The mission of the Maryland Procurement Academy is to provide the highest quality training and performance support to achieve the goals of Maryland’s Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement.
We encourage you to bookmark this page to keep up with the latest training schedules and program offerings from the MDPA. We’re continuously updating content and support materials to best serve Maryland procurement. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Creating a Sourcing Project in eMMA | Register for this course here!
Monday April 3, 2023 | 10am – 10:55am
This training course for procurement staff demonstrates how to create a sourcing project using the eMaryland Marketplace Advantage (eMMA), including general project information, adding team members to a project, and assigning roles.
Preparing a Solicitation in eMMA | Register for this course here!
Wednesday April 12, 2023 | 2pm – 3pm
This training course for procurement staff demonstrates how to prepare an Invitation for Bid (IFB) for solicitation using the eMaryland Marketplace Advantage (eMMA), including initial setup, pricing, and attachments.
Emergency Procurement: Policy, Procedure, and Reporting | Register for this course here!
Thursday April 20, 2023 | 10am — 10:30am
This training course for procurement staff provides an overview and understanding of emergency procurements, including necessary policies and procedures to conduct the procurement method accurately and efficiently, as well as complete submissions and reporting in accordance with State regulation.
The MDPA offers a series of certification programs to Maryland procurement professionals. Certifications are focused specifically on Maryland procurement and led by certified Maryland instructors.
Certified Maryland Procurement Associate (CMPA) – Section 5 | Section is full!
February 7th – February 23rd | 1pm – 4pm | Class meetings occur every Tuesday and Thursday
Serving as the first tier of the MDPA procurement certification series, the CMPA program is an introductory three-week program for new or current State procurement professionals who work closely alongside procurement, or perhaps even conduct small procurements on their own, but who are not full-time procurement officers. The program covers the full procurement cycle, including laws and regulations, ethics, fundamentals, resources, small procurement, Corporate Purchasing Card program, evaluations, and eProcurement.
Certified Maryland Procurement Associate (CMPA) – Section 6 | Open registration coming soon!
Dates To Be Determined | 1pm – 4pm | Class meetings occur every Tuesday and Thursday
Serving as the first tier of the MDPA procurement certification series, the CMPA program is an introductory three-week program for new or current State procurement professionals who work closely alongside procurement, or perhaps even conduct small procurements on their own, but who are not full-time procurement officers. The program covers the full procurement cycle, including laws and regulations, ethics, fundamentals, resources, small procurement, Corporate Purchasing Card program, evaluations, and eProcurement.
Certified Maryland Procurement Officer (CMPO) – Section 10 | Coming Soon!
Dates & Times To Be Determined | Check back frequently for additional information
Serving as the second tier of the MDPA procurement certification series, the CMPO program is a two-month program suited specifically for procurement officers and managers operating within the professional Procurement Career Group within the State of Maryland. As a prerequisite for the program, participants must conduct procurements as a primary job function.
Quick Reference Guides (QRGs) provide step-by-step instructions for completing processes in eMMA. From general navigation to preparing a sourcing project and creating contracts, QRGs serve as a great tool to keep handy when working with eMMA.
The MDPA offers eMMA training for State professionals through live instructor-led sessions and webinars, as well as through On-Demand video content by way of the MDPA web channel. In addition to fresh uploads of the most recent training sessions, the web channel is frequently updated with other resourceful videos and Flash Sessions on hot topics and trends to help users best utilize eMMA’s full scope of features, tools, and functionality.
After working hard to earn your certification, it’s important to keep it! Submitting Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) is easy. Complete with clear instructions and available as a fillable PDF document, the CLP Submission Application is available for your own personal tracking, as well as required for final submission to the MDPA in order to maintain your certification.
After working hard to earn your CMPO + GPS certification, it’s important to keep it! Submitting Continuous Education is easy. Complete with clear instructions and available as a fillable PDF document, the CMPO + GPS Continuing Education Submission is available for your own personal tracking, as well as for final submission to the MDPA in order to maintain your certification.
For recent additions to the State of Maryland’s esteemed procurement workforce, the following interactive onboarding document may come in handy as you begin (or continue) your procurement journey, including live links to helpful resources such as the Maryland Procurement Manual, eMMA Quick Reference Guides, and various training tools.
How are training sessions held/hosted? All training sessions are conducted using GoToWebinar. For help using the GoToWebinar platform, feel free to check out this Quick Introduction, as well as this Attendee Quick Start video.
Do I need to register in order to attend? Yes, registration is required in order to attend training sessions on the days they’re held.
How can I ask questions during training sessions? Training sessions are conducted in listen-only mode, however participants are encouraged to enter their questions in a designated question area of the webinar control panel, which is explained at the beginning of instruction. Following each session, attendees receive a follow-up email that includes a compiled Q&A, presentation slides, a link to the video recording, as well as any additional handouts (if applicable).
Are training sessions recorded? Yes! All training sessions are recorded and promptly updated via the MDPA web channels dedicated to general procurement topics, as well as eMMA-specific content. You can also visit the DGS YouTube channel for eMMA instructional videos listed under the eMMA Buyer Playlist.
Are there additional training resources for eMMA-related sessions? Most eMMA training sessions are based on eMMA Quick Reference Guides, or QRGs, which are easy to use step-by-step instructions for completing tasks and processes.
Are all training sessions recorded live? Yes! Because we’re continuously updating our training sessions, programs, and support materials, the MDPA hosts all live sessions in order to keep the content fresh, relevant, and resourceful.
Do you offer training to the vendor community? Absolutely! As part of our continued effort to support State procurement, the MDPA offers training sessions specifically for the vendor community, focusing primarily on the eMMA platform and how to best utilize its full scope of features, tools, and functionality. Feel free to spread the word and direct the vendor community to our website for updated training schedules!
Where should we direct additional questions? For any and all questions related to training support and resources, please reach out to the MDPA at dgs.osp-mdpa@maryland.gov