Supporting Our Local Small and Minority-Owned Businesses Through the County Government Procurement Process
Dear Prince Georgians:
In 2019, our administration, through the Office of Central Services, embarked on an innovative journey to increase opportunities, improve business capacity, and expand availability for local, small, and minority suppliers in Prince George’s County. This effort began with an in-depth assessment to determine the needs and identify areas for improvement that would not only greatly impact doing business with the County, but promote local business growth and economic development as well. After analyzing the findings and data, the Office of Central Services decided to create programs and technological platforms that would address the multi-faceted needs primarily of County-based small and minority businesses providing goods and services to the County.
To begin, the Prince George’s County Office of Central Services focused on eliminating fragmented, piecemeal information and created and launched the Business Highway— a digital, interactive one-stop portal that now houses a comprehensive suite of online business services platforms aimed at developing and growing local, small, and minority businesses. Additionally, the Business Highway was a response to the growing demand to create advanced digital business and procurement solutions that make doing business with the County easier and more efficient. Housed within the portal are new strategic business and contracting resources such as:
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Green Book - New procurement opportunities guide exclusive to small and minority businesses;
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SPEED (Strategic Purchasing Efficient and Evaluation Domain) - New electronic procurement system;
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CCS (Certification and Compliance System) - New business certification system;
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Mentor-Protégé - New small and minority business capacity building program; and
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Supply Schedule - New contracting program exclusively for small and minority businesses.
We also want to make sure we continue to provide robust and steadfast support for small, minority-owned, County-based businesses. That’s why we are proud to announce “County Owned Buildings-Renovations, Modifications, and Upgrades,” a new solicitation offered by the Office of Central Services to certified County-Based Businesses, County-Based Small Businesses, and County Located Businesses. This new solicitation will potentially qualify a select number of local businesses for millions of dollars in small-to-medium construction projects between $100,000 and $3,000,000.
Additionally, in the coming weeks the Office of Central services will release a follow-up solicitation for “County Owned Buildings-Renovations, Modifications, and Upgrades,” to develop a bench of general construction contractors for large capital projects up to $50,000,000 each. This new solicitation will also be restricted to certified County-Based Businesses, County-Based Small Businesses, and County Located Businesses.
Below are details about the programs we have for small and minority-owned businesses through our Office of Central Services. These contracting and capacity building programs, coupled with the new opportunities for County businesses mentioned above, continue to reflect our commitment to developing, growing, and investing in Prince George’s County local businesses.
Yours in service,
Angela Alsobrooks
Prince George’s County Executive
Increased Small & MBE Business Spending
By the end of the Alsobrooks Administration’s first term, the County’s respective small business and minority business enterprise goals of 30% and 20% were exceeded. For fiscal year 2022, the County’s percentage of Small Business Spend and Minority Business Enterprise Spend were 38% and 30%, respectively.
Green Book
 Launched in October 2021, the Green Book is a business-to-government platform exclusive for County-based Small and Minority Business Enterprises with the purpose of connecting them to millions of dollars in procurement opportunities within the Prince George’s County Government. A first for the County, the Green Book aims to achieve local economic growth in three ways. First, by restricting up to 50% of County government procurement spending to local, small, and disadvantaged businesses. Second, by growing revenues and jobs for County businesses through increased contracting and procurement of goods and services. Finally, by developing capacity at the prime contract level whereby procurement dollars are spent directly with County-based small and minority businesses for a variety of services and products.
Mentor Protégé Program
 Launched in August 2021, the Mentor Protégé Program aims to develop and build capacity for certified small and minority businesses. The Mentor Protégé Program’s primary focus is to enhance the capabilities of County-based small and minority businesses (“protégé firms”) through formal agreements with large businesses (“mentor firms”) and improve the protégé’s ability over time to successfully compete for contracting opportunities.
Supply Schedule
 Launched in January 2022, the Prince George’s County Supply Schedule (PGCSS) establishes prime contracts with certified County-based small businesses (CBSBs) and County-based minority business enterprises (CBMBEs) to provide a wide range of services and products for County agencies. The PGCSS is designed to drive growth and economic opportunities in Prince George’s County through:
- Pre-approved prime-level contracts with County-based small businesses (CBSBs) and County-based minority business enterprises (CBMBEs) to provide commercial off-the-shelf products and services to County agencies;
- Streamlined ordering process that includes pre-negotiated prices, delivery terms, warranties, and other negotiated terms and conditions; and
- 10 broad sweeping categories of products and services designed to meet the recurring procurement needs of County agencies.
Certification & Compliance System
 In September 2019, the Certification and Compliance System (CCS) was launched. CCS is a 24/7 business self-service web-based system designed to make online registration, certification, and vendor profile management simple and efficient for small and minority businesses. CCS includes a fast, paperless process for submitting initial and recertification applications for County businesses, and a self-service vendor platform for profile management, certification management, and compliance monthly reporting for County contracts.
Electronic Procurement
 Launched in October 2020 as the County’s first e-Procurement system, SPEED (Strategic Purchasing and Efficient Evaluation Domain) eliminated a paper exhaustive process and created a digital workflow process that executes the entire procurement spectrum from requisitioning and solicitation to contract award and closeout.
Small & Minority Business Outreach
OCS, through its Supplier Development and Diversity Division (SD3), consistently executes trainings, programs, and events aimed at capacity building for the County’s local, small, and diverse suppliers. Taking a proactive approach, SD3 has prioritized during the current administration processing certifications and recertifications utilizing the online contract Certification and Compliance System (CCS). Throughout the first term of the Alsobrooks Administration, even in the face of an ongoing pandemic, SD3 has successfully continued outreach efforts both in person or virtual formats, via Zoom and through Microsoft teams. SD3 has conducted more than 100 outreach events, having partnered with several organizations dedicated to promoting and advocating for small and minority businesses within the County.
Disparity Study
The Office of Central Services completed the long-awaited Prince George’s County Utilization and Availability Study (“Disparity Study”). Work on the Disparity Study started and stopped for four years prior to the Alsobrooks Administration for various reasons. OCS kick-started the disparity project in February 2019 and delivered a final Disparity Report in December 2019. A previous newsletter providing background on the study and its results is available here.
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