March is Procurement Month, and OPBA is celebrating with a four-part weekly webinar series featuring timely, practical insights for public procurement professionals.
Join us Thursdays at 1:00 PM ET throughout March.
Week 1: Shifting to a Strategic Architect | Using AI in Procurement
📅 Register by March 4, 12:00 PM | Free to OPBA Members
Join the #RFPDreamTeam as they demonstrate how public procurement professionals can leverage AI to manage increasing workloads, combat burnout, and drive strategic value. Presented by peers who use these tools daily in support of their work, this session is designed for the working buyer, no computer science degree required.
They will demystify the difference between ‘Predictive’ and ‘Generative’ AI and walk through live-fire examples of how to use common AI solutions to draft specifications, conduct instant market research, and analyze solicitations, bias, or restrictive specifications. Learn how to ground these innovations in safety and governance, discussing how to align AI adoption with principles from Ontario’s Trustworthy AI Framework to ensure transparency and data privacy. Learn how to shift your role from ‘document generator’ to ‘strategic architect’ while keeping humans firmly in the loop.
Week 2: Best Practices for Vendor Debriefing Sessions
📅 Register by March 11, 12:00 PM | Free to OPBA Members
Clear, well-structured vendor debriefings are a vital part of fair, transparent, and defensible public procurement. Yet many practitioners still struggle with how to prepare, what to share, and how to manage conversations when suppliers are disappointed—or when the evaluation process was particularly complex.
In this practical and conversational webinar, procurement expert Lynda Allair, CPPO will walk participants through the essential elements of effective vendor debriefings.
You’ll learn how to prepare internally, structure your discussion, deliver consistent and appropriate messaging, and manage difficult or unexpected questions. Lynda will also explore common pitfalls, best practices that support fairness and transparency, and ways to strengthen supplier relationships through better communication.
Week 3: Embedding Accessibility into Public Procurement
📅 Register by March 18, 12:00 PM | Free to OPBA Members
Accessibility is more than compliance, it’s a cornerstone of fair, inclusive, and effective procurement. Join Jennifer Curry Jahnke and Sandi Gauder from AccessibilityConsulting.ca, as they equip procurement professionals with the language, confidence, and practical strategies to embed accessibility throughout the procurement lifecycle.
From drafting clear requirements to evaluating vendor submissions, participants will learn how to move beyond checklists and toward meaningful outcomes that ensure products and services meet accessibility standards and legislation.
Week 4: Capital Planning to Project Delivery | Public Sector Procurement
📅 Register by March 25, 12:00 PM | Free to OPBA Members
Melissa Jackson and Jamie Cook will share practical insights on how Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) can be used—alongside traditional procurement approaches—to support capital planning, budget development, project financing, and delivery across municipal and broader public sector environments.
The session will be grounded in real-life procurement experience, drawing on Melissa’s former role in a publicly funded hospital, where she was responsible for long-term capital planning and working directly with internal stakeholders to deliver capital and infrastructure projects within strict funding timelines and governance requirements. This practitioner perspective will be used to illustrate how procurement teams assess options, manage risk, and make policy-compliant decisions in complex public sector settings.