Skip to main content
Current Body of Knowledge and Competency (BoK-C) for the CPPO and CPPB   Click here for details

UPPCC News & Announcement Archive

471

Fully Certified? Be Recognized! UPPCC Announces Changes to its Fully Certified Agency Awards Program

March 1 , 2007 - Through its Fully Certified Agency Award program, the Universal Public Purchasing Certification Council (UPPCC) identifies organizations that have earned the distinguished and unique honor of achieving and/or maintaining a UPPCC fully certified public procurement staff. The UPPCC believes that having a fully certified procurement staff is a significant accomplishment and a strong indicator of current trends within state and local governments. This is an annual award and interested agencies must apply each year for consideration.

This award program was developed to recognize those organizations that have made a concerted effort to achieve procurement excellence. It should be noted that the UPPCC has specific requirements that must be met in order to be awarded the Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) or Certified Public Purchasing Officer (CPPO) designation. Criteria are based on formal education, continuing education, public sector employment experience as well as successful examination performance. Detailed certification requirements may be found in the UPPCC Certification Handbook and on the UPPCC Website.

Historically, fully certified agencies have been recognized on an annual basis at the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP) Forum and Products Exposition. The UPPCC recognized twenty-seven fully certified agencies at the 2006 event and also launched the next level of achievement for the awards program. The "Sterling Agency" award level recognizes those agencies who have maintained a fully certified procurement staff for three consecutive years.

As the fully certified awards program continues to evolve, opportunities for further refinement present themselves. Currently agencies have only a limited window of opportunity each year to apply for recognition (March 1 - June 1). If the agency experiences staff turnover or departmental growth causing vacancies during that time their chances for fully certified recognition for that year could be eliminated. Furthermore, missing one year of recognition can represent a significant setback for an agency pursuing the new Sterling Agency status.

For this reason, the UPPCC has reviewed the awards program policies and are implementing changes effective for 2007.

Application Process

The application for fully certified recognition will be available on a continuous basis allowing agencies to apply at any time during a given calendar year for recognition. Agencies must apply by the end of the calendar year in order to receive recognition for that year. To be included in the award announcements at the 2007 NIGP Annual Forum in Hartford, Connecticut, August 4-8, theUPPCC must receive your application for processing no later than June 1, 2007. Successful agencies who submit applications after June 1 will be provided to NIGP for inclusion in their 2008 program. To apply, access the application and complete the form in its entirety and submit it to UPPCC.

Fully Certified Awards

The agency must submit an application to receive recognition at anytime during the calendar year. The recognition is valid only for the current calendar year in which the agency applies regardless of the month during the year in which the application was received by the UPPCC. The agency must reapply for recognition in each subsequent calendar year to maintain their fully certified status. The maintenance of fully certified status is important for those agencies pursuing the Sterling Agency Award. Agency recognition for fully certified is in the form of a framed certificate bearing the agency's name and the calendar year in which the recognition was earned. A list of fully certified agencies will be maintained on the UPPCC website.

Sterling Agency Awards

The agency must submit an application and receive recognition as a fully certified agency for three consecutive years. For example an agency receiving the Sterling Agency Award in 2007 would have applied and received confirmation of earning the fully certified award for that agency in 2005, 2006 and 2007. There is no additional application to complete for Sterling Agency. The UPPCC issues the Sterling Agency Award to individual agencies based on historical records of previous applications and subsequent awards. The agency will automatically be issued the Sterling Agency Award in addition to the Fully Certified Award during the calendar year in which the agency files their third consecutive fully certified application and receives recognition by the UPPCC.

The UPPCC invites qualifying organizations to apply for recognition in 2007.

The Universal Public Purchasing Certification Council (UPPCC) is an independent entity formed to govern and administer the Certified Public Purchasing Officer (CPPO) and Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) certification programs. The CPPO and CPPB programs are highly regarded and respected among procurement professionals and employers involved in the public sector. To date, the UPPCC has certified well over 10,000 professionals primarily within the US and Canada as well as in other nations around the globe.

Share

Print

Theme picker