The Howard County Office of Purchasing has been recognized by the National Procurement Institute with the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement (AEP) award for 2020.

AEP awards are given to public and non-profit agencies that exhibit innovation, professionalism, productivity, e-procurement, and leadership in their work. Howard’s procurement outfit was one of only 40 recipients this year. The Office of Purchasing has placed a strong emphasis on securing local vendors, nearly doubling the amount of registered local businesses in the past year. Also within the past year, the County has awarded contracts totaling more than $59 million to minority, women, and disabled owned businesses.

From the press release:

“Howard County has set an example for surrounding jurisdictions on effective and innovative government procurement,” said Ball. “In the past two years, we increased our procurement spending with local businesses from $10.5 million to $16.4 million. Even through the pandemic, our Office of Purchasing worked diligently to connect local and EBO businesses with County award opportunities, including virtual outreach and training events.”

The Office of Purchasing may be receiving a name change to the Office of Procurement and Contract Administration under legislation pre-filed by County Executive Ball. The new name would better reflect the award-winning work done by the Office.

For more information, view the press release.