Regents-backed study outlines strategies for more efficient purchasing for local governments

When a county buys public safety equipment or a city contracts to repair a road, the outcome is not just defined by price. It is defined by process.

Public procurement systems are designed to ensure transparency, fairness and responsible use of taxpayer dollars. The process helps state and local governments promote open competition and consistent standards when purchasing goods and services. At the same time, these systems operate within real-world constraints, including staffing capacity, access to vendors and varying local structures that creates challenges for efficient procurement. 

A statewide procurement study supported by an Arizona Board of Regents Regents’ Community Grant, in partnership with the County Supervisors Association of Arizona, the League of Cities and Towns and Arizona State University, examines those conditions in detail. The report, Generating Value for the People of Arizona through Procurement, identifies key challenges and offers practical recommendations for cities, towns and counties to maximize the impact of every public dollar.

“This work gives local governments help with efficient decision-making,” said ABOR Chair Doug Goodyear. “This study identifies opportunities for local governments to collaborate on procurement and use taxpayer dollars more effectively.”

Conducted over an extended period and informed by direct engagement with counties and cities, the analysis points to practical gaps in existing processes that affect day-to-day operations. Many jurisdictions rely on hybrid procurement structures that can create uneven processes and limit consistency. Staffing constraints and vendor shortages further narrow options, particularly in smaller or rural communities where competition is already limited. 

For Arizona’s local governments, those constraints show up in real ways. Fewer vendors can mean higher prices. Limited staff capacity can slow purchasing timelines or reduce the ability to evaluate options. Over time, those pressures make it harder to keep pace with infrastructure needs and service demands within existing budgets. 

At the same time, the report identifies where progress is already underway. Cooperative purchasing can expand buying power, while formal and informal peer networks can often serve as a workaround for limited capacity, helping staff compare vendors, share contract terms and troubleshoot common challenges. Expanding upon cooperative procurement strategies like these across jurisdictions can reduce duplication and improve results without adding cost. 

“Counties are under constant pressure to do more with limited resources,” said County Supervisors Association of Arizona Executive Director Craig A. Sullivan.” The partnership with Arizona’s public universities brings a level of analysis we could not generate on our own and translates it into practical strategies that policymakers and administrators can start using immediately.”

Those strategies are now starting to extend beyond the study’s conclusions and into real-world conditions. At its June meeting, the board approved an additional $100,000 Regents’ Community Grant to ASU to evaluate procurement reforms in Kingman and Mohave County. Researchers will track how procurement performs before and after the changes, capturing not just savings, but the staffing, coordination and system adjustments required to make those improvements stick. The goal is to understand what it takes to make procurement work better at the local level and whether those approaches can hold in other Arizona communities.

These efforts align with a broader push to improve how government operates across Arizona. Earlier this year, Governor Katie Hobbs launched the Arizona Capacity and Efficiency Initiative focused on helping the state simplify operations, consolidate purchasing power and adopt new technologies to maximize taxpayer value.  Strengthening procurement practices offers a direct way to advance that work at the local level. 

For lawmakers and taxpayers, the implications are clear. When procurement works as it should, governments can stretch existing dollars further, reduce unnecessary costs and deliver services more reliably. For Arizona communities, that means better use of public funds without asking taxpayers for more.

Funded through the Technology and Research Initiative Fund (TRIF), Regents’ Grants bring together Arizona’s public university researchers and state government agencies to tackle pressing challenges of greatest need and interest to Arizonans. You can learn more about the Regents’ Grants program and other projects funded by the board here.