MOHAVE COUNTY – The National Institute of Governmental Purchasing’s Certification Commission has conferred its NIGP Certified Procurement Professional (NIGP-CPP) designation to Tara Acton, Mohave County’s Director of Procurement. Her achievement is being publicly recognized during NIGP’s annual meeting in Louisville KY this week. Over 1,300 public procurement officials are attending the meeting in Louisville with 1,100 officials joining virtually.
Acton is one of 66 procurement leaders in Arizona to earn this designation. Since its inception in August 2020, the NIGP-CPP has been earned by 1,110 professionals across 45 states and 5 provinces in Canada. The NIGP-CPP is the premier professional certification for individuals who are mid to executive level leaders in their organization and is one of the fastest growing certifications for the public procurement and contracting profession – with a 48% surge in applications over the last 12-month period. Candidates for this certification are required to successfully pass a rigorous, competency-based exam which aligns with the Public Procurement Competency Framework.
As the program was being developed in 2019, NIGP brought together a diverse group of public procurement leaders to serve on the Commission’s Practice Analysis Panel. Acton agreed to serve on the panel which oversees a practice analysis research process and recommends the certification test specifications. She also agreed to serve on the Commission’s Standard Setting Panel which determines the standard setting process overseen by NIGP’s testing and measurement contractor and recommends a passing score. As a condition for serving on the Standard Setting Panel, she had to delay her pursuit of the NIGP-CPP for a minimum of two years.
