate the contract and start the project, Kehoe said. Those steps can take a long time in an environment where speed and agility are desirable.

Kehoe endorsed a shift to master contracts that prequalify vendors for areas of expertise, such as cybersecurity. States can then turn to those vendors and issue statements of work.

“That has been a game changer for us,” he said.

Crawford applauded Kehoe’s three principles for speeding acquisitions: participating in master contracts, getting government certification for specific work, and engaging in state forums.

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Feedback Spotlights State Government Procurement Pitfalls

Only 14% of NASCIO’s corporate membership responded to the association’s yearlong procurement inquiry, and Crawford expressed her disappointment that more vendors didn’t participate.

However, she expressed sympathy for vendors that might have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to respond to a single RFP. States strive for transparency, and yet vendors still face a steep learning curve with government regulations.

“We want to make it easier,” she said.

Today, however, vendors benefit when they employ specialized public sector legal teams. Some vendors lack public sector expertise, and this hurts competitive bidding processes. Crawford emphasized that state government terms and conditions are required by law.

“Redlining the terms and conditions will not get you anywhere,” she said.

She spelled out the NASCIO procurement initiative’s recommendations for state governments:

States should modernize existing technology procurement processes.
States should update terms and conditions to reflect modern technology.
States should eliminate paper processes.
States should provide allowances on future technologies as much as possible (for example, by not being overly prescriptive in requirements).
States should innovate.

LEARN MORE: Artificial intelligence can help governments streamline procurement.

State CIOs Call for Stronger Working Partnerships

Kehoe and New Hampshire CIO Denis Goulet gave examples of situations for state governments to avoid.

State agencies should take care in timing the release of RFPs, Kehoe said. Officials do not help their cause when they publish a request right before Thanksgiving and then demand responses by the end of the year, he joked.

“We have to be realistic about what you can respond to and when,” Kehoe said. Requiring work over the holidays, when not necessary, is not the basis for a good partnership, he added.

Kehoe called for a change in culture, where vendors brainstorm around problem-solving instead focusing on contracting.

Goulet also warned states to avoid writing RFPs that only one vendor could win.

NASCIO dedicated resources to examining state government procurement policies as Crawford’s presidential initiative. Each NASCIO president can choose a topic for a yearlong deep dive through the association’s policy resources.

Keep this page bookmarked for our coverage of the NASCIO 2025 Annual Conference. Follow us on the social platform X at @StateTech and the official conference account, @NASCIO. Join the conversation using the hashtag #NASCIO25.

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