Inclusive Business Initiative E-Newsletter, September 8, 2009
Updates: The Inclusive Business Initiative at the MBDA Summit
The Inclusive Business Initiative participated in the Minority Business Development Agency MBE Summit in July, making a presentation on minority business programs at the state and local government level. InBiz Director, Tim Lohrentz, joined a panel moderated by Benita Fortner of Raytheon Corp, with Glenn Delgado, Chair of the federal OSDBU Directors Council, talking about federal MBE procurement programs, and Steven Sims, V.P. of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, talking about corporate supplier diversity programs. Tim spoke about the need to replicate best practices across states, counties, and cities.
Inclusive Business Practices in new ABA Book on Community Economic Development
We are proud that Roger Clay, President of the Insight Center, recently co-edited a guidebook Building Healthy Communities: A Guide to Community Economic Development for Advocates, Lawyers and Policymakers, published by the American Bar Association. The 500-page book is full of useful, practical information, on topics ranging from "The Use of Tax-Exempt Bonds for Community Economic Development", "New Markets Tax Credits", and "Assets and Community" to "Inclusive Business Practices," written by InBiz Director Tim Lohrentz.
Insight Center Makes a Statement to US Senate on Small Business Access to Health Care
The Insight Center was one of 18 national organizations, through the Unity Group, to make a July 23 statement to the US Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship on the need for greater access to health insurance plans by small businesses. Signature gathering on the statement was led by the Minority Business Enterprise Legal Defense and Education Fund (MBELDEF). The statement read, in part:
"Access to health care and affordable health insurance plans is clearly a subject of great concern to all Americans. Health care costs are skyrocketing and comprehensive health insurance coverage is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. These are undeniably problems that cause genuine concern and stress to all Americans – especially those Americans who have no health insurance at all. But access to health care, and more specifically the availability of business health insurance plans to cover the employees of small businesses, is also a subject of great concern to minority and women businesses all across the nation."
■ Join the Insight Center's Public Supplier Diversity and M/WBE Programs group on linkedin to discuss governmental sector MWBE contracting and procurement programs.
■ Join the Inclusive Business Initiative on Facebook.
Federal Inclusive Business Updates
Obama Administration Commits to Ensuring M/WBE Contracting Opportunities
The Obama Administration on August 19 reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that minority-owned and small businesses, including women- and veteran-owned businesses, have greater access to federal government contracting opportunities:
"In order for the Federal Government to better meet or exceed the goal of 23 percent of prime contracts for small businesses, Vice President Biden and I have tasked Small Business Administrator Karen Mills and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke with leading a federal government-wide initiative to increase outreach," President Barack Obama said.
"In these tough economic times, the Recovery Act is providing billions of dollars in opportunity and incentives to help businesses grow - and the President and I are committed to ensuring that small and minority-owned businesses are part of our economic recovery every step of the way," said Vice President Joe Biden. "By taking advantage of the expertise of an array of companies, we are going to be able to build a stronger, more secure foundation for long-term economic growth."
Anecdotal evidence is needed for US Congress to Support DBE and M/WBE Programs
We all know that minority and women-owned businesses face discrimination in many contexts, including government contracting. Government contracting programs such as DBE and M/WBE programs can help reduce some of the effects of this discrimination. Let's help Congress and the public understand the importance of preserving these programs by sharing our own stories of business-related discrimination. If you or a business owner you know has experienced discrimination in bonding, zoning, insurance, financing, contracting, or procurement, please contact the Insight Center, inbiz@insightcced.org. We will ensure that a trained Unity Group interviewer will present your story to the US Congress, while protecting your confidentiality.
Monitoring the Recovery Act
The Insight Center is a partner in the FairRecovery.org website, which provides resources to communities of color to monitor the programs and spending of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). A new chart provides information on many state and local government M/WBE programs. The website also highlights best practice tracking of ARRA dollars by Maryland and Massachusetts. Maryland has also shared its MWBE procurement tracking system on ARRA funds with other states through the Insight Center's M/W/DBE state director network.
