For government agencies across North America, the need to modernize legacy permitting and licensing systems has never been more urgent. Aging platforms (often characterized by siloed data, manual workflows, and limited scalability) are increasingly incompatible with the demands of today’s regulatory environment. Yet, despite clear need, many municipalities face a familiar barrier: the complexity, cost, and duration of traditional procurement processes.
Enter piggyback procurement; a strategic, legally supported approach that enables agencies to leverage existing competitively awarded contracts from peer jurisdictions. For municipalities in both the United States and Canada, piggybacking represents a powerful mechanism to accelerate modernization while minimizing procurement risk.
Piggyback procurement (also known as cooperative purchasing or contract adoption) allows one public agency to utilize the results of another agency’s completed procurement process. Rather than issuing a new RFP from scratch, the “piggybacking” agency can adopt the contract terms, pricing, and vendor selection established through a prior competitive process.
This model is particularly valuable in the context of enterprise software—such as permitting and licensing systems—where procurement cycles can stretch 12–24 months or longer. By leveraging an existing contract, agencies can effectively bypass much of this timeline while maintaining compliance with procurement regulations.
“The appeal of piggyback procurement lies in its ability to reconcile two competing priorities: speed and compliance.”
The appeal of piggyback procurement lies in its ability to reconcile two competing priorities: speed and compliance. Governments must adhere to strict procurement rules designed to ensure fairness and transparency, yet they also face mounting pressure to deliver digital services more efficiently.
Piggybacking offers a middle ground, preserving the integrity of a competitive procurement while dramatically reducing time-to-value.
Traditional procurements for permitting and licensing systems can take years from initial planning to contract award. Piggybacking can compress this timeline significantly, enabling agencies to move from evaluation to implementation in a matter of months.
For jurisdictions grappling with permitting backlogs or outdated inspection workflows, this speed can translate directly into improved service delivery and economic development outcomes.
By adopting a contract that has already been competitively bid and awarded, agencies reduce the risk of procurement challenges or disputes. The originating agency has already validated the vendor’s capabilities, pricing, and compliance with procurement standards.
This is particularly valuable for complex systems like permitting platforms, where requirements definition and vendor evaluation can be highly resource-intensive.
One of the most compelling advantages of piggybacking is the ability to replicate a proven project success.
Rather than selecting a vendor based solely on proposals and demos, agencies can evaluate real-world outcomes in a jurisdiction with similar:
This “applied validation” significantly reduces uncertainty and builds stakeholder confidence across procurement committees.
Piggyback contracts often include pre-negotiated pricing structures, reducing the need for lengthy cost negotiations. Agencies benefit from pricing that has already been market-tested, improving budget predictability and helping to avoid cost overruns.
With much of the due diligence already completed, internal teams can focus less on procurement mechanics and more on implementation planning, change management, and stakeholder alignment.
While piggyback procurement offers clear advantages, it is not a “shortcut” around procurement law. Agencies must ensure that their use of an existing contract complies with applicable regulations and policies.
Core Requirements Typically Include:
In the United States, piggybacking is widely supported through cooperative purchasing frameworks and intergovernmental agreements. Many states and municipalities explicitly authorize the use of cooperative contracts, making piggybacking a well-established practice.
In Canada, the approach is similarly viable but often more nuanced, requiring careful alignment with provincial trade agreements and municipal procurement policies. Agreements such as the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) emphasize open and competitive procurement, but they do not prohibit piggybacking—provided that the original procurement meets required standards.
“For municipalities evaluating modernization, this creates a unique opportunity: rather than starting from scratch, they can build upon a recent, successful procurement conducted within a comparable jurisdictional framework.”
Municipalities in Ontario are particularly well positioned to leverage piggyback procurement in the context of permitting and licensing modernization.
Recent successful implementations in cities like Hamilton and Ottawa have created a strong foundation for replication. Both municipalities have deployed modern permitting and licensing solutions from CX within the past year, demonstrating tangible success in environments that closely mirror other Ontario jurisdictions.
These projects provide:
For municipalities evaluating modernization, this creates a unique opportunity: rather than starting from scratch, they can build upon a recent, successful procurement conducted within the same provincial framework.
Government procurement decisions are inherently risk-averse, and for good reason. Large-scale system replacements impact multiple departments, stakeholders, and service delivery channels.
Piggybacking enables agencies to shift from theoretical evaluation to evidence-based decision-making. By examining how a system performs in a comparable jurisdiction, agencies gain insight into:
Institutions like the Harvard Kennedy School and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) emphasize that governments achieve better outcomes when they replicate validated models rather than reinventing solutions. This level of transparency is difficult to achieve through traditional procurement alone.
While piggyback procurement is not suitable for every scenario, it is particularly effective when:
In these cases, piggybacking can serve as a catalyst for transformation, accelerating timelines without sacrificing diligence.
Vendors play a critical role in enabling successful piggyback procurement. Beyond simply extending contract terms, experienced providers can help agencies:
This is where a partner like CX brings significant value.
“By facilitating introductions to comparable “sister municipalities,” CX enables prospective customers to evaluate a POSSE ownership scenario through the lens of real-world implementations.”
For agencies considering the modernization of their permitting and licensing systems, piggyback procurement offers a compelling path forward, one grounded in speed, compliance, and proven outcomes.
The recent successes in Hamilton and Ottawa are not isolated case studies. They are repeatable models that can be leveraged by peer municipalities across Ontario and beyond.
The product experts at CX are uniquely positioned to help agencies explore this opportunity. By facilitating introductions to comparable “sister municipalities,” CX enables prospective customers to evaluate a POSSE ownership scenario through the lens of real-world implementations. This peer-to-peer insight is invaluable, not only for validating technology decisions but also for understanding the practical realities of deployment, adoption, and long-term success.
If your agency is exploring ways to modernize while minimizing risk and accelerating timelines, now is the time to act.
Modernization doesn’t have to start from scratch. With piggyback procurement, you can build on success and move forward with confidence.
