While the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) will help modernize and improve the Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) programs, the steps involved for affected organizations will be complex. Many wonder how their programs will internally support these proposed requirements. Do they have resources and tools in place? Can their staff manage the proposed required process changes? 

As your organization begins to strategize about future compliance, we’ve identified six of what could be the most challenging requirements facing your organization, along with some ideas about how to solve them.

Prompt payment and Retainage – Do you have the staff or software to monitor the proposed prompt payment and retainage compliance revisions? You’ll need it.

 As stated in the NPRM, your DBE program must take affirmative steps to monitor and enforce prompt payment and retainage requirements. To stress the importance, they propose including an additional paragraph stating that the requirements within this rule are intended to flow down to all lower-tier subcontractors. Reliance on complaints or notifications from subcontractors about a prime’s failure to comply with prompt payment and retainage requirements will no longer cut it. Does your organization have a plan to take affirmative steps to monitor prompt payment, as stated in § 26.29? Organizations using B2Gnow’s Contract Compliance Module have no worries! The system is already tracking compliance with goals, based not only on payment amounts to primes and subs but also payment dates. Payments are reported and electronically confirmed for amount, date received, and promptness. It also enables contractors to easily report retainage as outstanding or paid. B2gnow’s tracking and reporting power puts all this information at your fingertips to ensure your subcontractor community is paid in full and on time.

Uniform Report – Already known as time-consuming and complex, will your organization be prepared to collect and track this new required data?

The Uniform report, consisting of DBE utilization data, is submitted annually to the OA(s) that provide funding to them.  The NPRM seeks to revise the Uniform Report to include additional data that would assist the OAs and the Department with evaluating whether the DBE Program is progressing toward meeting its stated objectives. This expanded data collection could include additional fields for contract numbers, NAICS codes, and DBEs decertified during the reporting period, just to name a few. While there is no standard software to handle the Uniform Report’s requirements, more than 400 organizations, including more than half of all DOTs, and hundreds of transportation and aviation authorities/organizations use B2Gnow to automate, manage and report on all required information. The proposed changes will have little effect on their current data collection and reporting processes. The proposed data is native to the B2Gnow database, which means these fields are already available for reporting, allowing them to easily produce all required information with little to no impact on staff. 

Bidders List – Does your organization have the personnel or software to efficiently obtain and enter bidders list data into a centralized database? 

In the NPRM, The Department proposes revising § 26.11(c) to require recipients to obtain and enter bidders list data into a centralized database the Department would specify. B2Gnow helps organizations to maintain, track and report on procurement information that may be required through this proposed change.  The B2Gnow system offers a variety of tools that help DBE programs to easily build and maintain bidders lists, including modules that manage proposals, utilization plans, outreach, contract compliance, and bid management. The more robust the system, the more data can be collected and reported on to be prepared for any change!  

ACDBE Small Business Program – Will your organization be ready for the additional work required to manage and report on this new program? 

This proposed revision to the rule, as stated in the NPRM, will replicate the DBE program’s small business element requirements for the ACDBE program. Notably, this means it would require airports to take steps to eliminate obstacles for participation by smaller ACDBEs, and submit annual reports on their small business elements. While this may seem burdensome, B2Gnow already supports hundreds of organizations to seamlessly manage and automate diversity certification processes and electronically compile complex reports with the click of a button. Additionally, the B2Gnow staff have years of combined experience with the B2Gnow system and working in the industry. Many have helped implement such programs and deeply understand the complexities involved.

Timely Processing of Certification Applications – If your organization processes certifications, you understand that deadlines are crucial. Is your program ready to manage this complex process with stricter deadlines?

