events

Many governments are committed to using procurement and contracting to make progress on racial equity. However, they often struggle to meaningfully move the needle on vendor diversity. This workshop explored several vendor diversity strategies being used in cities across the country and provided guidance on where to start and how to make the greatest impact.

In this workshop, participants learned:

• How to solicit feedback on procurement and contracting pain points from vendors
• How to increase participation of diverse vendors by streamlining procurement practices, conducting targeted outreach, unbundling large contracts, and writing clearer RFPs
• How to invest in building capacity of small, diverse vendors to enable them to successfully participate in your city’s contracting opportunities