Oct. 02, 2008

Wouldn’t it be nice, in today’s highly competitive economy, if someone just popped you an e-mail with a new business opportunity? Or, if your company was in a special database where others came looking for you? Or, what if you could just search the opportunities yourself?

Well, if you’re a minority- or women-owned business and looking for contracts from county government, that’s the way it is in Westchester.

County Executive Andy Spano recently announced a program that will give a boost to local minority- and women-owned businesses by making it easier for them to compete for county contracts. Based on a new interactive Web site at www.westchestergov.com/mwob, the program is geared to new business owners as well as those who’ve been long established in the local economy.

“Westchester is a diverse county and that fact needs to be reflected in our distribution of contracts. We need to do a better job creating a level playing field that gives everyone an equal opportunity to do business with us,” Spano said. “Registering for this program is a great way to make businesses more visible to county departments, contractors and anyone else that might be interested in purchasing their services or products.”

The initiative centers around a new online registration process for minority- and women-owned businesses (MWOBs). Once registered, they will automatically get e-mail notices whenever new opportunities, such as Requests for Proposals (RFPs), are posted in their areas of expertise. They can also search through all active listings by category, keep a running log of which ones they have already responded to, and get e-mail notifications about timely workshops on topics such as writing bid proposals and becoming state certified.

To register, MWOBs need to provide general information, and because the database is organized and searchable by ten distinct business categories -- from construction to information technology -- they also need to indicate which categories their services or products fall into.

County departments will be required to use this same database when they are looking for vendors to provide services by other than RFP means. For example, every short-term contract must include a quote from a minority- or women-owned business or it won’t be approved. General contractors similarly must prove they have reached out to MWOBs before their sub-contracts are approved.

From the county’s perspective, the program encourages a more competitive marketplace with high quality services and products which will only maximize taxpayer dollars, Spano noted. In 2006, the most recent year complete figures are available, the county contracted with more than 300 MWOBs, but Spano wants to improve on that figure.

Because anybody will be able to search the database, the listing will also make it easier for many other potential clients interested in working with MWOBs. For example, local municipalities interested in improving their own hiring practices and outreach can use the Web site to identify appropriate businesses and find the expertise they are looking for.

The program greatly enhances previous efforts to increase the number of minority and women firms the county does business with. Westchester has been providing technical and informational assistance and workshops since 2000.

For more information, call (914) 995-2925.