Presentation — OMWBE, Senate Business, Financial Services, Gaming and Trade Committee (November 30th, 2023)

Summary

This is a presentation about the Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprises (OMWBE) for the Senate Business, Financial Services, Gaming and Trade Committee, dated November 30th, 2023. It states that since 1983 OMWBE has helped businesses owned by minorities, women, and other underrepresented communities access contracting and procurement opportunities with state government. It states that certification fees are waived through June of 2024 and that OMWBE is on track to eliminate the certification backlog for the first time in 40 years. It also states that after I-200 passed in 1998, certified business decreased by 56% in just four years, and that utilization has not risen above 5% in over 20 years.

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“Presentation — OMWBE, Senate Business, Financial Services, Gaming and Trade Committee (November 30th, 2023).” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2023-11-30-a31494-d263016-omwbe-bfgt-presentation-e590603909/, SHA-256 300f5d68b8cad28d3d22e0686b52f2763be8c0708b522e340ba70ccf9672cb38.

Full text

Senate Business, Financial Services,
   Gaming and Trade Committee
         November 30th, 2023
About OMWBE
Since 1983, the Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises
(OMWBE) has helped businesses owned by minorities, women, and
    other underrepresented communities access contracting and
          procurement opportunities with state government.
Small Businesses are the
backbone of our economy,
employing about 50% of
the Washington State
workforce.
  When small businesses
thrive, everyone succeeds!
OMWBE Services
                               Supplier               Business               Customer
 Certification
                               Diversity             Development             Relations

• Certify minority and    • Report the annual      • Statewide           • Improves customer
  women owned               spend with certified     outreach to raise     experience with
  businesses.               firms. Posted on         awareness about       OMWBE.
                            our website.             certification.
• Maintain a directory                                                   • Guarantees prompt
  so state agencies,      • Meet with 63 state     • Expand presence       response to all
  primes, and               agencies, 8 higher       in Central and        customer requests.
  educational               educational              Eastern WA
  institutions can find     institutions, and 22                         • Implements
  firms to work with.       prime contractors      • Linked Deposit        systems to reduce
                            on their inclusions      offers reduced        customer wait
• State: 2,850              plans and best           interest rates on     times, providing
• Federal: 1,708            practices.               business loans by     better service
                                                     up to 2%.             delivery.
History of OMWBE
Certified Businesses Growth
                   OMWBE Certified 5,000+ Businesses in 1997
5000

                                                          We are building back to where we were 25 years ago 
4000


3000


2000

       After I-200 passed in 1998, certified business decreased by 56% in just four years
1000


  0
Certification
OMWBE is the sole agency that certifies minority- and women-owned
businesses to participate in public contracting and procurement.

• Enabled online applications in 2017
• 1,006 new applications and 2,759 renewals in 2023
• On track to eliminate the certification backlog for the first time in 40 years
• Businesses found their experiences with OMWBE to be:
    Excellent 28.52% | Very good 26.62% | Good 24.71% | Poor or Fair 6.84%

Certification fees are waived through June of 2024, relieving the cost
burden to small business owners.
Business Development
Established in December 2022, the Business Development team
conducts statewide outreach to raise awareness about certification.

• Participated in 70+ outreach events in 2023
• Increasing OMWBE presence in Central and Eastern Washington
• Creating on demand training for certified businesses
• Developing mentorship program with KPIs on contract dollars earned

Government contracts can help small businesses weather downturns
in the economy, leading to greater financial security.
Customer Relations
Established in September 2023, the Customer Relations team
enhances OMWBE’s brand through positive customer interactions.

• Triages customer support, allowing certification to focus on applications
• Improving our phone system and customer experience
• Implementing an electronic help desk to better assist customers
• Responds to 5,000+ customer inquiries each year

Customer inquiries have changed from majority complaints regarding
timeliness to more questions about how to get certified.
30 Years of State Spending
With Certified Businesses
            Percentage of Public Spending with Certified Businesses
14.00%
                               Diverse spending peaked in 1998 at 13.31% utilization
12.00%


10.00%


8.00%
                                                          Utilization has not risen above 5% in over 20 years
6.00%


4.00%


2.00%
         Utilization dropped to 1.65% in 2004
0.00%
Supplier Diversity
OMWBE reports annual statewide spending with minority- and women-
owned businesses and helps agencies improve their diverse spending.
• Works with agencies to leverage the Tools for Equity in Public Spending
• Collaborates with DES and Office of Equity to create a culture of inclusion
• Serves as a conduit between businesses and agencies to address difficulties
• In 2023, OMWBE set aspirational goals for agencies for the first time in over 25
  years. If agencies attain their goals, statewide utilization will reach over 10%.

Success Story – Partnership with DOC led to one facility spending
over 18% with certified businesses, surpassing DOC’s aspirational
goal of 5.33%.
OMWBE Future Plans
Investments in Data:
  • Implementing Access Equity by June 2024
     • #1 recommendation of the 2019 Disparity Study
     • Connects spending data to our Directory of Certified Businesses
     • Agencies need support for continued use and expansion into payment tracking
     • Additional resources needed to sustain this enterprise system
  • New Disparity Study
     • The last disparity study used contracting data from 2012-2016
     • Disparity studies become outdated after 5-7 years
     • New data will allow OMWBE to defend against legal challenges

Investments in Supplier Diversity:
  • Enterprise-wide improvements come from individual agency support
Thank You!
Lekha Fernandes, Director
Sarah Erdmann, Deputy Director

Visit omwbe.wa.gov to learn more.


Office of Minority & Women’s Business Enterprises
1110 Capitol Way S #150, Olympia, WA 98501
Phone: (360) 664-9750 | omwbe.wa.gov

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