MBEs in ARRA Broadband Access Projects
The Recovery Act (ARRA) provides $7.2 billion to increase broadband access (BTOP) in urban (NTIA, Dep't of Commerce) and rural (RUS, USDA) communities. The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC) encourages companies and municipalities filing applications for broadband deployment, computer center, adoption and mapping to consider minority-owned companies as subcontractors or partners. Please contact MMTC Executive Director, David Honig, at dhonig@crosslink.net if you know of any minority broadband contractors to add to the list. These companies offer goods and services that many broadband stimulus applicants need. They may be able to deliver a competitive advantage to BTOP (NTIA) and BIP (RUS) applicants under the SDB 8(a) provisions of ARRA. So far only 11 MBE firms from 8 states and D.C. are on MMTC's list, while BTOP funds are going to all 50 states, so if you are aware of any qualified firms in this industry, please help them get added to the list.
David Hinson Named Director of the MBDA
In July, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced the appointment of David Hinson, a St. Louis native with more than 20 years of business experience, as the new administrator of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). This agency is the federal agency created specifically to foster the establishment and growth of minority-owned businesses in the US, through its network of 48 minority business centers throughout the country.
Since 2002, Hinson was President/CEO of Wealth Management Network, Inc., a multi-million dollar independent, financial advisory boutique.
"I'm honored to accept this position and am committed to carrying out Secretary Locke's priority of working with minority entrepreneurs who wish to grow their businesses and increase their capacity," Hinson said. "This work better positions these companies to create jobs, improve local economies and expand operations into national and global markets."
USDOT DBE Bonding Assistance Program
US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced, September 1, $20 million in recovery funds to create the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Bonding Assistance Program, an initiative that will help small and disadvantaged businesses better compete for work on transportation projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Through this new program, which will be administered by the Department of Transportation's Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), small and disadvantaged businesses can apply to be reimbursed for bonding premiums and fees incurred when competing for, or performing on, transportation infrastructure projects funded by ARRA.
The bonding assistance provided by the DBE ARRA BAP will allow DBEs with traditionally less working capital than large transportation-related contractors to perform on transportation infrastructure projects receiving ARRA funding from any DOT mode of transportation. While it will not solve the problem of qualifying, it will certainly allow those that qualify to not be shut out of the running on account of the high cost of bonding. In addition, the assistance provided to the DBE to compete for, and execute contracts for ARRA projects, will position the DBE to compete for future transportation contracts at any tier from any Federal, state, or local transportation agency.
Updates on State M/WBE Programs
New Jersey Governor Corzine Signs EO to Include Minorities in the Recovery Effort
Governor Jon S. Corzine signed August 28 an Executive Order requiring the 109 state agencies, authorities, commission and colleges include underrepresented minorities in the recovery effort. Among other things, the executive order establishes goals for State agencies, authorities, colleges and universities and commissions to contract with minority and women-owned businesses consistent with recommendations made in two disparity studies done by the state. There are specific goals for various types of services and for MBE and WBE sub-groups.
In July 2008, Governor Corzine established, under the Department of Treasury, the Office of Supplier Diversity. The goal was to create a one-stop shopping designation where small, minority and women-owned businesses could receive training, mentoring and information on contracting opportunities in both the public and private sectors.
Florida Increases Certification Period to Two Years
Effective July 1, 2009, the State of Florida now has a uniform certification period of two years through the Office of Supplier Diversity. Previously, there was a two year certification period for service-disabled veteran business enterprises and a one year period for minority and women-owned business enterprises. The two year period should decrease the amount of paperwork required of M/WBEs.
"Equity of opportunity is not the enemy of efficiency...It is the promise of democratic governance."
- Ron Marlow
Assistant Secretary for Access & Opportunity
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
