Request for Proposal: Assessment of Barriers to Procurement for Locally-Owned Businesses and Identification of Capacity Building Needs STATEMENT OF PURPOSE The Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia (SBN) is requesting proposals from qualified individuals or firms to conduct an assessment of the small locally-owned business community. The consultant will engage business owners to identify barriers that businesses face in accessing procurement opportunities with local government and/or with local anchor institutions, as well as identify what capacity-building resources would best assist these businesses. The consultant will focus their outreach efforts on local small businesses in a range of sectors, with particular attention on women-, minority, and disadvantaged-owned firms, as well as firms in the green stormwater infrastructure industry. The consultant should engage SBN s membership as well as reach beyond the SBN community. Proposals must be received by 5:00 PM on March 17, 2017. Proposals and any questions should be emailed to Saleem Chapman at saleem@sbnphiladelphia.org. SBN will award the contract based on the evaluation criteria contained in this RFP. SBN reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals. SBN also reserves the right to award the contract as it deems will best serve its interests. ABOUT THE SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS NETWORK OF GREATER PHILADELPHIA (SBN) SBN is a nonprofit membership organization for locally-owned businesses committed not just to profit, but to making positive impacts on people and the environment. SBN s mission is to build a just, green, and thriving economy in the Greater Philadelphia region;
we accomplish this by educating and growing a broad base of local, independent businesses and by educating policymakers and the public. Since 2001, SBN has made substantive progress toward this mission, having built an inclusive and supportive community of 350+ locally-owned businesses that measure success on the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. The majority of SBN member businesses employee fifty people or less and are owned and operated by a diverse community of entrepreneurs. Our network is made up of businesses from a wide array of industries, including sustainable waste management, green building and sustainable landscapes, media and publication services, catering services, education, energy, and more. SBN intends to continue building a movement where businesses are investors in the quality of life for all citizens. We challenge the business community to build profitable enterprises that serve community needs, share wealth, and protect the environment. We support them in their efforts to do so by hosting networking events, offering relevant educational programming, through initiatives such as our GSI Partners (an industry partnership for businesses in the green stormwater infrastructure industry), and via expanding policy and advocacy strategies. PROJECT GOALS AND CONTEXT IDENTIFYING BARRIERS TO PROCUREMENT FOR SMALL LOCALLY-OWNED BUSINESSES Because of the vitality that small and locally-owned businesses contribute to the Philadelphia region, a core component of SBN s advocacy efforts involves improving the climate for these businesses. Small and locally-owned businesses form the backbone of Philadelphia s economy 98 percent of local businesses employ fewer than 50 employees, and 54% of Philadelphia s jobs are created by the city s 93,000 small businesses. These businesses help ensure money earned in Philadelphia stays in Philadelphia. Research has proven that when dollars are spent at a locally-owned business, money circulates through local communities three more times than if the money was spent with non-local businesses. Local entrepreneurs also tend to be more responsive to and invested in the communities in which they are located. Government and institutional procurement are key opportunities to build both the revenues and capacity of small locally-owned businesses, which supports SBN s mission. However, in our 2011 study, Taking Care of Business, small local businesses were found to have difficulty in accessing and understanding procurement opportunities offered by local government and institutional stakeholders. With this project, SBN intends to delve more deeply into the barriers facing small locally-owned businesses in accessing the Greater Philadelphia region s government and institutional procurement opportunities. Using the services of the selected consultant,
SBN aims to study the small locally-owned business community including businesses already in procurement relationships and those aspiring to have procurement relationships to understand their experiences and challenges with procurement, as well as to identify resources that would support the capacity-building needs of these firms. The City of Philadelphia lacks a supply chain with a fair level of social inclusion, failing to demographically mirror its population base. Analysis shows minority-, women-, and disabled-owned enterprises (M/W/DSBEs) continue to experience acute challenges in accessing procurement opportunities. Findings from the Office of Economic Opportunity s Fiscal Year 2015 Annual Disparity Study, which analyze M/W/DSBE participation on City contracts, indicate there are considerable opportunities for growth. Annual participation goals, established by the City, are not being met; only 13.9 percent of City contracts were awarded to M/W/DSBE located in Philadelphia in Fiscal Year 2015. That same year, the disparity ratio for M/W/DSBE, which compares the utilization on City contracts to availability, was 0.85, meaning M/W/DSBE utilization is still not in parity with M/W/DSBE availability. SBN aims to ensure all business owners have a fair chance of gaining access to procurement opportunities and so intends for this assessment to include a specific focus on M/W/DSBE challenges and needs. SBN aims to capitalize on the Rebuild Community Infrastructure ( Rebuild) program which offers a historic opportunity to promote socially-inclusive economic growth and increase contracting opportunities for M/W/DSBEs to advance goals of local procurement and supplier diversity. The City of Philadelphia will make $500 million of strategic investments over the next several years to create state-of-the-art parks, libraries, recreation centers, and playgrounds in all Philadelphia neighborhoods. Rebuild provides an excellent context to assess the challenges and needs of locally-owned M/W/DSBEs to ensure they can be equally competitive in accessing these and other public contract opportunities. SBN also perceives Rebuild as an opportunity to further catalyze the local green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) industry through public investment. SBN is campaigning for Rebuild renovations to incorporate GSI and for prospective contracting opportunities to be filled by small locally-owned businesses. Again, keeping Rebuild investment local could require improving the capacity of small locally-owned businesses to administer contracting opportunities. As a result, small locally-owned businesses that operate within the GSI industry should also be a particular focus of this study. GSI businesses are a significant membership demographic for SBN; seventy of SBN s member businesses are in the GSI design, build, maintenance, and supply sectors. These businesses comprise the GSI Partners, an industry-specific initiative of SBN formed to support the success of Green City, Clean Waters (GCCW) Philadelphia s long-term stormwater pollution reduction plan. The GSI Partners is the only business network working to ensure that the greenest approaches to stormwater management are facilitated and incentivized as much as possible, and that public and private investments catalyzed by the plan are spent with local firms.
