Who/What is 1GPA?
1Government Procurement Alliance (1GPA), is a non-profit national governmental purchasing cooperative which allows public agencies to take advantage of existing contracts to purchase the goods and services they need from local and national vendors. We provide contracts for a broad range of commodities and services that are available to the Cooperative eligible members through a government purchasing cooperative agreement or Interlocal agreement.
All of our contracts are competitively procured and awarded in compliance with state statutes, procurement laws and regulations.
Contracts are approved and awarded by 1GPA’s lead governmental entities and are only available for use and benefit of all entities complying with state procurement laws and regulations.
Who can participate and is there a cost?
Membership is FREE. Eligible members include school districts/charter & private schools, universities & colleges, cities/towns/municipalities and counties, state/local & federal government, Native American communities, fire districts, and any other political subdivision.
How does my entity join the Cooperative?
Complete and submit the National Membership Agreement documents to 1GPA.
How to become a Member of 1GPA – 2 options:
- Contact a 1GPA Representative and they will talk you through.
- Go to: https://www.1gpa.org/become-a-member. This will then take you to our Membership Agreement. Follow the prompts for Membership Agreement. After you follow your organization’s approval process, you are all set. You are emailed a PDF version of the executed Membership Agreement and so is 1GPA.
How do I utilize a contract?
Contact the 1GPA vendor directly to request a quote. Be sure to mention you wish to make a purchase utilizing the 1GPA Contract. Once the vendor provides the quote (be sure that the vendor has referenced their 1GPA Contract Number on the quote), you can quickly verify the contract pricing utilizing 1GPA’s Member Portal. Once the quote is verified, issue the purchase order to both the vendor and 1GPA.
Once becoming a 1GPA member, are we committed to ordering only from 1GPA?
No. You are free to utilize any other procurement methods you choose.
How can I have vendors added to 1GPA?
To become an awarded Vendor, they must respond to one of our solicitations in a category that encompasses the goods, products, equipment and/or services that their company provides. Vendors cannot just join; they must follow the competitive solicitation process which starts with responding to a 1GPA solicitation. Vendors interested in 1GPA should regularly check the 1GPA Current Solicitations Page and be sure that they have properly registered with OpenGov.com. As a registered vendor, they will receive email notification of future proposal opportunities for the commodity categories selected in their registration.
How do I search for a Contract?
Please visit www.1GPA.org or log into the Member Portal. You will be able to search by Vendor Name or Commodity.
Can we use a Contract if we are not a Member?
To utilize a 1GPA contract, we must have a completed Membership Agreement on file.
Can my agency use the contracts without going out for solicitation?
Yes. In fact, utilizing a cooperative contract is the most efficient way to procure the goods and services you’re looking for WITHOUT having to go through the hassle and expense of creating your own solicitations. Each 1GPA contract has been through the competitive bidding process following state and federal procurement laws and regulations.
Do I have easy access to each contract’s solicitation process documents?
Yes, as a Member of 1GPA all of our contract due diligence documents, original vendor response, and current contract pricing are easily accessible through our exclusive Member Portal.
Can 1GPA provide a list of all current members and their contact information for reference?
1GPA can provide a list of all our current Member entity names, however we do not share contact information for our Members due to 1GPA’s Privacy Policy.
Can you outline the competitive procurement process used by the Cooperative?
1GPA and the Lead Agency will identify possible contract needs. 1GPA’s contract team will work with the Lead Agency to develop the solicitation, conduct a pre-bid/pre-proposal conference if needed, conduct the bid/proposal opening and evaluate the bids/proposals received. The Lead Agency’s Governing Board or Council will review the evaluation committee’s report at the next available meeting and determine whether to approve or reject the evaluation committee’s recommendation for contract award.
Who makes the final decision regarding awards?
All of our contracts are approved and awarded by means of 1GPA’s lead governmental entities. We issue, evaluate, and award our contracts in a collaborative effort. The Lead Agency provides Board/Council Approval for the award of contracts resulting from each solicitation.
How do I address problems with a supplier?
Please contact 1GPA as soon as it is apparent that you will not be able to reach a mutually acceptable solution to the issue with the vendor. We will work with you and the vendor to ensure that the problem is addressed. There may be contract dispute remedies your agency will be able to exercise. If the vendor fails to adequately address all areas of concern, this may result in contract cancellation.
How do we know we will save money by buying through the Cooperative?
Cooperative purchasing generates savings for the Members by capitalizing on pooled purchasing power, economies of scale and allowing them to save soft costs associated with self-performing the costly procurement process.
What is the 1GPA Lead Agency Model?
All of our contracts are approved and awarded by means of 1GPA’s lead governmental entities. A Lead Agency is a well-established and well-respected government agency who facilitates the competitive bidding process by being a part of the process from start to finish. We issue, evaluate, and award our contracts in a collaborative effort. The Lead Agency contributes their expertise pertaining to the solicitation process to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations and policies. The Lead Agency also provides Board/Council Approval for the award of contracts resulting from each solicitation.
How is the Cooperative administered and governed?
1GPA is a national non-profit corporation organized under Arizona law for the purpose of administering a cooperative purchasing agreement entered into by variousschool districts, charter schools, universities, colleges, cities, towns, municipalities, counties, states, local governments, federal government, Native American communities, fire districts, and any other political subdivision. 1GPA’s articles of incorporation were filed with the Arizona Corporation Commission on March 20, 2012. 1GPA has 501(c)(4) status under the Internal Revenue Code.