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Cooperative Purchasing Agreements (§24-110-201, C.R.S.)

"Cooperative purchasing" means procurement conducted by, or on behalf of, more than one public procurement unit or by a public procurement unit with an external procurement unit.  Cooperative purchasing typically occurs in one of the following ways: 
 

Leading a cooperative purchasing agreement (§24-110-201 (1.5), C.R.S.) 

  1. Issued by:  Any state public procurement unit. "State public procurement unit" means the Department of Personnel & Administration or any other purchasing agency of this state. 
  2. Pre-approval required: Yes, the Chief Procurement Officer or designee. 
  3. Approval Process: Agencies can submit a request to Lead a Cooperative Purchase through the SPCO’s eSubmission system. Prior approval is required even if the agreement is only intended for external procurement units. If the request is approved, cooperative language for both the solicitation and the resulting contract will be provided.  
  4. Important Considerations: 
  • Does the lead agency know that other entities are interested in participating? 
  • Can the specifications or SOW be written in a manner that is universal or generic so as to be applicable to other participating groups? 
  • Will the solicitation process allow for other participating groups to engage in the evaluation process if they wish? 
  • Are there requirements related to statutes or rules that apply only to the issuing entity? 
  • Can prices or rates be extended to other interested entities without significant modification or negotiation? 
     

Participating in an external or local cooperative purchase (§24-110-201 (2), C.R.S.) 

  1. Issued by: Local or external public procurement unit (any public procurement unit other than a state public procurement unit). 
  2. Pre-approval required: Yes, the Chief Procurement Officer or designee. 
  3. Approval Process: Agencies can submit a request to Participate in a Cooperative Purchase through the SPCO’s eSubmission system. 
  4. Important Considerations:  
  • Was the cooperative agreement solicited in a manner in which Colorado vendors had a reasonable opportunity view and respond to the solicitation?
  • Does the solicitation and award methodology comply with the Colorado Procurement  Code and Rules? 
  • Can the goods or services can be obtained under an agreement with a higher order of priority as described in Section 4 below? 
  • Whether the specifications/scope and prices/rates meet the needs of your agency  (without modification or negotiation). 
  • Does the term of the solicitation meet your needs? 
     

Purchasing goods or services under an existing state cooperative purchasing  agreement (§24-110-201 (3), C.R.S.) 

  1. Issued by: State public procurement unit (department of personnel or any other purchasing agency of this state). 
  2. Pre-approval required: Yes, the Procurement Official for the state public procurement unit (Agency or Community College) wanting to use the cooperative purchasing agreement. 
  3. Important Considerations: 
  • Did the issuing agency follow state procurement regulations for the solicitation and contracting process, including receiving approval as outlined in Section 1 above? 
  • See other factors outlined in Section 2 above.
     

Order of priority of cooperative agreements (§24-110-201 (4), C.R.S.):  

  1. State-issued cooperative purchasing agreement (State Price Agreements).
  2. Other state public procurement unit cooperative purchasing agreements.
  3. Public procurement unit or external public procurement unit cooperative purchasing agreements.

 

Revised 2/3/2022

For more information contact:

John Chapman 
john.chapman@state.co.us