NASCA Press Release: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Announced as 2025 Innovation in State Government: Procurement Modernization Award Recipient

For Immediate Release
October 27, 2025

Contact: Elizabeth Whitehouse, Executive Director, executivedirector@nasca.org

NASCA Press Release: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Announced as 2025 Innovation in State Government: Procurement Modernization Award Recipient

Harrisburg, PA — The National Association of State Chief Administrators is proud to announce the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a recipient of the NASCA 2025 Innovation in State Government Award in the Procurement Modernization category for its project, Modernizing Procurement and Policy to Drive Efficiency.

The Innovation in State Government Awards recognize state administration department programs, projects, and initiatives that exemplify leading practices in the industry. The Procurement Modernization category honors projects that innovatively transform procurement processes and strengthen cross-sector collaboration.

Pennsylvania’s modernization efforts have transformed its IT procurement process – eliminating bureaucratic delays, improving vendor access, and increasing agility in government services. The commonwealth’s new procurement approach replaced rigid, monolithic Requests for Proposals (RFPs) with a modular, Digital Services Invitation to Qualify (ITQ) model that allows for faster, outcome-based contracting. By introducing generative AI to simplify policies, consolidating 93 policies into 34 and reducing pages by 60%, Pennsylvania created a more efficient and accessible procurement process.

Procurement requests that once took months are now completed in weeks, and the Commonwealth has seen a 75% reduction in intake questions for IT purchases. This has resulted in a system that enhances competition, accelerates delivery times, and ensures small and mid-sized vendors have the opportunity to meaningfully participate in government projects.

Upon nominating the initiative, the Pennsylvania Office of Administration highlighted how their procurement modernization efforts reflect the Shapiro Administration’s dedication to modernization and accessibility.

“Recognizing the need to align procurement with modern business speeds, the Shapiro Administration implemented this comprehensive modernization effort to streamline processes, improve service delivery, reduce costs, and increase agility, laying a foundation for broader digital transformation.”

Pennsylvania’s Modernizing Procurement and Policy to Drive Efficiency initiative will make procurement in Pennsylvania more efficient, transparent, and inclusive. Their efforts exemplify the forward-thinking, collaborative, and accessible reform honored by the NASCA Innovation in State Government: Procurement Modernization Award.

Founded in 1976, NASCA is the nation’s only nonpartisan, nonprofit organization serving chief administrative officers or CAOs. NASCA provides a forum for state chief administrative officers to exchange information and learn new ideas from each other and private sector partners. NASCA engages states in transforming government operations through shared knowledge, operational excellence, and thought leadership.

For more information on NASCA, please visit NASCA.org.