Supplier Diversity Newsletter

New OMWBE Certified Businesses

Greetings Partners,

Every month we share a list of the most recent state certified businesses including the business name, contact information, business description, etc. This list is best utilized regularly in combination with OMWBE's Directory of Certified Businesses.

Please contact our Supplier Diversity team for assistance using our online directory, or to schedule a virtual training for your procurement team.

Email: supplierdiversity@omwbe.wa.gov

Toolkit Update

We had record attendance at this past year’s toolkit workshops. Thank you for your support and participation! We want to make these more interactive and invite others to share their experiences using the tools next year. Please contact equitytoolkit@omwbe.wa.gov if you are interested in presenting. We will work with you to develop your presentation and facilitate the conversation during the community of practice meeting. The dates and topics are:

• February 15^th – Outreach
• May 16^th – Statewide Contracts
• July 18^th – Forecasting
• October 17^th – Internal Processes
• December 19^th – Subcontractor Inclusion Plans

These workshops are on Thursdays and will run from 1:00 to 2:30 on Teams. You can mark your calendars now if you are particularly interested in any of the tools.

Access Equity Update

December has been a busy month for Access Equity as Phase 3a was launched on the 4^thof the month, giving these 24 Washington State agencies the tools and training to use the Outreach and Contract Compliance modules. This now brings us to a total of 75 agencies and universities to have been launched in 2023. While we look toward our final Phase launching in February 2024, we also look back at the previous agencies and work to reinforce what they have learned and encountered in the past year, addressing and removing barriers to assist in a successful implementation.

With three of our four phases having been launched, more of the state is receiving training on how to use the tools in Access Equity that will enhance the ability to address the number one recommendation of the 2017 Disparity Study, which was to implement a system that can track MWB participation in state contracting.

Subcabinet Update

The Subcabinet held its quarterly meeting on November 29th. We discussed efforts to increase the use of diverse businesses at the Department of Corrections, Department of Enterprise Services, and with Washington Filmworks. The Office of Financial Management is spearheading an effort to improve statewide reporting on the use of OMWBE-certified businesses, including spending using state-issued credit cards (PCards). Challenges include connecting data among sources that categorize vendors differently. The Spend Data Group will report at upcoming subcabinet meetings.  The next subcabinet meeting will take place at a location in King County in April 2024.

Antidiscrimination clause required in state contracts effective Jan. 1, 2024

Happy Holidays from OMWBE

The Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprises will be closed Monday, January 1, 2024. We look forward to a New Year filled with opportunities for Washington state small and diverse businesses to prosper! 

If you would like to include others on our distribution list to receive these monthly supplier diversity emails, please let us know at supplierdiversity@omwbe.wa.gov.