How the East Texas Council of Governments is Modernizing the COGWORKS Procurement Platform
The East Texas Council of Governments (ETCOG) and its cooperative purchasing program COGWORKS have partnered with Civic Marketplace to expand access to competitively awarded contracts and help public entities procure goods and services more efficiently. Through this collaboration, ETCOG will make its COGWORKS contracts more discoverable and accessible on Civic Marketplace, enabling government teams across the region to streamline procurement, reduce administrative burdens, and move forward with purchasing decisions more quickly and confidently.
“This partnership supports our responsibility to ensure rural communities, schools, and local districts can access purchasing programs that deliver measurable savings and efficiencies,” says David Cleveland, Executive Director of ETCOG. “COGWORKS allows participants to benefit from collective buying power and shared procurement expertise through a program they know and trust.”
Over fifty years of serving the East Texas community
ETCOG is an association of counties, cities, school districts, and special districts across the fourteen-county East Texas region, including Anderson, Camp, Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Marion, Panola, Rains, Rusk, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Wood counties.
For more than 50 years, ETCOG has supported the region through shared services, regional planning, and collaborative programs that help local governments work to solve complex challenges together.
In 2025 alone, these programs delivered measurable impact across the region. ETCOG allocated $8.1 million in regional grants, invested $2.4 million in the regional 9-1-1 system, and served 81,600 job seekers through workforce initiatives.
COGWORKS was established by ETCOG in 2021 in response to member demand for dependable procurement solutions that work for entities of all sizes.
Strengthening COGWORKS to support procurement professionals
For purchases that exceed the $100,000 procurement threshold requiring a formal competitive process, entities can piggyback on cooperative contracts competitively awarded by other lead entities to vetted suppliers, while maintaining compliance.
Civic Marketplace will support ETCOG in activating and operating COGWORKS’ digital platform, expanding access to these cooperative contracts.
On the refreshed platform, Civic Marketplace will support:
- Contract discovery and visibility
- Supplier onboarding and participation
- Entity activation and program adoption
- Program insights and analytics
In addition, COGWORKS will have AI-enabled tools designed to help procurement professionals navigate complex procurement information more efficiently. Intelligent chat agents can help answer procurement questions, guide onboarding, and surface relevant information quickly, while AI-driven analysis helps teams better understand pricing structures and identify the best opportunities to support their purchasing goals.
These capabilities will be provided at no cost to participating entities, helping reduce administrative friction while preserving the transparency and accountability required in public procurement.
Expanding participation in cooperative purchasing
The goal of this partnership is to help ETCOG increase the utilization of its COGWORKS cooperative contracts, elevate local businesses and suppliers, and deliver regional efficiencies to support purchasing for rural communities, school districts, and local governments across the East Texas region and beyond.
By strengthening COGWORKS with modern technology and AI-enabled tools, ETCOG is helping entities embrace new ways of working. It’s now easier for procurement professionals to discover cooperative contracts, connect with qualified suppliers, and steward public funds with greater transparency. In doing so, the ETCOG’s program is positioning the region at the forefront of local government procurement innovation.
Learn more about ETCOG, and explore more cooperative contracts on Civic Marketplace.
