BOSTON - Thursday,
September 9, 2021 - Mayor Kim Janey on Wednesday launched the first in a
series of tools to make it easier for diverse vendors to do business with
the City of Boston. These innovations and reforms help build capacity,
increase transparency, reduce barriers, and make it easier for the City and
public and private sector partners to find woman and minority-owned
businesses.
“I am excited to
introduce a suite of new tools to help minority-owned business enterprises
thrive,” said Mayor Janey. “I believe entrepreneurship is a proven pathway
to wealth creation. As Mayor of Boston, I am committed to supporting
projects that unlock opportunity for entrepreneurs of color and close our
racial wealth gap.”
The newest
procurement tools are as follows:
Streamlined Minority
Business Enterprise certification process: The City has transformed the process for firms to secure MBE
certification from a 9-page paper application to a 3-page online form.
New City of Boston
first Buying Plan:
The City has published its first Buying Plan, outlining more than $65 million in planned
City of Boston purchases. This forecast gives smaller firms, including
MBEs, valuable lead time to secure additional equipment or staff to prepare
a large bid.
New Statewide
MBE-Certified business directory: The City has launched the first combined database of over
4,000 firms with MBE certification from the City of Boston or the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Mayor Janey
announced the new tools for the procurement process at a ribbon cutting for
the Omni Boston at the Seaport. Guided by MassPort’s pioneering procurement
model, this hotel project brought minority business enterprises together
with other firms to provide services ranging from general contracting to
architectural design. With the introduction of these new procurement tools,
Boston will further advance projects with similar equity goals.
Previously, through
the Boston Contracting Opportunity Fund, the City awarded $820,000 in
grant funding to 56 Boston-based businesses to support expanding their
capacity to contract with the City of Boston. The Boston Contracting
Opportunity Fund was launched in April to assist diverse, local businesses
working in construction, building and design, professional and support
services, and goods and supplies. The goal of the Fund is to increase the
quantity and availability of Certified Businesses through granted monetary
assistance to help entities access City-contracted projects.
Of the 56 businesses
awarded, 81 percent are owned by a person of color and 33 percent are owned
by a woman, with locations across Boston’s neighborhoods, including
Dorchester, Roxbury, South Boston, South End, Mattapan, and Roslindale,
among others. Throughout this funding round, 39 entities applied for
certification as minority-owned (MBE) or woman-owned (WBE) businesses.
Mayor Janey
announced the Boston Contracting Opportunity Fund in April as part of several new supplier
diversity initiatives to address equity in City contracting. Capacity
building was one of the needs identified by the Disparity Study in order to
increase the availability of diverse businesses ready to compete for City
contracts.
The Supplier
Diversity program was established in 2021 following the completion of the
City’s Disparity Study. The program creates fair and equitable access to
City contracting opportunities through developing inclusive procurement
practices, monitoring City contracts, providing technical assistance,
offering business certification and connecting minority and woman-owned
businesses to current and future contracting opportunities.
For more information
about the City’s efforts to foster an inclusive economy in Boston, visit here. |
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