Beyond Compliance:

1. Beyond Compliance: Creating and Executing Successful Strategies for DBE Participation and Workforce Diversity

2. Panelists • Brian McCarthy (Moderator) • Program Management Consultant, CDM • Heyward Davenport • Regional Director, Minority Business Development Agency • Michael Jefferson • Diversity Manager, Metropolitan District of Hartford

3. Why beyond compliance?

4. Stakeholders Benefits

5. Benefits Drive Strategy Program Management Strategy Benefits Risk Management

6. Context – Large Public Works Program • Context and experience comes from a large urban public works program for a mid-size city, primarily horizontal construction • Not a lot of existing local MBE & WBE capacity • Biggest program ever undertaken by owner • Voter approval required • Politics

7. Compliance Framework • DBE (MBE/WBE) participation percentages as condition of funding or a legal requirement • EEO / Workforce Diversity • Set-Asides • Prevailing Wage • Project Labor Agreement

8. Leading off . . . • The Owner’s Perspective • Program Benefits • Risk Management • Managing expectations • The importance of a coherent strategy • Getting it done

9. Next up . . . • Resources to help you • Leveraging programs and agencies • How to engage their support • What they can do • What they can’t do

10. And then . . . • Program management to support the strategy • Leverage existing tools & processes • Forecasting • Tracking and Reporting

11. Owner’s Strategy • Manage Benefits • Manage Risk

12. DBE Participation & Workforce Diversity in Context of Program Benefits & Risks • Public Agency • High Visibility • High Expectations for your Program • Vehicle for economic growth • Vehicle for economic opportunity • Public & Local Business Stakeholder View • Program Benefits = jobs & business opportunity

13. DBE Participation & Workforce Diversity in Context of Program Benefits & Risks • Risks • Adverse publicity • Public protests • Erosion of support for the program • Non-compliance with funding & legal requirements

14. Compliance Mindset • Manage Risk of Non-Compliance • Risk = Participation Goals not met • Consequence = Lose funding • Risk Management Strategy Includes • Solid Contract Terms • “Good Faith Efforts” • Tracking and Reporting • Creating the Paper Trail

15. What’s missing? • Achieving, documenting, and reporting compliance may not deliver the program benefits expected by some stakeholders • From their view (right or wrong), you have not delivered

16. Why take a narrow approach? • It’s the way we’ve always done it • It’s worked for us before • Inexperience • See doing more as an unnecessary expense • Fear of engagement • Not part of organizational culture

17. Beyond Compliance • Broader view of risks and benefits that are related to issues of DBE and workforce participation • You’re already doing a lot of the legwork to support taking these extra steps • Leverage work you’re already doing • Proactively manage expectations (benefits) and risk

18. Strategy • Manage expectations • Engage the local small contractors • Engage the general contractors • Engage external resources • Leverage existing tools & systems • Publicize your efforts and successes

19. Manage Expectations City Plans $1.6B Sewer Upgrade 08/19/2009 The Daily Planet Mayor John Doe told the crowd the project would create jobs, especially in the eastern part of the city, a promise he touted during his campaign. Jobs will be available for "hundreds of people for construction above the ground and below."

20. Managing Expectations • Realistic Jobs Forecasts • Job Preservation Versus Job Creation • Consistent Approach • Realistic Subcontracting Opportunities Forecasts • Breakdown by trades • When will opportunities happen?

21. Engaging the Local DBE Subcontractors • Pursue them • Maintain a vendor database • Provide Educational Opportunities • How to work with your agency • How to work with general contractors • Develop relationships before there are problems

22. Engage the General Contractors • GC to Subcontractor matchmakers • Get off on the right foot – you take these issues seriously and will pay attention to them • Plug GC into local resources, if they are not from the area

23. Engaging External Resources • Government Agencies • Minority Business Development Agency • State Departments of Labor • Small Business Administration • Other Organizations • Community-based job training & placement programs • Industry and trade organizations

24. Leverage Existing Tools and Systems • Planning and design phase analysis • Workload & opportunity forecasting • Contract Administration • Payroll reports • Progress Meetings • Internal & External Communication

25. Publicize your Efforts & Success • Be out in front • Prevent protests • Have good stories and evidence to fall back on • Anecdotes are effective

26. Strategy to Go Beyond Compliance • Manage expectations • Engage the local small contractors • Engage the general contractors • Engage external resources • Leverage existing tools & systems • Publicize your efforts and successes

27. Engaging External Resources

28. Most of these organizations exist to help the small or minority business, or the individual worker. How can they help or support me, the program owner?