The NPRM proposes limiting a certifier’s ability to extend the 90-day timeframe during which a certifier must issue a final eligibility decision for instate certification applications. Current § 26.83(k) states that a certifier may extend the 90-day period by an additional 60 days. Their proposal would reduce the extension period from 60 days to 30 days. B2Gnow can help eliminate the need for extensions by reducing the time it takes to process an application. The Online Application Module allows vendors to submit certification applications electronically online. It eliminates paper submissions and creates efficiency, reducing the review time and ensuring that only complete applications are received. It also reduces the time, effort, and expense required by firms to apply for certification and allows for the secure submission of sensitive information and documents. In addition, the B2Gnow Certification Management module provides immediate visibility into the status of all pending applications, enables the tracking of processing times, including granular “review-step” levels, and provides a complete detailed audit trail of all actions completed by staff during the review process.

Unified Certification Program – UCP Partners, does your state have the necessary resources to build directory enhancements that will likely be required to display additional information about DBE/ACDBE firms? This could get complicated!

The NPRM’s proposed changes relating to the Unified Certification Program Directories could mean technological challenges for many UCPs.  The proposed rule would require UCPs to expand their DBE/ACDBE directories, allowing for the display of additional essential information about the firms beyond merely contact information and NAICS code(s). This includes amending UCP directories so that firms would have a standard set of options for information they can choose to make public, such as a capability statement, state licenses held, personnel and firm qualifications, bonding coverage, recently completed project(s), equipment capability, a link to the firm’s website, etc. Under the proposed rule, UCPs would be required to incorporate these information fields as additional criteria by which the public can search and filter the UCP directory. UCPs planning to make these necessary enhancements to existing systems will need to consider process changes and secure development resources, as well as funding to meet the 2024 deadline. Alternatively, those UCPs already using the B2Gnow system to manage their directories can rest easy, knowing that B2Gnow has the development expertise and the code and architecture in place to implement these changes within the proposed time frame. 

The good news? B2Gnow Supplier Diversity Software has your organization covered for all current, proposed, and future DBE and ACDBE regulation updates.

Trusted by over 400 state, local and educational organizations, we’re standing by, ready to get you onboarded and in compliance, so you can seamlessly automate, manage, track and report on the requirements of your DBE and ACDBE programs. Contact us to speak with an expert and learn more about B2Gnow Supplier Diversity Software. 

Tampa International Airport is consistently ranked among the world’s most beloved airports, serving more than 21 million annual passengers with routes to 90 nonstop destinations around the world. The Airport has received top awards at the state, national and international levels, including being ranked #1 in North America and fifth in the world in customer satisfaction among airports of its size. 

Tampa International Airport’s (TPA) award-winning Business Diversity Department keeps its focus on connecting businesses serving the airport. The Business Diversity Department maintains a DBE program to ensure nondiscrimination in the award of USDOT-assisted contracts and to create a level playing field on which DBEs can compete for those contracts. In addition, the Authority’s Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program (ACDBE) ensures that ACDBEs have equal opportunities to receive and participate in concession-related contracts. Lastly, the Woman and Minority-Owned Business Enterprise Program (W/MBE), created by the Aviation Authority, provides for Woman and Minority-Owned Businesses to have full and fair opportunities to compete for and participate in the performance of non-federally funded contracts or in the purchase of goods and services.

Effectively managing these federal DBE and ACDBE programs was no easy task for TPA and the Business Diversity Team. 

Download the case study to learn more about the Authority’s initiative to go paperless, and the TPA and the Business Diversity Team’s journey to an electronic solution that would simplify, standardize, and streamline TPA’s current program management and processes through an automated and secure online system.

ACDBE and DBE Compliance Made Simple.

Let us take you on a tour of  B2Gnow Supplier Diversity Management Software – a robust, cost-effective solution that streamlines and automates data-gathering, tracking, reporting, vendor management, and administrative processes, resulting in a significant reduction in staff time and cost – allowing you to focus on meeting diversity goals, not on chasing paper.  We’re proud to be trusted by more airports of all sizes across the country than any other software provider to enable compliance with both 49 CFR Part 23 (ACDBE) and 49 CFR Part 26 (DBE).  Learn more about B2Gnow and request a demo.

