Memorandum #216 Inclusion of Diverse Suppliers and Philadelphia-based Businesses in College Purchasing Activities

November 1, 2012

Support of diversity and use of Philadelphia-based businesses is a business objective of the College in undertaking its procurement of goods and services.   Supplier diversity fosters positive economic impacts and increases competition within the College’s pool of goods and service suppliers. The Purchasing Department is committed to including diverse suppliers in procurement procedures whenever possible.  The Purchasing Department is the College’s organization unit with the responsibility for identifying and qualifying diverse and Philadelphia-based suppliers capable of meeting the College’s procurement requirements

Definitions:

Minority, Woman or Disabled Business Enterprise (M/W/DSBE)
Business that is a sole proprietorship owned and controlled by a minority, woman or disabled person, or a partnership, joint venture, corporation or other entity where at least 51% of the business interest is held by one or more minority, woman or disabled persons.

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE)
Small Business that is owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged persons as defined in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 26 and certified in accordance with those federal regulations.

Responsibilities of the Purchasing Department:

The Purchasing Department is responsible for:

• identifying certified diverse suppliers
• assisting diverse and Philadelphia-based suppliers in understanding the College procurement process
• mentoring diverse and Philadelphia-based suppliers before and after awards are made to promote and facilitate continued business growth within the College
• delivering an on-going effort to increase the amount of purchases from diverse and community suppliers
• encouraging all internal departments to include diverse suppliers when looking to source a service or commodity
• providing annual reports of diverse supplier participation

Identifying and Certifying Suppliers:

The Purchasing and Services Department has established and will maintain partnerships with the following local business organizations to assist the College with obtaining qualified diverse suppliers:

• Minority Supplier Development Council (MSDC) PA-NJ-DE
• Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Center of Pennsylvania
• Office of Economic Opportunity, City of Philadelphia
• Women Business Enterprise Council PA-DE-sNJ
• Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce
• African American Chamber of Commerce of Pennsylvania, New Jersey & Delaware
• Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia
• Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition

The College recognizes and accepts the certifications of agencies acceptable to the City of Philadelphia. The City of Philadelphia Office of Economic Opportunity website at https://www.phila.gov/departments/office-of-economic-opportunity/ provides a complete listing of  certifying agencies that are acceptable to the City.

The College has an Equal Opportunity Program (EOP) for large scale construction projects which mirrors the City of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania goals for diverse supplier participation.

Other Related College Policies:

All purchasing procedures are guided by College Policies Numbers 201, 201, and 203.