Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency

Diversity Business Enterprise Program

The mission of MDHA is to provide Diversity Business Enterprise firms fair and equal accessibility to all of its' procurement opportunities. MDHA is committed to increasing the participation of minority, women and small business enterprises in all aspects of it's contracting of purchasing programs, including but not limited to construction, development projects, and professional services.

[hands together]Diversity Business Enterprise Policy

It is the policy of MDHA to provide minorities, women and small business enterprise equal opportunity to participate in all aspects of contracting and purchasing programs, including but not limited to, participation in procurement contracts for equipment, professional services contracts, and construction contracts. To accomplish this MDHA has developed Diversity Business Enterprise Program Initiatives. MDHA prohibits discrimination against any person or business in pursuit of these opportunities on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability or national origin. MDHA will conduct its contracting and purchasing programs so as to prevent any discrimination and to resolve all claims of discrimination. It is the policy of MDHA to provide minorities, women and small business enterprise equal opportunity to participate in all aspects of contracting and purchasing programs, including but not limited to, participation in procurement contracts for equipment, professional services contracts, and construction contracts. To accomplish this MDHA has developed Diversity Business Enterprise Program Initiatives. MDHA prohibits discrimination against any person or business in pursuit of these opportunities on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability or national origin. MDHA will conduct its contracting and purchasing programs so as to prevent any discrimination and to resolve all claims of discrimination.

Certification

To ensure that minority women, and small business firms benefits from procurement opportunities created by the Diversity Business Enterprise Program, proof of ownership, control, management responsibilities are required. Minority, women and small businesses will be placed on the vendor listing according to capacity, capability, procurement code and M/W/SBE status. Identification of minority, women and small businesses is necessary for evaluating the participation of these firms in MDHA contract activity, and for calculating the percentage of construction and purchases awarded annually to M/W/SBE's. MDHA will verify the ownership, and control by gender and ethnic background of minority, women and small business vendor.

Definitions

"Minority" means a person who is a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States and who is:
  1. Black (a person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa);
  2. Hispanic (a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race);
  3. Asian American (a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East. Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands); or
  4. American Indian and Alaskan Native (a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North America).

"Minority Business Enterprise" shall mean a minority small business:

  1. A continuing, independent, for profit business which performs a commercially useful function, and is at least 51 percent owned and controlled by one or more minority individuals; or, in the case of any publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of the stock of which is owned and controlled by one or more minorities.
  2. Whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more of minority individuals.
    1. "Control" as used in the above clause, means exercising the power to make policy decision.
    2. "Operate," as used in the above clause, means being actively involved in the day-to-day management of the business.

"Women Business Enterprise" shall mean small women business:

  1. A continuing, independent, for profit business which performs a commercially useful function, and which is at least 51 percent owned and controlled by one or more women; or, in the case of any publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of the stock of which is owned and controlled by one or more women.
  2. Whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more of such individuals.
    1. "Control" as used in the above clause, means exercising the power to make policy decision.
    2. "Operate," as used in the above clause, means being actively involved in the day-to-day management of the business.

"Small Business Enterprise" shall mean small business:

  1. Including its affiliates, that is independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field of operation; and not an affiliate or subsidiary of a business dominant in its field of operation.
  2. The size standards described below in accordance with Metropolitan Code of Laws (Section 4.44.010) apply to the minority, women and small business enterprise firms. The size standards themselves are expressed either in annual receipts in millions of dollars or number of employees, unless otherwise specified. The annual receipts or number of employees indicates the maximum allowed for a small business concern and its affiliates to be considered small.
IndustryAnnual SalesNumber of Employees
Construction$2,500,00019 or less
Manufacturing$1,000,00099 or less
Whole Sale Trade$1,000,00019 or less
Retail Trade$500,0009 or less
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate$500,0005 or less
Transportation, Commerce & Utilities$500,0009 or less
Service Industry$500,0009 or less

In addition to developing the Minority, Women and Small Business Enterprise Program, Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency’s Board of Commissioners has adopted the race-neutral recommendations of the Metro Nashville Procurement Standards Board. These recommendations have been incorporated into MDHA’s procurement procedures. MDHA has developed strategies and initiatives to address the recommendations of the Procurement Board of Standards. Outlined below are the recommendations of the Procurement Standards Board, along with MDHA’s Minority, Women, and Small Business Initiatives.

