How a New Partnership Between AFI and Civic Marketplace is Accelerating the Transformation of Procurement

Procurement leaders are constantly asked to do more with less while balancing department priorities and navigating legal and procedural hurdles. This puts them under immense pressure and makes the purchasing process overly time-consuming and expensive. The question and challenge posed by city and purchasing managers across the nation is, "How can we elevate procurement to become a strategic enabler and efficiency driver, rather than being unfairly perceived at times as a bottleneck?”

Now, innovative city leaders are driving change. A new partnership created between the Alliance for Innovation (AFI), a nonprofit membership association of local government thought leaders, and Civic Marketplace represents a bold step towards making the vision of strategic, forward-looking procurement officers a reality. Our call to action for all local government officials, innovators, and purchasing managers is to join us.

AFI and Civic Marketplace aim to greatly reduce procurement’s common challenges by putting the most advanced technology into the hands of local government’s most forward thinkers.

“AFI members are innovators in the government technology space by nature,” says AFI Executive Director Troy Riggs. “This partnership with Civic Marketplace provides them with the latest technology to streamline procurement, make data-driven decisions, reduce costs, and foster transparent and impactful decision-making.”

‍

What This Partnership Means for AFI Members

Today, most procurement managers are bogged down in outdated legal and procedural compliance details and lengthy solicitation processes that rack up costs in staff time and direct expenses. According to a recent study by the National Cooperative Procurement Partners Association, a single bid can cost local governments anywhere from $1,682 to $17,419 when handled in-house.

With Civic Marketplace, these costs can be dramatically reduced by decreasing the end-to-end process time. In fact, one early test case showed a vendor selection timeline reduced from six months to just two weeks using Civic Marketplace.

How exactly? The platform allows users to quickly evaluate vendors, compare pre-vetted contracts, and select the best solutions—all while maintaining full legal compliance and transparency. Collaborations with established procurement leaders like the North Central Texas Council Of Governments TXShare program and NIGP Code & Consulting bring further expertise to the effort, ensuring contract quality, compliance, and reliability.

This means procurement officers and city managers can spend less time on outdated processes and more time on determining which vendor solutions best meet the needs of their community at the best price. In fact, Civic Marketplace was designed from the top down to provide authentic competition and full pricing transparency, so costs are easy to determine and compare.

This shift in perspective positions procurement as a strategic function, ultimately driving innovation throughout an organization and turning a cost center into a revenue generator. All that saved time and money can be directly invested back into the community. From upgrading infrastructure to launching resident-focused programs, the possibilities for reinvesting savings are endless.

‍

Other Perks of the Partnership

Procurement officials have long wanted a solution for shopping local and driving economic development. They see the value in giving more opportunity to businesses historically kept out of the process and infusing more funds back into the local economy. Civic Marketplace meets these needs by making it easier than ever for purchasing managers to shop contracts from small, local businesses and Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBs).

Civic Marketplace also fosters trust through transparency. The platform establishes clear audit trails, utilizes legally compliant contracts, and introduces straightforward processes. This level of openness helps build confidence in local government and underscores AFI’s commitment to fostering resilient, future-ready communities.

And finally, Civic Marketplace streamlines collaborative purchasing by enabling agencies to pool resources and coordinate procurement efforts across jurisdictions. This not only reduces costs through economies of scale, it also accelerates innovation by sharing best practices and exploring cutting-edge solutions. The platform’s advanced forecasting tools empower local governments to anticipate procurement needs more effectively, allowing them to make strategic decisions that save time, enhance efficiency, and ultimately improve service delivery to residents.

For decades, AFI has led the charge in fostering groundbreaking ideas and tackling the toughest challenges in local government. By introducing Civic Marketplace to today’s most forward-thinking innovators, AFI and its members continue to pave the way for accelerating procurement transformation by providing practical technology tools to meet the desires and needs of procurement officials.

“It’s an absolute game changer for Civic Marketplace to join forces with AFI,” says Ron Holifield. “AFI members are made up of innovative, forward-thinking government leaders who work tirelessly to serve the communities they love. By equipping them with innovative tools and resources, these heroes can excel in their roles and achieve transformative outcomes that make a real difference for their residents.”

‍

For more information on how you can help transform the future of local government procurement, contact AFI Executive Director Troy Riggs.