When you’re trying to implement a school-home communication solution in your district, it can feel overwhelming to review and vet the different options available to you. The platform you choose needs to be able to meet your district’s unique needs—from fitting your budget to including the most important features for your community.
Many districts opt to create a request for proposal (RFP) to get accurate pricing and specs for each solution they’re evaluating. But developing an RFP and reviewing proposals can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, especially if your staff is already stretched thin.
To streamline the decision-making process and make more informed choices, some district leaders are taking a different approach and using purchasing cooperatives and programs to guide their buying process and maximize their purchasing power. Let’s see if this route makes sense for your district.
The benefits of purchasing cooperatives and programs
While they can take different forms, purchasing cooperatives and programs exist to streamline the purchasing process for tech tools and systems. For district decisionmakers, participating in these programs can have some major benefits—including saving time and money. Here’s how:
1. Access a network of rigorously vetted vendors
Purchasing programs and coops put products and pricing through a comprehensive review process, often led by current or former edtech professionals, so their approved vendors have already been evaluated—saving you time and providing peace of mind that you’re choosing from trustworthy options.
2. Get transparent pricing and clear contracts
Approved vendors often have agreements in place to offer certain pricing or contracts to districts purchasing their solutions through a program or coop. This can be a way to access more competitive pricing for your budget.
3. Streamline the purchasing process
Purchasing partners and coops do much of the research and legwork usually required for RFPs, so you and your team can evaluate a number of available options, choose the solution that best meets your district’s needs, and move on to implementation—instead of focusing your time and resources on a lengthy process to evaluate tech tools.
ParentSquare’s purchasing partners
At ParentSquare, we partner with a number of purchasing programs and cooperatives to give districts more options for streamlining the buying process for a school-home communication platform.
National purchasing partners
The following programs and cooperatives operate nationally, giving districts all over the country access to a network of vetted vendor partners, including ParentSquare, at a competitive cost.
- TIPS – National purchasing cooperative for education agencies
- WSIPC – Nonprofit public agency for K-12 communities
- 1GPA – Nonprofit national governmental purchasing cooperative for public agencies
Regional purchasing partners
Some purchasing partners are only available to certain regions in order to meet the specific educational needs of schools and districts in these areas. Here are some of ParentSquare’s regional purchasing partners:
- Education Service Centers of Indiana (ESC of I) – Serves schools throughout Indiana
- Oklahoma Public School Resource Center (OPSRC) – Serves public schools throughout Oklahoma
- Region 10 Education Service Center (Region 10 ESC) – Serves schools in Texas’ Region 10
- Strategic Alliance for Volume Expenditures (S.A.V.E.) – Serves schools throughout Arizona
- Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units (PAIU) – Serves schools throughout Pennsylvania
- REMC SAVE – Serves schools throughout Michigan
- Purchase Pros – Serves schools throughout Kentucky
Tip: While we partner with all of the purchasing programs above, they’re not the only way to streamline the purchasing process. Book a live demo with one of our team members to learn about the options available for your district.
Is a purchasing program right for your district?
Purchasing cooperatives and programs can help districts streamline the procurement process for technology tools and solutions, as well as gain access to quality products at a competitive price.
ParentSquare partners with purchasing programs that share our mission of building stronger connections with families. To learn more about our partnerships and whether one might be the best option for your district, visit our partnerships page or schedule time to chat with our sales team.