The semi-annual report is a mandate from the DOT and FTA for any organization that receives federal funds to execute transportation projects. If you’re in the business of transportation, you’re quite familiar with the tedious semi-annual DBE report and the inevitable challenges imposed on compliance officers responsible for managing the process. Moreover, even with the advent of technology, many transportation agencies still unfortunately utilize a manual reporting practice which often leads to inaccurate data, wasted time, and a decline in human productivity. There are three additional obstacles that significantly diminish the efforts of the current reporting process which include:

Contract Payment Data

For each semi-annual report, the compliance officer is required to review every contract included within the reporting period of that report. From there, the DBE officer will need to separate the contracts to identify which received federal funds. Next, the compliance officer identifies each prime/subcontractor and determines their DBE certification status. The final step is to review each payment made to the DBE firms, which should equal the total number of awarded dollars for the report. Without a system to automate these components of the reporting process, it will not only be time consuming, but will likely lead to inaccurate data reflected in the final reports. This means there can be no true picture of community impact, which puts the organization at risk and doesn’t move the needle towards the initial intended purpose of DBE programs. 

Outreach

Managing communications among internal transportation teams so there’s clarity on and efficiency with external messaging, is both a time and energy consumer, but is also an essential component of the reporting process. Tracking outreach efforts is vital for several reasons:

• Outreach is a means of communicating with certified businesses regarding upcoming opportunities,
• Outreach is an opportunity to provide workshops, trainings, and other events to increase vendor participation, and
• Outreach ensures engagement with the community where transportation projects are being developed

Community Impact

It is imperative for DBELOs and compliance officers to always keep the impact of their various transportation projects top of mind. 

If, for example, there is a new bus line project in development, a DBELO or compliance officer should understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the community where projects are set to launch. An example consideration is whether the new bus line will require small businesses in the area to shut down until the development is complete. It takes a village to ensure this type of mutually beneficial relationship is realized and also requires regular engagement with small businesses, community leaders, city resources, contractors, and this should all take place prior to breaking ground on the project.

Another reporting consideration that influences community impact for DBE officers is project location. Certain communities would benefit from tracking workforce utilization to intentionally place jobs in the hands of those within the community. This level of “zip code hiring” increases the economic impact to the community where projects are being developed. Transit organizations are usually located in metro areas, and the communities most adversely affected by these projects are typically highly populated by minority residents who are often burdened by pockets of poverty. 

“Rider experience” is a final example of why accounting for community impact is essential to the reporting process. For instance, if a new transportation project requires the relocation of a bus stop, planners and DBE officials must consider community members that may be unfavorably disturbed by the move. Perhaps the project takes place in a community where there are high rates of single parent households, these riders have really early or late shifts at work, and the bus stop that is being relocated was their only or most affordable mode of transportation. These types of scenarios should always be considered. 

Having an automated system to monitor, track and report small and diverse business contracting, workforce utilization, rider experience adjustments, community benefit agreements and all of nuances within a transportation project will undoubtedly improve the vitality of the communities where these projects are being developed.

 Learn more about B2Gnow and speak to an expert.

In a recent thought-provoking webcast, B2Gnow, the leading supplier diversity, procurement, and grant management software provider, and speaker Kathey Porter, CEO of Porter Brown Associates, teamed up to reveal best practices and useful tips on the topic of The Three P’s of Higher Education Supplier Diversity – People, Policies and Processes. 

Access the Complimentary Webinar

The informational webcast discusses how higher education institutions can be complex organizations, and developing and managing a supplier diversity program that is impactful and small business centric can be challenging and even confusing. 

Therefore, there are key considerations and strategies to consider when building an effective supplier diversity program, for instance: 

• • Determining if you have the right people in place, how to communicate objectives, how to gain allies, and how to develop an accountability process
• • Discovering elements of a good policy, including how to review or write the policy
• • Understanding the supplier diversity lifecycle, including the who-what-how and the critical elements of tracking and reporting

We invite you to watch the complimentary webinar to gain full access to the content and valuable guidance provided.

