With the construction industry consolidating, the Equity in Infrastructure Project (EIP) encourages public sector CEOs to take a voluntary pledge to create “more competition for public contracts by growing historically underutilized businesses, (HUBS)”.

The project, launched in 2022, released its  Procurement for Prosperity: A Playbook in February with core strategies and concrete examples aimed at increasing “access, competition and quality in public works delivery.” Currently 93 organizations have taken the voluntary CEO-pledge to “create more competition for public contracts to save taxpayer dollars and deliver better value for infrastructure investments by growing Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBs).”

One of the EIP goals is to increase that number of pledges, following the lead of the original five organizations that signed at the start -- Chicago Transit Authority, Denver International Airport, Port of Long Beach, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation. 

These pledges are needed as reduced competition for public construction contracts leads to higher infrastructure costs. According to the playbook, “This lack of competition leads to higher bidding cost at a time when federal funding cuts are straining budgets,” At the same time, HUBS “continue to face structural barriers to participation in public contracting and those barriers are growing.”

Among the pledge goals:

• “Save taxpayer dollars and deliver better value for infrastructure investment.”

• Increase “the number, size, and proportion of contracting opportunities going to small businesses.”

• Increase “the number, size, and proportion of contracting opportunities going to first-time prime contractors.”

• “Streamline the administration of contracting with centralized qualifications, improved payment time, and standardized transparent data collection.”

The Playbook is full of concrete examples to aid entities that aim to “increase access, competition and quality in public works delivery; improve the procurement process to reduce burdens on firms and free up staff capacity; expand the capable supplier base, especially of small and emerging firms; and create the organization conditions necessary for success.”

Its key recommendations for executives include: committing to provide resources for equity in contracting; fostering a culture of risk assessment; building a great team; investing in data and monitoring; focusing on strategies that have succeeded in race-and gender-neutral environments; creating more inviting procurement for firms, and strengthening the ability of HUBS to do business.

When they were surveyed, “nearly all EIP signatories shared that their organizations perform outreach and consider it critical to bring in new firms and spread awareness of contracting opportunities.”

But how to do that? The Playbook advises entities to:

• Target firms strategically. Use both proprietary and external business registries to identify businesses.

• Build the front door. Offering easy entry points for contractors to seek support, build trust and alleviate concerns early.

• Get savvy with data.

The report contains a great deal more counsel to help lead the way, and concludes that “Leaders can set the table with clear messaging, resourcing and direction. At every level, public agencies and private sector contractors can look to improve processes, policies and activities to remove barriers to contracting and improve opportunities for small business and first-time prime contractors.   Meeting the goals of the EIP Pledge will require a willingness to experiment; take risks, learn, and share back what works and what doesn’t.”

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