29. What’s in it for the Program Owner? • Expands your network • Adds credibility • Creates publicity • Builds local capacity • Doesn’t cost much • Proactively managing risk

30. What do they have to offer? • Training & education • Networking • Access to capital for subs/suppliers • Realistic advice • Coaching & mentoring • Certification assistance • OJT Funding

31. Risk Mitigation Payoff • Establishing relationships • Track record of support & fair play • “Problem children” get independent support • Good publicity • Reduce chance and severity of problems

32. About the MBDA • Minority Business Development Agency, part of the US Department of Commerce. • Created as an executive order in 1969 by President Richard M. Nixon, first known as the Office of Minority Business Enterprise. • Mission driven as an entrepreneurial organization; we actively promote job and business growth to enhance competitiveness for minority businesses of all sizes and industries; we are committed to wealth creation, teaming capabilities and cultivating opportunities in domestic & global markets.

33. MBDA regions …our 5 regional offices cover all states including Puerto Rico, too.

34. Enterprise Centers • The MBDA funds its network of Minority Business Enterprise Centers, Minority Business Opportunity Centers & Native American Business Enterprise Centers. • MBEC leverages business alliances with government agencies, financial institutions, procurement supply chain programs and corporate America. In the NYNEC: 8 Centers & 2 District offices. • MBEC assists the small business owner to cultivate business resources which are geared to serve minority entrepreneurs seeking to pursue accelerated growth.

35. MBDA’s Approach to Program Owners • Establishes a high profile partnership to demonstrate owner’s commitment and sincerity to local and MWBE contracting programs • Provides resources such as vendor outreach and strategic alliance with local resources • Co-sponsors and acts as primary event manager -including staffing and coordination - for project outreach events • Facilitates introductions to local technical assistance organizations and associations in such areas as certification, bonding, insurance and joint venture development.

36. A couple of recent examples • In 2009, MBDA & local MBEC’s hosted a B2B Procurement matchmaker with 5 NY City Agencies who never worked together to identify 20 prime contractors who met 125 MBE vendors. • Significant outreach and partnering efforts in Hartford include B2B matchmakers and educational programs. MBE prime awarded one of largest contracts in agency’s history. MDC named Northeast regional Partner of the Year.

37. We want to help www.mbda.gov The MBEC’s, MBOC’s & NABEC’s are funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce as technical assistance centers

38. Program Management Tools to Support the Strategy • Use existing tools & processes to your advantage • Forecasting subcontract opportunities and workforce requirements • Extract useful information from standard data sources • Tracking and Reporting • Communication & Outreach

39. Planning and Design

40. Procurement • Maintain & Use a Vendor Profile Database • Forecast upcoming work • Tack matchmakers on to pre-bid meetings • Use technology to push information

41. Construction Administration • Maintain visibility • Progress meetings • Site Inspections • Mine data from daily reports • Subs • Crews • Trades

42. Construction Administration • Certified Payrolls • Job classifications • Ethnicity & Gender • Residency

43. Tracking & Reporting

44. Education & Outreach • Many small firms have not played in your arena • Conduct seminars & workshops on how to do business • Reinforce expectations • Deliver consistent messages

45. Summary • Focus on the program benefits to develop your strategy • It’s a contact sport – you’ve got to be visible • Engage stakeholders • Use you’re existing systems and tools • Don’t go it alone – partner up • Publicize your efforts and successes

46. Closing Thoughts on Strategy & Risk Management • Benefit – from Latin benefactum (good deed) bene (well) • Risk – from French risque, Italian riscare (to run into danger) – ancestral meaning could be “sail dangerously close to rocks” • Manage – from Italian maneggiare (control a horse) fr Latin manus (hand)

47. Program Management is a contact sport! Hands – on approaches will help keep you off the rocks!

48. Questions? • Brian McCarthy • Program Management Consultant, CDM • Heyward Davenport • Regional Director, Minority Business Development Agency