NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement
Transforming a curriculum from “sage on the stage” training to action-based learning that helps people do their jobs better
Project Overview
NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement had an extensive curriculum of instructor-led training. However, the courses were long and didactic with learners spending much of the time listening passively. To change this, NIGP partnered with Artisan Learning with the goal: design for action. Artisan focused on what is difficult for learners and designed practice activities for those challenging tasks.
To do that, first, Artisan built detailed learner personas to ground our design process in real challenges like time pressure, compliance regulations, and changing technology. The persona for Sonja, a new buyer finding her footing, prompted us to ask questions throughout the process like, “What misconception would Sonja have about the fraud prevention policy?” Lori, a seasoned contract specialist balancing complex projects, has us asking, “What would be difficult about pricing for Lori when taking into account market volatility?”
NIGP’s learning ecosystem includes a ton of competencies over many pathways, each requiring collaboration with different subject-matter experts. Artisan used action mapping to help NIGP analyze and organize content chaos, honing in on the actions learners do at work like analyzing bids, managing vendors, or weighing ethical decisions. Each group of subject-matter experts was oriented to the action-mapping process, then Artisan aligned every step with NIGP’s competencies and credentials to show clear career impact.
The results spoke for themselves: registrations tripled, users reported applying their learning immediately, and the program built lasting value for both members and staff.
Action-First Design in Practice
Designed around real job decisions, not just knowledge recall.
Action mapping with personas
We designed scenarios that reflect real people doing real work. Each learner decision point was crafted for Sonja, Lori, and peers facing the same on-the-job moments.
Practice-first learning
We replaced passive content with short, authentic challenges so learners decide, solve, or reflect.
Competency and credential alignment
We aligned content and assessments to NIGP competencies and procurement credentials so learners recognized career relevance and managers identified clear paths to growth.
Learners trace each step of a real procurement process, moving from customer conversation to sourcing strategy, in order to practice critical thinking under real constraints. Action mapping for Market Analysis helped identify specific actions done by procurement specialists on the job.
Learners weren’t expecting to practice difficult decision making, but NIGP saw that as a feature. Our courses are designed to be hard because that’s how you’ll master the skills.
– Todd Slater, NIGP
