The request for proposals, issued by the State of Minnesota on behalf of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories, resulted in competitive awards to three leaders in the information technology research and advisory services industry.

LEXINGTON, Kentucky — March 4, 2021 – NASPO ValuePoint, an organization providing the highest standard of excellence in public cooperative contracting, today announced establishment of a new Information Technology Research & Advisory Services contract portfolio. A request for proposals, developed by a Multistate Sourcing Team™ composed of state procurement professionals from five states and led by the State of Minnesota, resulted in competitive awards to Forrester Research, Inc., Gartner, Inc., and ISG Public Sector.

Sarah Hilderbrand, NASPO ValuePoint’s Chief Operations Officer, said, “We are pleased to offer our members and public sector customers across the nation convenient and competitively sourced master agreements for these important services provided by proven leaders in the IT industry.”

“More and more, organizations are faced with technology decisions involving cybersecurity, cloud integration, artificial intelligence, and other wide-ranging technology applications. These new NASPO ValuePoint contracts provide immediate access to objective expert advice and research information to help states, local governments, and public educational organizations with their technology decisions and management,” said State of Minnesota Chief Procurement Officer, Betsy Hayes.

The new portfolio gives organizations across the country access to a broad spectrum of Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-related services, including:

• ICT business advice, objective research, and data that is thematic, prescriptive, and executable, and that provides a comprehensive perspective on the rapidly changing ICT environment;
• Access to an online database containing ICT research articles;
• Response to over-the-phone inquiries regarding published articles and direction on other available resources;
• Advisory services regarding strategic and tactical planning for customer’s ICT policy development; and
• On-site workshops, advisory engagements, and conferences on ICT-related topics.

Customers will be able to employ the objective, unbiased, and vendor-neutral research and advice available through these new master agreements to inform action, align their ICT investment strategies to their overall business, and ensure they are developing the right skills and knowledge across key ICT functions. Impartial advice, combined with practical tools, helps leaders successfully assess opportunities, evaluate vendor claims, reduce risk in critical decision-making, and promote confidence in organization-wide plans and projects.

Research and expert advice from contractors in the IT Research & Advisory Services portfolio covers a diverse range of ICT issues, including acquisitions and planning, trends and emerging technologies, cybersecurity, benchmarking, and data management and analytics. Customers are encouraged to review the master agreements for a more expansive, non-exhaustive list of the contractors’ areas of expertise.

Pricing in the new master agreements includes a wide range of options to accommodate varying budgets, while allowing customers to pursue deeper discounts on the contracts’ not-to-exceed maximum pricing.

States and other interested entities may begin negotiation and execution of participating addenda with contractors immediately. Master agreements, model participating addenda, key contacts, solicitation documents, and a portfolio map can be found on the NASPO ValuePoint IT Research & Advisory Services portfolio page. Questions regarding this portfolio may be directed to the NASPO ValuePoint Cooperative Contract Coordination team at [email protected].

About NASPO and NASPO ValuePoint

The National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) is a non-profit association dedicated to advancing public procurement through leadership, excellence, and integrity. It is made up of the directors of the central purchasing offices in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories of the United States. NASPO is an organization that helps its members as public procurement leaders by promoting best practices, education, professional development, research, and innovative procurement strategies. Learn more at www.naspo.org.

NASPO ValuePoint is the cooperative purchasing division of the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO), facilitating cooperative public procurement solicitations using a Lead State model. NASPO ValuePoint delivers high value, reliable, and competitively sourced cooperative contracts—offering public entities outstanding prices, favorable terms and conditions, and value-added services. Learn more at www.naspovaluepoint.org.

NASPO™, NASPO ValuePoint™, and Lead State Model™ are trademarks of the National Association of State Procurement Officials.

NASPO Media Contact

• Kelly McKown-King
  [email protected]

About Forrester

Forrester Research, Inc. is a global independent research, data, and advisory services firm. We work with business and technology leaders to drive customer-obsessed vision, strategy, and execution that accelerate growth. Forrester’s unique insights are grounded in annual surveys of more than 690,000 consumers and business leaders worldwide, rigorous and objective research methodologies, and the shared wisdom of our clients. Through proprietary research, data and analytics, custom consulting, exclusive executive peer groups, certifications, and events, Forrester is revolutionizing how businesses grow in an era of powerful customers.

Forrester Media Contact

• Shweta Agarwal
  Director, Public Relations
  [email protected]

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world’s leading research and advisory company and a member of the S&P 500. We equip business leaders with indispensable insights, advice, and tools to achieve their mission-critical priorities today and build the successful organizations of tomorrow.

Our unmatched combination of expert-led, practitioner-sourced and data-driven research steers clients toward the right decisions on the issues that matter most. We are a trusted advisor and objective resource for more than 14,000 organizations in more than 100 countries — across all major functions, in every industry and enterprise size. To learn more about how we help decision makers fuel the future of business, visit gartner.com.

Gartner Media Contact

• Tom McCall
  Vice President, PR
  [email protected]

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 700 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.

ISG Media Contact

• Will Thoretz
  Global Leader, Corporate Communications & Brand
  [email protected]
  O: (203) 517-3119
  M: (203) 912-5192