Metro Nashville Procurement Standards Board Recommendations

  1. To assure equal access to timely information for minority-owned, woman-owned, and other small businesses, Metro should:
    1. Provide for on-line vendor registration and notification of bidding opportunities through email.
    2. Expand Internet access to Metro procurement solicitations to enable interested parties to view and obtain Requests for Quotations on small open market purchases, including delegated purchases by departments and to the extent practicable, emergency purchases. (Invitations to Bid and Requests for Proposals are already available through the Internet)
    3. Establish community accesses to purchasing information for minority-owned, woman-owned, and other small businesses without Internet access in each Metropolitan Library and other metro sites, where possible.
    4. Contract with qualified community organizations to ensure that minority-owned, woman-owned and other small businesses without Internet access are notified on a timely basis of opportunities to do business with the government.
    5. Begin publishing public notices of purchasing opportunities in community newspapers focused on servicing the needs of minority and women in Nashville.
    6. Request NES, MDHA, MNAS, MBOE, and MTA to utilize the same equal access mechanisms and procedures as the general government.
       
  2. To address the needs of minority-owned, woman-owned, and other small businesses for prompt payment, Metro should:
    1. Monitor the timeliness of all Metro payments through the use of specialized, computerized reports provided by the Department of Finance.
    2. Require all departments to self-report reasons for each late payment to the Procurement Standards Board on a quarterly basis.
    3. Require the Internal Audit Division of the Finance Department to randomly audit each department’s self-reporting to ensure the integrity of the information provided to the Board.
    4. Require the Board to periodically report to the Mayor on departments not meeting the payment standards of their contractual agreement.
    5. Require NES, MDHA, MNAA, MBOE and MTA to develop comparable reporting for submission to the Board. This reporting should also be audited.
       
  3. To address concerns about fair treatment of minority-owned woman-owned, and other small business sub-contractors by prime contractors, Metro Should:
    1. Identify prime contractors that regularly bid on Metro business and disseminate this information to potential sub-contractors on Metro’s web site.
    2. Provide a forum through the Board for complaints by minority-owned, woman-owned and other small businesses that believe prime contractors have subjected them to discriminatory or poor payment practices.
    3. At the request of the Board, audit complaints against prime contractors.
       
  4. The following steps should be taken to improve access by minority- owned, woman-owned and other small businesses to capital/limited financial and bonding capacity:
    1. Assess risk management standards to determine where bonding requirements can be lowered.
    2. Designate metro staff persons or qualified organizations in the community to assist small and disadvantaged businesses with paperwork.
    3. Facilitate the establishment of programs that provide financial and technical assistance to small businesses, and require interested minority-owned, woman-owned, and other small businesses to participate in these programs until they have acquired the necessary experience to be bonded at a competitive rate. (Assistance, education, and training could be implemented directly by Metro or through local community colleges and universities. Further, Metro could work with all of the local chambers and selected financial institutions using the Community Reinvestment Act as leverage, to establish and/or operate such programs.)
    4. Compile and disseminate a list of surety companies to small businesses interested in doing business with the Metropolitan Government
       
  5. With regard to community outreach, Metro should:
    1. Establish a formalized plan for community outreach to further ensure that citizens have an avenue to the procurement process. One successful example is the Small Business Fair, which was held by Metro Purchasing on October 28, 1999.
    2. Hold on a regular basis, training sessions covering a wide variety of topics that deal with doing business with Metro.

MDHA minority, women and small business enterprise initiatives.

  1. To ensure equal access to timely procurement information MDHA is implementing the following actions:
    1. MDHA is currently updating its web page to enable Vendors on-line registration and notification of requests for proposals and bidding opportunities.
    2. MDHA is currently updating its web page to include information on current procurements (small purchases, bid solicitations and requests for proposals), recent contract awards, and information on MHDA's minority, women and small business enterprise program initiatives. Interested businesses and individuals will be able to view and obtain requests for proposals and bid solicitations.
    3. MDHA’s web page is accessible at all Nashville Metro Libraries with Internet access. MDHA will publish a list of the libraries with Internet access and make this information available by direct mail to M/W/SBE firms, and M/W/SBE agencies and organizations.
    4. MDHA will identify minority, women and small business organizations and regularly provide them with information on small purchases, bid solicitations and requests for proposals, so that they can notify minority, women and small businesses of procurement opportunities within a reasonable time frame.
    5. Current bid solicitations and requests for proposals are advertised in all minority newspapers. MDHA will begin advertising bid solicitations and requests for proposals in Nashville Women publications such as "Nashville Women" and "Tennessean Women" magazines.
    6. To the greatest extent possible, MDHA will utilize the same equal access mechanisms and procedures as Metro Government.
       
