A consortium of stakeholders, including Francis Marion University, the City of Florence, Florence County and Florence-Darlington Technical College, is collaborating on a new training and consulting program designed to help small and minority-owned businesses increase their knowledge of and access to public procurement process.
FMU’s Small Business Institute will host and facilitate the new program, “Public Procurement: A Program for Small and Minority Businesses.” The institute will also serve as the focal point of the ongoing consulting initiative. The other partner institutions will assist by providing access to their procurement personnel and information about their processes. The program will entail several group classes followed by the individual consults.
The program is open to Pee Dee area businesses – at no cost. It is scheduled to begin in August.
The new program will help small and minority owned businesses gain access to new business opportunities. It will also help the city and the county meet minority and small business contracting goals and discover new vendors and services.
City Council Member Teresa Myers Ervin, who spearheaded the push to put the program in place, calls it a “win-win.
“It’s a critical need for both businesses and governmental entities,” says Ervin. “Everyone can benefit when there’s a level playing field. The training and information available through this program will be a real boon to our local businesses.”
Florence Mayor Stephen J. Wukela says the new program should help enhance small and minority business participation in city contracts.
“While the City actively solicits minority and small businesses in our procurement process, we have been deeply concerned about the percentage of those firms that do not respond to our solicitation to bid on projects,” says Wukela. “Councilwoman Ervin has forged a strong coalition of public entities led by Francis Marion University that will provide training and advice to minority and small business firms in the procurement process.”
FMU President Dr. Fred Carter says the university is pleased to join the coalition and to provide the educational component essential to the program’s success.
“Francis Marion University’s mission is to be an educational hub for a variety of activities in the Pee Dee,” says Carter. “We’re happy to play that role in this endeavor which will expand procurement opportunities for the region’s business community.”
The program’s initial training will include generalized instruction on procurement practices, panel discussions by procurement officers from local agencies, and individualized consulting to help each business enrolled in the program better understand how the process relates to product or service, and what competitive advantages it may have at its disposal.
Program participants will also be assured of being included on a master list of small businesses in the area that are interested in conducting business with the sponsoring entities.
For more information or to register, contact Brianna Zhang, Manager of the FMU Small Business Institute, at (843)661-1112 or at bzhang@fmarion.edu.
