Resume of Michael Asner

Phone:         604.530.7881
Fax:             604.530.7881
Skype:         michael.asner
Email:          michael@rfpmentor.com
Website:      www.rfpmentor.com

Work History

1984-Present     Michael Asner Consulting
1974-1984         Founding Partner, Gellman Hayward & Partners ( I.T. Consultants)
1972-1974         Manufacturers Life - System Analyst
1968-1972         Medcom Medical Computer Company, System Designer
1966-1967         Newtonbrook Secondary School, North York, Ontario, Mathematics Teacher

Current Activities (2016-2017)

In recent times, I have restricted my work to Speeches & Workshops, Litigation Support, and Reference Publications.

Speeches & Workshops

In the last little while, I have spoken about two broad issues: best RFP practices, and Selling to Government/Creating Winning Proposals.

I have spoken to a wide variety of public sector groups and agencies at professional development events and conferences:

• City of Santa Barbara
• Denver Public Schools
• Yukon College
• State of Ohio
• Ontario Public Buyers Association
• Supply Chain Management Association

I have provided proposal writing training to organizations such as Yukon College and Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada.

Litigation Support

We have provided litigation support to both public agencies and legal firms including:

• State of Colorado
• Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (New York)
• Teplinsky, Colson LLP (Toronto)

Reference Publications

We are North America’s largest publisher of RFP reference material. Our handbook, The Request for Proposal Handbook, is now in it’s fifth edition (since 1995) and is being used by more than 5000 public agencies. 

Major Activities - 2011 to 2015

Consulting

• Orange County Sanitation District, CA – Provided advice and assistance throughout the entire RFP process related to a high-value, high-visibility RFP for bio solids and the evaluation of the proposals.
• City of Rancho Cucamonga, CA – Provided advice and assistance in a review of their Policies & Procedures and production of an updated manual
• Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce, Yukon – Assisted with a review of the Yukon Government’s procurement reform activities
• Government of the Northwest Territories – Performed a review of standardized documents used in procurement including Request for Proposal Template and Request for Tender Template
• Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, CA – Retained as an expert in public procurement to assist in a Federal Court case.
• Lantheus Medical Imaging, Ontario – Provided advice and assistance in developing a proposal for medical imaging products in response to an Ontario-government RFP
• Expert Witness – Retained by law firms in Ontario (Lax O’Sullivan Scott Lisus LLP) and Alberta (Shores Jardine, LLP) to provide expert opinions

Training/Speaking

• Wisconsin Association of Public Procurement - A one day workshop on best RFP practices
• Supply Chain Management Association of Canada - I have given workshops on RFP best practices as well as proposal writing and selling to government to many of their Chapters across Canada including Alberta Chapter (Calgary and Edmonton), Northwest Territories, Manitoba (Winnipeg and Brandon), Nova Scotia, New Brunswick (Sydney and Moncton)
• City of Calgary - 2 day workshop on RFP best practices
• St. Lawrence Seaway Corp., Welland, ON - one day workshop on RFP Best Practices
• City of Chilliwack, BC - one day workshop on RFP Best Practices, Yukon College, Continuing Education - Three one-day workshops: Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs, Neglected (But Important) RFP Issues, Selling to Government
• Denver, State Purchasing Dept. - A one-day workshop on Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs for State Agencies
• Office of General Services, State of New York, Albany - Keynote address to the State Purchasing Forum on "Searching for Savings"
• New York City, Purchasing Dept. - A two-day workshop on best RFP Practices
• University of Alberta, Edmonton - A one-day workshop on RFP best practices
• SNC-Lavalin, Toronto - Two-day workshop on RFP Best Practices
• ISM, Salt Lake City, Utah - ISM Material Management Group is sponsoring a workshop on Spend Management and Select Procurement Topics 
• Canadian Government Executive Magazine, Ottawa - A one-day workshop on Selling to Government 
• Canadian Government Executive Magazine, Ottawa - A one-day workshop on Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs
• Louisiana NIGP Conference Baton Rouge - A one-day workshop on Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs for State agencies 
• Alberta Institute of the Purchasing Management Association of Canada, Calgary & Edmonton - Two-day workshop on Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs
• Government of Newfoundland & Labrador, Two-day workshop on Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs
• Newfoundland & Labrador Association of Technology Industries, Workshop on proposal writing and selling to government
• State of South Dakota, Procurement Management, One-day workshop on RFP Best Practices
• State of Wisconsin, Bureau of Procurement, Two-day workshop on Improving Your RFP Process

