Cooperative contracts: one bid, many buyers.

A cooperative solicitation is issued by one public body on behalf of many. The contract it awards can then be used by other agencies, cities and school districts without running a bid of their own. The solicitations are few, and a national one is often posted in a state you don't watch: Sourcewell's in Minnesota, Choice Partners' and BuyBoard's in Texas.

Researched September 26, 2026

How we find them

The program is named

A posting that names Sourcewell, NASPO ValuePoint, OMNIA Partners, BuyBoard, COSTARS or another program, or calls itself a cooperative contract. A federal “cooperative agreement” is a grant instrument, not a co-op, and never counts.

The issuer's own conventions

Texas DIR numbers its co-op solicitations “COOP…”; H-GAC's HGACBuy contracts carry two-letter numbers like “RC01-27”; Region 8 ESC issues TIPS contracts. Each is recognized on the boards we read.

The co-op's own board

Sourcewell, Choice Partners and BuyBoard post solicitations on their own sites. We read them directly, three times a day.

A national co-op's solicitation is shown to every customer, whichever states they chose: the contract it creates can be used anywhere.

The programs

Who runs each, how far its contracts reach, and whether its solicitations reach the Finder. We read government sources only, so a program run by a company is covered through the public bodies that issue its solicitations.

Sourcewell

Read directly

A Minnesota service cooperative, a unit of local government · National

We read its solicitations page three times a day.

Choice Partners

Read directly

Harris County Department of Education, Texas · National

We read its open RFPs directly.

BuyBoard

Read directly

The Local Government Purchasing Cooperative, an administrative agency of Texas local governments · Texas

We read its solicitations directly.

Texas DIR cooperative contracts

Recognized

Texas Department of Information Resources · Texas public entities

Recognized on the ESBD by DIR's “COOP” solicitation numbers.

TIPS

Recognized

Region 8 Education Service Center, Texas · National

Recognized when Region 8 posts on a state board we read. Its own bid site asks robots not to read it, so we don't.

HGACBuy

Recognized

Houston-Galveston Area Council, a regional council of governments · National

Recognized by H-GAC's two-letter contract numbers (“RC01-27”) on boards we read.

NASPO ValuePoint

Recognized

An LLC of the National Association of State Procurement Officials · Multi-state

Each solicitation is issued by a lead state on its own board, which we read; the program's name marks it.

COSTARS

Recognized

Pennsylvania Department of General Services · Pennsylvania

Recognized by name on boards we read.

OMNIA Partners

Recognized

A private company · National

Its lead agencies post on their own boards; the program's name marks it where we read them.

Region 4 ESC, KPN, PEPPM, MHEC, NCPA

Recognized

Education service centers, an intermediate unit, an interstate compact · Varies

Recognized by name on boards we read. Region 4's and KPN's bid sites ask robots not to read them, so we don't.

E&I Cooperative Services

Not read

A member-owned nonprofit for education · National

Not read: not a government body.

Equalis Group

Not read

A private company · National

Not read: its site is behind a bot check, which we don't get around.

Program	Run by	Reach	In the Finder
Sourcewell	A Minnesota service cooperative, a unit of local government	National	Read directly We read its solicitations page three times a day.
Choice Partners	Harris County Department of Education, Texas	National	Read directly We read its open RFPs directly.
BuyBoard	The Local Government Purchasing Cooperative, an administrative agency of Texas local governments	Texas	Read directly We read its solicitations directly.
Texas DIR cooperative contracts	Texas Department of Information Resources	Texas public entities	Recognized Recognized on the ESBD by DIR's “COOP” solicitation numbers.
TIPS	Region 8 Education Service Center, Texas	National	Recognized Recognized when Region 8 posts on a state board we read. Its own bid site asks robots not to read it, so we don't.
HGACBuy	Houston-Galveston Area Council, a regional council of governments	National	Recognized Recognized by H-GAC's two-letter contract numbers (“RC01-27”) on boards we read.
NASPO ValuePoint	An LLC of the National Association of State Procurement Officials	Multi-state	Recognized Each solicitation is issued by a lead state on its own board, which we read; the program's name marks it.
COSTARS	Pennsylvania Department of General Services	Pennsylvania	Recognized Recognized by name on boards we read.
OMNIA Partners	A private company	National	Recognized Its lead agencies post on their own boards; the program's name marks it where we read them.
Region 4 ESC, KPN, PEPPM, MHEC, NCPA	Education service centers, an intermediate unit, an interstate compact	Varies	Recognized Recognized by name on boards we read. Region 4's and KPN's bid sites ask robots not to read them, so we don't.
E&I Cooperative Services	A member-owned nonprofit for education	National	Not read Not read: not a government body.
Equalis Group	A private company	National	Not read Not read: its site is behind a bot check, which we don't get around.

How this was researched

Each program's solicitation pages were checked on September 26, 2026: who publishes them, whether they are public pages that need no sign-in, and whether the site allows automated reading. We read a site only when all three hold.

Where a site asks robots not to read it or sits behind a bot check, we don't work around it. Those programs' solicitations still reach the Finder when their issuers also post them on a state board we read.

Co-op solicitations, tagged, from every board we read.

What we read Start free →