  2. To address the needs of minority-owned, woman-owned, and other small businesses for prompt payment, MDHA will:
    1. Develop a system to monitor the timeliness of all contractor payments to minority, women and small businesses. Contractors will be required to submit a standardized report documenting payments made to minority, women and small businesses with their pay requests. Minority, women and small businesses will be contacted to confirm prime contractors payments to their firm.
    2. Develop a system to track all contractor payments to minority, women and small businesses. Contractor late payments will be recorded along with a statement indicating the reason for late payment. This information will be maintained by MDHA and reported to the Board on a quarterly basis.
    3. Maintain records and reports of MDHA payments and contractors’ payments for random review by the Auditing Division of the Finance Department.
    4. Not applicable
    5. Maintain records and reports of MDHA payments and contractors’ payments for submission to the Board and auditing purposes.
       
  3. To address concerns about fair treatment of minority- owned, woman-owned and other small business sub-contractors by prime contractors, MDHA will:
    1. Continue to require Minority, Women and Small Business Utilization Plans to be submitted with all bids and requests for proposals. The Minority, Women and Small Business Plans are incorporated into the contract and monitored by monthly activity reports. MDHA will continue to include Anti-Discrimination Law requirements as part of its bidding and contracting process.
    2. Develop a formal complaint process to receive, review and seek resolution to minority, women and small businesses’ complaints of unfair treatment. In the event that MDHA is unable to resolve a complaint, it will be referred to the Board for review.
    3. Maintain all information and reports of unfair treatment of minority, women and small businesses for review and audit by the Board.
       
  4. MDHA will take the following steps to improve access by minority-owned, woman-owned and other small businesses to capital/limited financial and bonding capacity:
    1. MDHA will research Metro and HUD requirements for bonding to determine options to reduce current bonding requirements. MDHA will communicate with bonding and banking institutions that have business relationships with MDHA in an effort to identify bonding and lending programs that assist M/W/SBE. MDHA will also identify other sources and/or agencies that provide bonding and lending assistance to support the development of undercapitalized M/W/SBE.
    2. MDHA and members of its Procurement and Finance Departments will develop a workshop to assist minority, women and small businesses on "How To Do Business with MDHA. The workshop will consist of MDHA procurement procedures; bid and award processes and how to prepare MDHA required project paperwork. These workshops will be conducted on a quarterly basis.
    3. MDHA will coordinate with local chambers, financial institutions, schools and colleges to develop a series of business and technical seminars that will instruct M/W/SBE on developing business plans, how to prepare working capital loan and bond applications, preparation of bid documents and project management techniques.
       
  5. MDHA's community outreach efforts will include:
    1. Identifying and contacting M/W/SBE firms regarding their interest in MDHA procurements. M/W/SBE firms will be required to complete a Vendor Registration Form to determine availability and interest in MDHA procurements. Once a firm has completed a registration form and all requested information is received, an acknowledgement letter will be mailed, and the firm will be entered into MDHA’s database listing of M/W/SBE firms. These firms will be contacted regarding MDHA procurement opportunities. Other outreach efforts will include:
      • Conducting a marketing program to communicate awareness of the M/W/SBE program initiatives. Communications will be initiated with news releases, Nashville’s access channel, radio public announcements and MDHA web site, outlining MDHA Program initiatives including M/W/SBE outreach activities. MDHA will network with community agencies and organizations that provide support services to M/W/SBE firms.
      • Establishing a M/W/SBE advocate committee. The committee will assist in communicating MDHA's minority, women and small business enterprise program initiatives; review the progress of the program and offer recommendations and ideas to enhance program initiatives. MDHA’s Executive Director will appoint members of the M/W/SBE Program Advocate Committee.
      • Providing information concerning outreach efforts on MDHA’s web page. The web page information will outline the M/W/SBE Program initiatives and inform M/W/SBE firms who to contact regarding MDHA procurements.
    2. Coordinating with other Metro agencies on a regular basis to provide business and technical seminars that will instruct M/W/SBE on developing business plans, how to prepare working capital loan and bonding applications, preparation of bid documents and project management techniques.