Major Activities - 2010

Consulting

• Greenberg Traurig (a Phoenix law firm) - Provided litigation support for Redflex Traffic System. Analyzed documents; provided advice on procurement issues; provided deposition; testified in Federal Court.
• State of Mississippi (Jackson, MI). Retained by Information Technology Services to perform a review of the procurement function related to fair, open and transparent procurement.
• Royal Reporting Services (Regina, Sask.) Provided assistance in preparing a proposal in response to a government RFP for health services.
• Government of the Northwest Territories (Yellowknife, NWT, Canada) - A review of a vendor complaint.
• Selkirk First Nation (Yukon) A review of the procurement function.

Training/Speaking

• Government of the Northwest Territories (Yellowknife, NWT). Workshops on RFP best practices
• Foundation for California Community Colleges (Napa, CA). Speech on major procurement issues
• National Association of Purchasing Managers, Utah. Workshop on Trends in Public Procurement
• Louisiana Chapter, National Institute of Public Procurement (NIGP). Workshop on RFP best practices
• Mississippi Public Purchasing Officers Association. Speech on major procurement issues.
• Ontario Public Buyers Association (Ontario). Speech at Annual Conference in Sarnia.
• University of Alberta (Edmonton). Workshop on Best RFP Practices

Major Activities - 2008 to 2009

Consulting    

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, WA - Advice related to the contract administration issues of a large R&D project
• King County, WA - A review of transparency as well as the strategic direction of the Procurement Dept.
• Givens Pursley LLP (an Idaho law firm) - Retained as an expert in public procurement to review a contract award based on an RFP. Analyzed documents and advised the plaintiff's legal team about fair and impartial proposal evaluation practices. Arbor v. State of Idaho.
• Government of the Northwest Territories (Yellowknife, NWT, Canada) - A review of the procurement process for a specific RFP.
• Mullins Law Firm (Augusta, GA) - Retained as expert in public procurement to perform a review of pleadings and other documents; to generate an opinion related to certain procurement practices at issue in a civil suit: Thompson Building Wrecking Company et al v. August Georgia et al
• Capital Heath (Edmonton, Alberta) - A review (fairness audit) of 9 proposals received in response to an RFP to confirm the scoring already performed.

Training/Speaking

• GIS-T (Geospatial Information Systems for Transportation) Symposium (Houston, TX) speech on RFP problems
• Foundation for California Community Colleges (Napa, CA) speech on major procurement issues
• CAUBO (Canadian Association of University Business Officers) (Winnipeg, Manitoba) speech on major trends in procurement
• Caribbean Institute of Public Procurement (Trinidad) is a recently formed to promote procurement reform throughout the Caribbean region. Two-day workshop on Best RFP Practices and Trends in Public Procurement.

Major Activities – 2006 to 2007

Consulting

• County of Santa Clara, CA - I completed a variety of assignments over a 12 month period including: a review of the effectiveness and efficiency of the Procurement Dept., a review of all current RFPs to ensure compliance with best practices, acting as a Fairness Officer on two major projects, acting as the Procurement Officer on a major project to select Business Process Management software (including negotiating the contract).
• Wolf, Bock Schorr and Solis-Cohen, LLP, a Philadelphia law firm. I assisted Counsel in the preparation of its case protesting a procurement award made by the State of New Jersey.
• Workers Compensation Board, Northwest Territories, Canada. A review of two major RFPs for compliance with best practices prior to their release.
• Capital Health Authority, Edmonton, Canada. I performed a review of the effectiveness and efficiency of the Procurement Dept.
• San Diego County Airport Authority, San Diego, CA. I assisted with the revision of their Policy & Procedure Manual for the Procurement Dept.

