Contracting for Best Value: A Policy White Paper on Texas Government Contracting

Have you ever gotten an alleged “bargain” that didn’t turn out so great in the end? This can happen in the complicated world of government procurement. There is a better way.

Weaver Director of State Government Services Adam Jones and co-author, Cindy Reed, published a policy white paper on “Best Value” in state procurement. Best value speaks to providing the public quality goods and services for a fair price, not just a low bid. But a complex and sometimes anachronistic procurement process often impedes this goal. Suggestions for removing those impediments include removing cost as the primary factor for defining best value, increasing required competitive bidding thresholds, and promulgating shorter and streamlined contract forms to remove unnecessary provisions that do not ensure value for the state. Complete recommendations for best value contracting are captured in the policy white paper “Contracting for Best Value.”