SBN currently supports capacity building by advancing the knowledge and skills of individual businesses and employees through continuing education opportunities. One of those opportunities is the GSI Partners Continuing Education Grant, which offers funds to member businesses to take courses and gain certifications that help them advance in the GSI industry. SBN offers up to $5,000 in grants to each business per year and covers 75% of the total cost of coursework and other professional development opportunities that support our members to expand their GSI portfolios. Over a 3.5-year period, SBN s GSI Partners have disbursed $110,000 in grants to 48 local businesses, supporting professional development for at least 180 unique employees. As a result of this funding support, SBN s GSI Partners have benefitted from dozens of courses that have helped to advance their growth in the industry, as well as their ability to offer effective GSI solutions in Philadelphia and beyond. Through this contract, SBN also aims to evaluate the effectiveness of this capacity-building model as well as its translatability to other business sectors. As part of the challenges and capacity needs assessment, the selected consultant will engage the local small business community described above to determine if the model of the GSI Partners Continuing Education Grant, in its current structure, is the best vehicle to support the capacity-building needs of our members, or whether SBN s resources should be targeted differently. The results of this study will provide vital information to several local stakeholders beyond SBN including the Commerce Department s Office of Economic Opportunity and the City Controller s Office that are working to improve city government and institutional procurement efforts. REQUESTED SCOPE OF SERVICES The selected consultant will be responsible for providing the following services: 1. Develop a workplan, in close consultation with SBN staff, that includes the identification of stakeholders from which input will be solicited. Stakeholders should include SBN members as well as other locally-owned businesses. Consultant should consider connecting with other local business associations, including but not limited to local chambers and/or local chapters of trade groups. Workplan should also include engagement strategy and timeline (see below for further details).
2. Engage the local small business community using strategies such as focus groups, phone interviews, and/or surveys to gather a broad range of perspectives, including (but not limited to): businesses already in procurement relationships; those aspiring to have procurement relationships; M/W/DSBEs; and businesses within the GSI industry. The objectives of this stakeholder engagement are to: Identify and catalog between 50 and 100 businesses experiences with both city government and institutional procurement. Identify areas for improvement, and identify resources that could support the capacity-building needs of the local small businesses community. 3. Engage procurement directors from 5 to 10 Philadelphia institutions to gather perspectives on how their respective supply chains can be accessed. 4. Meet regularly with SBN staff to ensure services are being performed according to requested scope of services, and to update on status of project. 5. Prepare a written report of results and findings, including discussion of methods, techniques, and data. QUALIFICATIONS REQUIREMENTS Minimum Qualifications Consultant shall have demonstrable experience of at least three (3) years in stakeholder engagement. Consultant shall have demonstrable experience of at least three (3) years with government and/or large corporate procurement practices and processes. Preferred Qualifications Consultant shall have knowledge and understanding of the Greater Philadelphia region s government and anchor institution supply chain sourcing processes, particularly targeted strategies for procuring goods and services from locally-owned businesses. RFP AND PROJECT TIMELINE RFP Issue Date: Feb. 21 Responses Due: Mar. 17 Finalists Selected & Contacted: Mar. 31
Project Kickoff: Apr. 10 Project Completion: July 31 BUDGET SBN s budget is $25,000. We are open to the creative (and appropriate) use of SBN staff and committee time to achieve a successful process and final event. Additionally, we welcome and are appreciative of offers of pro-bono services or cost-sharing arrangements to augment our available financial resources. Such offers would be recognized publicly. Reliance on SBN staff time and any pro-bono or cost-sharing arrangements should be clearly delineated in the budget and work plan HOW TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL Proposals should be emailed in either.doc or.pdf format to Saleem Chapman, Policy and Advocacy Manager, at saleem@sbnphiladelphia.org by 5:00 pm on Friday, March 17, 2017. The submission should include: A description of the key qualifications of the consultant in areas of stakeholder engagement and government/large corporate procurement. The description should also include any held knowledge of and/or relevant experience with local government and anchor institution supply chain sourcing processes. A work plan that incorporates the scope of services outlined. The work plan should generally identify the expected duration of and cost of each task and a schedule of deliverables. A task-based project budget indicating estimated costs for carrying out the proposed work, including personnel, materials, travel, and other necessary expenses. A list of the names, titles, and roles of the key individuals who will contribute to the project. Resumes of key individuals associated with the proposed project. A minimum of three references with contact information (phone and email) for which the consultant has provided similar services to those specified in the RFP. A summary and samples of the consultant s work on similar projects. Please feel to contact Saleem Chapman by email at saleem@sbnphiladelphia.org or by phone 215-922- 7400, ext. 105, with questions related to this RFP.