From December 13-15, CLDP led a workshop on best practices in planning, adjudicating, and managing government acquisitions in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. On December 13, the workshop brought together more than 25 officials from the Dominican Republic’s General Directorate of Government Procurement (DGCP), including its Director General, as well as procurement officials from eight other government institutions, including the Ministry of the Interior and Police, the Ministry of Public Works, and the Ministry of Health. The USAID Mission Director, Arthur Brown, gave welcoming remarks for the workshop, which is the first training in a multi-phase program to strengthen the Dominican government’s public procurement processes in order to improve citizen security and increase access for small and women-owned businesses. The specific objective of this training was to build the capacity of the DGCP and various other government agencies to develop more transparent and efficient procurement processes that maximize value across the Dominican government. The training provided a step by step overview of the procurement process in the U.S., which included presentations by procurement officials from the Executive Office of the President and the General Services Administration on market research, acquisition planning, contract structures, technical specifications, source selection, and post-award contract administration. These topics were identified during CLDP’s consultations and one-day kickoff event in Santo Domingo in August 2016. As a result of the workshop, the DGCP has requested CLDP’s assistance in incorporating the best practices covered by the training into the Dominican government’s draft procurement law. The next training is planned for February 2017.