Training/Speaking

• California Association of Public Procurement Officials - Workshop on Major RFP Problems and their Simple Solutions
• GTC (Government Technology) East Conference - Workshop on Best RFP Practices
• NIGP Conference, Tallahassee, FL - Keynote Speech on Moving Away from Scandal-Driven Procurement Reform

Major Activities  – 2005

Consulting      

• Orange County Sanitation District - Fairness Officer
• New Mexico Public Purchasing Association - Speech: Ten Best Web Sites for RFP Information
• Rocky Mountain Government Purchasers Association - Workshop on Best RFP Practices from More than Sixty Jurisdictions
• Community Futures Development Corp. (Kelowna, BC) - Two workshops (i) Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs; (ii) Creating Winning Proposals

Major Activities – 2004

Consulting      

• San Diego Municipal Airport Authority - Review of procedures
• Western Washington University - Assistance in developing an RFP template and related procedures

Training/Speaking

• NIGP - New York Chapter - Workshop: Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs
• PMAC - Amherst, N.S. - Workshop: Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs
• NIGP - Virginia - Workshop: Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs
• Peel Region/City of Brampton - Workshop: Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs

Major Activities – 2003

Consulting

• Justice Served, CA - Assistance in developing an RFP for a justice system
• Government of Nunavut - Assistance in establishing procurement policies focusing on RFPs and training of staff. (Over a 10-month period, I visited 6 communities within Nunavut.)
• Government of the Northwest Territories. I completed several projects during 2003 including an audit of its practices for monitoring and controlling RFPs, and a review of a supplier complaint for one Minister

Training/Speaking   

•  City of Philadelphia - Workshop: Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs
• NIGP Webcast to 200 members on Major RFP problems and their prevention
• PMAC - Toronto - Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs
• NIGP - DC Chapter - Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs
• NIGP - Austin Chapter - Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs
• NIGP - Regina, SK Chapter - Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs
• City of Bellingham - Workshop on Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs
• NIGP Conference in Portland, OR - Spoke about Major RFP Problems and their Prevention
• National Association of Educational Buyers Conference in Las Vegas - Spoke about Major RFP Problems and their Prevention

Major Activities – 2002

Consulting

• Government of Nunavut - Assistance in establishing procurement policies focusing on RFPs and training of staff. (Over a 10-month period, I visited 6 communities within Nunavut.)

Training/Speaking

• NIGP - Edmonton, AB Chapter - Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs
• Ontario Public Buyers Association Conference in Niagara Falls - Spoke about Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs

Major Activities – 2001

Consulting

MERX. Between 1996 and 2001, I was retained by MERX to identify value-added services for both the Buyers, who submitted procurement opportunities, and their 35000 subscribers, primarily vendors wanting to sell to government in Canada. This work took approximately 25% of my time and included the following tasks:      

• Reviewing electronic tendering systems available in other jurisdictions and recommending additional functionality and value-added services;
• Discussions with senior procurement executives in public agencies and executives in private sector firms to determine their requirements;
• Developing a proposal for providing training via the web. Creating a prototype to demonstrate the product to MERX executives; identifying courses of interest to MERX agencies and subscribers;
• Developing proposals for providing research and reference services for public sector agencies and governments;
• Identifying marketing channels for MERX in the U.S.
• Planning and development of MERX newsletter for buyers describing latest developments in best practices in public procurement in Canada

Training/Speaking     

• Government Technology Conferences in Austin, TX and Albany, NY. Spoke about RFP issues.
• Government of the Northwest Territories - Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs

Major Activities - 2000

Consulting

• Collaborated with Dr. Khi Thai, Government Studies, Florida Atlantic University in developing the new book about RFPs and best practices for NIGP to use in accrediting members as part of their new curriculum initiative.
• MERX (see 2001)
• Government of the Northwest Territories. I was hired to conduct a review of the procurement function. More specifically, to identify improvements in the current policies and practices which will result in a more efficient and more effective procurement function. As part of this project, I reviewed procurement files, interviewed senior executives. The project resulted in a report which was discussed in the Legislature. Since my report, I have provided advice and assistance to management concerning implementation of the recommendations.