Higher education institutions like University of Houston, Eastern Washington University, University of Texas System, University of Chicago and hundreds of others, are turning to the powerful capabilities of supplier diversity management software, like B2Gnow, to support their diversity goals.  From diverse vendor search access to the largest certified supplier database in the world, to data enhancement tools that qualify and quantify current supplier data, to spend analysis capabilities that go deeper to understand diverse supplier data, to construction contract compliance that easily track and report supplier diversity on capital construction contracts, B2Gnow allows supplier diversity professionals to focus on meeting diversity goals, not chasing paper.

Learn more about B2Gnow and request a demo.

Originally enacted in 1982, the United States Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program is designed to remedy ongoing discrimination and the continuing effects of past discrimination in federally-assisted highway, transit, airport, and highway safety financial assistance transportation contracting markets nationwide. The primary objective of the DBE program is to level the playing field by providing small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals a fair opportunity to compete for federally funded transportation contracts.

USDOT’s Operating Administrations (FHWA, FAA and FTA) distribute substantial funds each year to finance construction projects initiated by state and local governments, public transit and airport agencies. USDOT is responsible for ensuring that firms competing for USDOT-assisted projects are not disadvantaged by unlawful discrimination. The USDOT’s most important tool for meeting this requirement has been its DBE program.

Importantly, under the current DBE program language (the “FAST-ACT”), recipients (such as states, counties, cities, transits, etc.) must set overall project participation goals to represent a “level playing field” – the amount of DBE participation they could realistically expect in the absence of discrimination. This goal must be based on demonstrable evidence of the availability of ready, willing and able DBEs to participate on DOT-assisted contracts. The rule gives recipients substantial flexibility in the methods they choose to set overall DBE participation goals.  There remains a nationwide aspirational goal of 10 percent of project funding.

Section C of the Uniform Report is designed to capture information on current actual payments made to DBEs for work performed on ongoing federally-assisted contracts. This payment data provides a “snapshot” of dollars actually paid to DBEs as compared to dollars committed or awarded to DBEs but not yet paid during the reporting period.

As DBE professionals know too well, the required semi-annual DBE report often consumes the personal and professional lives of those overseeing these transportation initiatives. More specifically the critical elements transit agencies need to consider for timely and accurate reporting of the required semi-annual DBE report, include:

1. A thorough review of every federally funded contract, 
2. Identification of all firms that are certified as DBE,
3. An update on all awards and commitments to the DBE firms, and 
4. The ability to track each payment made to both the prime contractor and all subcontractors.

As one might imagine, this process for a small DBE team within a multi-department organization might mean miscommunication and conflicting perspectives on how all requirements are met and tracked, the oversight of dozens of contracts worth potentially billions of dollars – making effective and accurate [manual] monitoring of every detail a nearly impossible feat.

Community impact is at the heart of all DBE programs and as a result, DBE compliance officials should be equipped with a team and tools to seamlessly manage their efforts to facilitate equity and inclusion in transportation projects.

Effectively complying and supporting federal – and potentially local programs where local funds are used – is a challenging task for any transit authority, large or small. The comprehensive technology offered by B2Gnow and seasoned team make it possible by allowing transit authorities to not only go paperless and grow their programs, but also rapidly generate the required semi-annual DBE report. Moreover, B2Gnow’s powerful software provides transit authorities with the capability to effectively monitor, track, and access key data and reports such as the Compliance Audit Summary, which provides real-time automated DBE certification and compliance tracking including project spend tracking and certified contractor utilization through the entire prime-subcontractor chain.

Learn more about B2Gnow and speak to an expert

New HUD Section 3 Rule

Not long ago, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the release of the final rule implementing the “Section 3” statute. This is a big deal. Why? The Section 3 regulations have not been updated since 1994! 

