Working Group Members
Stephen Davis, president, Community Investment Collaborative, working group co-chair
Destinee Wright, creative director, Destinee Marketing, and owner, Luxie Hair Services, working group co-chair
David DuRant, vice president of development, Asturian Group
Kristin Floyd, Supplier Diversity, UVA
Jenn Glassman, Director of Procurement and Supplier Diversity Services, UVA
Quinton Harrell, founder & CEO, Heritage United Builders.
Jonathan Hohman, director of procurement, UVA Medical Center
Mark Stanis, director, Capital Construction & Renovations, UVA.
Lorie Strother (Council Liaison), SWaM contract administrator, UVA
NaKesha White, owner, Royalty Eats
Charge
Goal: Increase number of University procurement relationships with and proportion of procurement funds going to local* businesses by xx% by xx date, with recommendations for percentage and date to be determined by the working group. As part of this work, review and refine guidelines that will ensure equitable access for local businesses.
*Local: Tier 1 - Planning District 10/ Blue Ridge Health District; Tier 2 - Virginia
Scope of Work
- Inventory existing relationships with local businesses by type of service, demographics of owners, amount of contracts, duration of relationship, location and duration of business
- Identify opportunities across the University for increased local vendor relationships and purchasing with businesses owned by historically marginalized racial, ethnic and gender groups
- Identify opportunities to increase local hiring, especially among historically marginalized racial, ethnic, and gender groups, for vendors who secure UVA contracts
- Review existing vendor selection process, including advertisement, requirements and guidelines, and identify barriers to access for different types of vendors
- Survey UVA purchasing managers to understand how purchasing decisions are made
- Consult with existing and potential vendors to understand barriers
- Evaluate successful partnerships between UVA and local businesses, particularly those which have progressed from being considered “small” due to the UVA relationship, to determine best practices/lessons learned for local businesses
- Evaluate successful partnerships between other anchor institutions and their local businesses to determine best practices/lessons learned for local businesses
- Identify ways to expand the number of local businesses certified as a SWaM business with the Commonwealth of Virginia
- Make recommendations to address barriers
- Develop implementation plan and timeline to implement recommendations
Deliverables
1. Final Report to include: results of inventory, assessment of opportunities for increased local vendors, review of existing process, findings from consultation, and final recommendations.
2. Detailed plan and timeline to implement recommendations.
Required Considerations
The final recommendations should address how the University will increase relationships with local businesses led by women, historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups (disaggregated by group and gender), and new businesses. Recommendations should also include strategies for developing new businesses and expanding existing ones where there are more opportunities for University contracts than potential local vendors.