How the Sourcewell-Army Partnership Came to Be

Dr. Chad Coauette, Chief Executive Officer, Sourcewell

The sound of a telephone ringing a number of years ago triggered a recent Sourcewell trip to Washington D.C. The Sourcewell board of directors and several Sourcewell staff recently returned from the Pentagon where we signed a ground-breaking agreement with the Army. The agreement is for Sourcewell to support the Army Installation Management Command in their procurement efforts for installations (bases, camps, posts, etc.,) across the Unites States. How did this come to be? Good question!  

Sourcewell has a long history of supporting schools and public entities within the five counties surrounding Staples. I often get questions about what we do. The short answer is we do everything we can to help our local schools and public agencies meet their goals.

That is what the Minnesota Legislature had in mind back in the 1970s when it created nine Regional Service Cooperatives, each focused on serving specific Minnesota counties. Our headquarters are in Staples, and we serve Wadena, Todd, Cass, Crow Wing, and Morrison counties. Our work in these counties ranges from supporting bus driver recruitment to providing funding for the purchase of first responder jump bags to cooperative purchasing and more. We come alongside regional schools, cities, counties, and other public agencies to help them meet their goals for success in their communities.  

What we are known for nationally is our cooperative purchasing work. When the state created the regional service cooperatives, they gave no ability to tax or borrow money. Instead, they listed specific ways that we could earn funds to provide services. One of those services is cooperative purchasing.  

The American Bar Association Model Procurement Code defines cooperative purchasing as follows, “Cooperative purchasing is procurement conducted by, or on behalf of, one or more public procurement units.” The cooperative contracts created by Sourcewell’s team of procurement experts have been recognized and used not only by cities, counties, and schools in Minnesota, but also across the country. The city of New York, Orange County (California), and the Houston School District are some examples of large public agencies that have found our contracts valuable. Over the years, we have developed a national reputation for excellence in the field of cooperative purchasing.  

That is how the Army found us. A procurement official from a military installation in New Mexico knew of us through our reputation supporting cooperative purchasing efforts for cities and counties nationwide. Military installations are just like cities. They need all the same things cities need like heavy equipment, light posts, and heating/cooling systems. He called and left a voicemail with our legal team. It sounded a little crazy! The U.S. Army was calling us to see if we could help them with their procurement work. Luckily our organization’s chief legal and government relations officer, Marcus Miller, returned the call!  

Historically, we had not put many resources into working with federal organizations due to the complexities within that level of procurement. But it just so happens that a handful of our staff have a background in military procurement. Those individuals worked closely with people from our legal and finance teams and teamed up with leadership from the New Mexico installation to find a way. They started with a few small purchasing projects – a water truck, a small fleet of zero-turn lawn mowers, and a shade structure. After testing and refining processes, we and the Army decided it was time to take the partnership and agreement to all Army installations across the U.S.  

Through the partnership, Sourcewell provides purchasing services, and the Army pays for those services. The Army will pick and choose the projects that make the most sense for their needs. For Sourcewell, those fees come back here, to Minnesota. The increased funding means we can do even more to support the schools and public agencies in the five counties we serve.

Marcus Miller responded to that original call from the Army when he was traveling through the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. After our meeting in the Pentagon with Assistant Secretary of the Army Honorable Rachel Jacobson, we returned home through that same airport. Thinking about that coincidence gave me a few goosebumps. It is an absolute honor to be able to serve the Army in this way. From our organization, right here in Staples. I believe so much good will come from this partnership for the Army and for the five-county region we serve.