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Supplier Diversity Newsletter |
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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
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Certification fees are waived through June 30, 2025! OMWBE waived certification fees through June 2024 at our agency's 40th Anniversary event last September. We are thrilled to announce that FREE Certification will continue for another year!
Since the initial announcement last September, our Certification Team has cleared the backlog of pending certification applications, improving our service delivery to the diverse business community. Please share the news far and wide with your networks, so other businesses can take advantage of this opportunity.
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The Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises launched a new program for Public Works Small Business Enterprises (PWSBE) Certification! This certification is designed to help small and diverse businesses seeking small works contracts through the statewide roster administered by MRSC Rosters.
“Public Works” refers to all work, construction, alteration, repair, or improvement paid for by state and local governments, public universities, and other public organizations. Public works projects include road construction, roof repair, HVAC upgrades, building remodeling, or parking meter installation.
Please encourage qualified business to apply:
- Certification is FREE through June 30, 2025
- The Statewide Small Works Roster is also FREE to join
- Currently certified businesses may opt-in for PWSBE Certification
How do businesses benefit?
- Gain access to direct contracting opportunities for small public works projects under $150,000, where contracts are negotiated with a public agency instead of awarded via traditional low bid.
- Public agencies are required to contract with small businesses and rotate among vendors, when six or more PWSBE certified businesses are listed on the statewide roster.
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Statewide Contracts include OMWBE-certified vendors that provide the goods and services your agency needs. Join the Supplier Diversity Community of Practice (SDCP) meeting on May 16th from 1:00 to 2:30 to talk about how to locate OMWBE certified businesses, and learn more about your options when the statewide contract cannot satisfy your agency needs.
The Tools for Equity in Public Spending also contains helpful information to guide your agency's use of statewide contracts.
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Purchasers can now find vendors more easily on statewide contracts
DES has made it easier for purchasers to find small, certified veteran and OMWBE-certified businesses on statewide contracts.
When you visit the contract summary page for the good or service you need to buy, click the link at the top of the page that says: "See vendors on this contract and their certifications." The link takes you to the vendor list that you can sort by certification type, preferences or award type.
This feature makes it easier for agencies to meet their supplier diversity goals by using Washington state small, veteran-owned and OMWBE-certified businesses!
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The Governor's Subcabinet on Business Diversity (GSBD) held its first Quarterly Meeting of 2024 on April 3rd. Quarterly Meetings bring GSBD agency representatives and business community voting members together to make decisions on Washington State's strategy to achieve equity in public spending.
The following decisions were made:
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GSBD formalizes decision-making through resolutions at the Quarterly Decision Meeting involving voting agency members and Business Community Members. These decisions shape routines and structures, transparency is tracked via Decision Matrix.
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GSBD affirms prioritized workgroups, including the Ombudsman Workgroup, Agency Sponsored Legislation Workgroup, Business Access Workgroup, Governance Workgroup, Measuring Progress Workgroup, and “One Voice” Communications Workgroup.
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The GSBD prioritized a dedicated workgroup to update the "Roadmap to Contracting Equity", emphasizing on the definition of current voluntary measures, implementation of progress tracking mechanisms, and specification of race and gender-neutral measures with target dates.
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The GSBD initiated the Charter Amendment Process within the Governance Workgroup to revise the GSBD Charter. Per the Charter this is a 90-day process from start to finish.
To receive more in depth updates on the progress of the subcabinet, please subscribe to our dedicated mailing list for GSBD Updates. We are building this subscriber list now, to kick off a regular communication schedule in 2024.
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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. |
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