Training / Speaking

• Government Technology Conference in Albany, NY - Workshop on Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs
• Rocky Mountain Government Purchasers Association - Workshop: Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs
• NIGP Workshops for Oklahoma Chapter and Chicago Chapter on Bullet-Proofing Your RFPs

Major Activities – 1997 - 1999

Consulting

• MERX (see 2001)
• Yukon Housing Corp. - assisted in the development of an RFP for new software
• Workers Compensation Board BC. I was hired to assist the project team formed to select and implement new financial software. Tasks included Familiarize with documentation, interview project team, recommend procurements strategy, run project RFP meetings, preparation of draft RFP including review of outstanding issues, complete draft RFP and recommendations to management

Training/Speaking      

• Purchasing Management Association of Canada - workshop on best RFP practices
• Canadian Association of Management Consultants, Ottawa - workshop on Selling to Government
• Florida Association of Public Procurement Officers - speech at their annual conference on issues facing public procurement
• Purchasing Management Association of Canada - Workshops on best RFP practices for chapters in Toronto, Ottawa, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
• Atlantic Public Procurement Association - Speech at their annual meeting on Changes in RFP practices

Major Activities - 1984 to 1997

Consulting

1996 BC Ministry of Transport, Photo Radar Project. Procurement Officer I was hired to assist the project team formed to select and implement new photo radar system. Tasks included Familiarize with documentation, interview project team, recommend procurements strategy, run project RFP meetings, preparation of draft RFP including construction of a draft contract, review of outstanding issues, preliminary negotiation of contract with two leading vendors.

1996 BC Motor Vehicles Branch Revised Licensing Project - Procurement Officer. I was hired to assist the project team formed to select and implement new software for modifying the way drivers' licenses were issued. Tasks included initial familiarization with documentation, interview project team, recommend procurement strategy, run project RFP meetings, preparation of draft RFP, preparation of Evaluators Guide, running the evaluation meetings, and facilitating consensus of the project team.

Between 1984 and 1997 I offered similar services related to RFPs as those described above. I gave workshops in both the U.S. and Canada. I spoke at conferences. I wrote and published reference texts and provided consulting advice and assistance. During the period 1984 through 1997, some of my clients included:

• Management Board of Cabinet, Ontario - development of procurement training manual
• Labatt Breweries - development of RFP for new financial software
• Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario - development of an RFP for a mineral classification system.

Publications

I have been writing and publishing books and articles since 1980. I have written a column for Government Reseller during the 1990s and for Summit magazine from 1998-2003. Most of my articles and books have dealt with public procurement and RFPs. Listed below are the books that I've published (excluding the two books identified in section 3 above:

• Up Your Computer, 1984, ISBN: 0-9691468-0-9.
• The Asner Directory of Software for Associations and Non-Profits, 1986, ISBN: 0-9691468-1-7.
• The M.I.S. Request For Proposal: Examples from Canada's Best Run Companies, 1990, ISBN: 0-9691468-2-5
• How To Create an Effective M.I.S. Request for Proposals, 1990, ISBN: 0-9691468-3-3.
• How To Create a Winning Proposal, 1990, ISBN: 0-9691468-4-1.
• BC Purchasing Commission: The Request for Proposal Process, 1993, ISBN: 0-9691468-5-X.
• Computerized Maintenance Management Systems, 1994, ISBN: 0-9691468-6-8.
• Request For Proposal Handbook, 1995, ISBN: 1-890299-006
• Selling to Government, 1997, ISBN: 1-896129-00-5.
• Handling Supplier Complaints and Protests, 1997, ISBN: 1-890299-08-01.
• How to Evaluate Information Technology Proposals, 1998, ISBN: 1-896129-08-0.
• Second Edition, Handling Supplier Complaints and Protests, 1999, ISBN: 1-896129-10-2.
• Second Edition, Request For Proposal Handbook, 2000, ISBN: 0-07-136027-1.
• An Elected Officials Guide to Public Procurement in Canada, 2004, ISBN: 1-896129-14-
• An RFP Guide for Procuring Complex Commercial Off-the-Shelf Software (COTS): A Drama in Three Acts, 2013
• 5th Edition, The Request For Proposal Handbook, 2014

Education

1962-1966     University of Toronto, B.A. Sc. (Engineering Physics)
1967-1968     Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, M.A.
                      (Computers & Statistics)