Turning State Procurement Data Into Business Strategy
State procurement data can feel overwhelming, but tools like the Department Spend dashboard help businesses see where opportunities exist and plan accordingly. The California Department of General Services (DGS) developed Statewide Procurement Data Dashboards (SPDDs) aimed at providing easy access to State governmental procurement information and transparency through online graphical reports. The SPDDs were developed based on Executive Order B-12-11, established by then-Governor of California Edmond G. Brown Jr. in 2011. The SPDDs provide businesses with data resources that allow them to make sound business decisions.
There are six dashboards under the SPDD: Department Spend, UNSPSC Spend, Leverage Procurement Agreement Spend, Top 10 Department Spend, Top 10 UNSPSC Spend, and Certified SB/ DVBE Spend Comparison. This article is going to focus on the Department Spend dashboard.
The Department Spend dashboard is a graphical report on the State of California’s overall procurement spending each fiscal year. The data from the past four fiscal years can be accessed on this dashboard. The data can be extracted based on the overall State spending or by one or more state departments.
How to Conduct a Search
Next, decide which fiscal year to collect data. Select the applicable fiscal year by clicking the “select a fiscal year” pull- down tab on the left-hand side of the webpage. Only one fiscal year may be selected per search.
In our example, fiscal year 2024 – 2025 was selected. A search based solely on the fiscal year would yield data based on the State of California’s total procurement spending for that fiscal year. It will also reflect the spending under six acquisition types in a bar graph. Those acquisition types are: Non-IT Services, Encumbrance Only (money allocated, but not spent yet), IT Services, Non-IT Goods, IT Goods, and Telecom.
The search can be narrowed further by department. Simply go to the “Select Department” drawdown tab on the left-hand side of the web page. Three options are allow the search to be tailored to one department, multiple departments, or all departments. A department search will also reflect the spending under the six acquisition types in a bar graph. Keep in mind that a “department” search cannot be conducted without selecting a fiscal year.
Additionally, there is another feature that would allow the extraction of spending data based on UNSPSC within an acquisition type. Simply right-click on one of the acquisition types and click the arrow in the “Drill-Through” tab. This search can be conducted on any of the acquisition types. We will discuss the UNSPSC Spend dashboard in the next article in this series.
Due to the transparency afforded by Executive Order B-12-11, businesses can search California procurement spending by fiscal year and use that information to make more informed business decisions. The Department Spend dashboard provides practical data that can help businesses forecast and allocate resources such as staffing and supplies, focus marketing efforts on departments with significant spending in relevant UNSPSC categories, and inform broader strategic planning based on statewide procurement trends. When used consistently, this tool allows businesses to move beyond guesswork and take a more data-driven approach to pursuing opportunities with the State of California.
If you are looking for help with government contracting or want no-cost help to find CA State contracting opportunities, please contact your Norcal APEX Accelerator counselor for assistance or apply for services today!
Authored by: Indria Gillespie, Norcal APEX Accelerator Procurement Specialist
If you have more questions, please contact us at info@apexnorcal.org or (707) 267 – 7561