However, there are a few concerns we often hear from agencies regarding Section 3 regulations, even before the release of this new rule.  First, the guidance and regulations themselves can be confusing and unclear, and second the tracking and reporting on these requirements is oftentimes time consuming and complex. 

In order to address these concerns we’re breaking down the Section 3 prior requirements versus the new final rule and providing a few real-world examples of how the rule applies to agencies.  

Ready? Let’s dive in…

First thing’s first, let’s take a look at an overview of Section 3:

• The Section 3 regulations apply to agencies who receive funding from Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
• Section 3 regulations create incentives for employers to retain and invest in their low and very low-income workers through hiring, contracting, and other economic opportunities  
• Overall, the changes are supposed to make it easier for ORGs to track the progress and impact of the program, while hopefully impacting the residents and moving them to a stronger financial future through work and training
• Residents want more job opportunities, and this new rule helps support their needs and proves that HUD listened to years and years of community feedback
  

Section 3 Regulations – Hiring

Before the new rule, all Section 3 job opportunities arising from a covered contract must meet a minimum hiring rate of 30% of all new hires. 

Now, HUD is now requiring agencies to track by labor hours, not new hires. HUD has outlined requirements for Labor Hour Tracking such that 1) Section 3 Worker = 25% of all labor hours and 2) Targeted Section 3 Worker = 5% of all labor hours

Section 3 Regulations – Section 3 Business Concerns

Before the new rule, the definition of a Section 3 Business concern is a business concern under HUD Regulations: 1) 51 percent or more owned by section 3 residents; or 2) Whose permanent, full-time employees include persons, at least 30 percent of whom are currently section 3 residents, or within three years of the date of first employment with the business concern were section 3 residents; or 3) That provides evidence of a commitment to subcontract in excess of 25 percent of the dollar award of all subcontracts to be awarded to business concerns that meet the qualifications set forth in paragraphs (1) or (2) in this definition of “section 3 business concern.” 

Now, after the new rule, this means: a business concern meeting at least one of the following criteria, documented within the last six-month period: 1) It is at least 51 percent owned and controlled by low- or very low-income persons; 2) Over 75 percent of the labor hours performed for the business over the prior three-month period are performed by Section 3 workers; or 3) It is a business at least 51 percent owned and controlled by current public housing residents or residents who currently live in Section 8-assisted housing.

Section 3 Regulations – Other Economic Opportunities

Before the new rule, agencies always had the opportunity to apply Other Economic Opportunities, as needed.  They could be used in lieu of Hiring and/or Contracting shortfalls or used in addition to those requirements.  In addition, other economic opportunities to train and employ section 3 residents, include, but need not be limited to, use of “upward mobility”, “bridge” and trainee positions to fill vacancies. Before the new rule this also equated to Hiring section 3 residents in part-time positions, and Special Programs that contractors propose for other opportunities.

Now, this is now called Qualitative Efforts, but it is essentially the same concept.  Overall, not much has changed with this one, except that  small PHA’s are given the opportunity to track qualitative efforts. HUD plans to create some type of tracking form, but it hasn’t been solidified yet.

Download Your Complimentary B2Gnow HUD Section 3 Rule Change Guide

Ready for more? We invite you to download your complimentary B2Gnow HUD Section 3 Rule Change Guide.  Download the guide to receive an easy-to-digest resource on navigating the HUD Section 3 Rule Change, plus get access to an overview of B2Gnow’s Section 3 Module Suite – a complete solution leveraged by Housing Authorities across the US to help track and report for the entirety of Section 3 regulations.  

Section 3 Program Management Simplified

Monitoring and ensuring agency compliance with 24 CRF 135 is a challenging task for any organization, large or small. B2Gnow automates and digitizes Section 3 program compliance and the generation of mandated HUD reports. Learn more about B2Gnow and Request a Demo.