Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Minority and Women-Owned Business Policy

Hobart and William Smith Colleges recognize the value of diversity in our community and are, therefore, committed to actively developing supplier diversity by supporting Minority Business Enterprises and Women-owned Business Enterprises. The Colleges are committed to providing opportunities to certified Minority and Women-owned vendors for procurement of goods and services. A variety of approaches will be utilized to increase participation such as outreach, partnering with other educational institutions, and invitation to participate in bid and quote requests.

The procedures described below are specific methods for identifying Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), Women Owned Business Enterprise (WBE), and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) vendor firms. These procedures should be used whenever possible. However, note that only Method 1 will meet the procurement requirements of New York State contracts and grant agreements. To meet the requirements of Federal grant agreement related procurements Methods 2 and 3 must both be used.

METHOD 1

When vendors are needed for property or services related to New York State contracts and grant agreements, only the New York State Directory of Certified Firms search should be used. This search should not be used for Federal grant agreement related procurements.

Using the New York State Directory of Certified Firms to Find Certified MBEs and WBEs (for property or services procurements related to New York State contracts and grant agreements)

New York State maintains a separate database that is limited to New York State Certified M/WBE firms.

• Go to the New York State Contract System website.
• Click on the "Search the Directory" box.
• If you would like to limit the search by specific industries, click the "Click to Lookup Commodity Codes" box, then;
  
  • Enter the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code(s) and click the "Search" box to locate firms in a specific industry. (If you do not know the NAICS code for the product or service for which you wish to acquire, visit the NAICS website to search for a specific code using keywords); or
  • Enter a key word in the "Search Commodity Codes" search box (ex. "scientific") and click the "Search" box; then
  • Click "Add" for the applicable NAICS codes you would like included in your search; then
  • Under the "Search by Commodity Code" heading check the "Include any lower level codes of those selected" box. This will give you the broadest search result; then
  • Click on the "Finished" box.
• Click the "Search" box at the bottom of the screen.
• Click the hyperlink in the "Certification" column to see the details of each vendor listed in the search results.

When the Colleges plan to buy individual property or services under Federal grant agreements, in an amount exceeding $10,000, both the state Department of Transportation (DOT) DBE Directories (Method 2) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) Dynamic Small Business Search (Method 3) must be used in the methods described below.

METHOD 2

Using State DOT DBE Directories to Find Certified M/W/DBEs (not for use with New York State contract and grant related procurements)

Each state DOT maintains its own list of certified DBE firms. Firms with DOT DBE certification are considered acceptable firms to meet the Colleges commitment to utilizing M/W/DB Enterprises.

As each state DOT DBE directory is different, follow the directions of each to locate firms based on your criteria (i.e. geographic location, firms that offer a specific product/service, woman-owned firms, etc.). As the majority of work for the Colleges will be completed in New York State, procedures for using the New York State DOT Directory are provided below.

• Go to the New York State Unified Certification Program website.
• Click on the "Search for Certified Firms" box.
• If you would like to limit the search by specific industries, click the "Click to Lookup Commodity Codes" box, then;
  
  • Enter the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code(s) and click the "Search" box to locate firms in a specific industry. (If you do not know the NAICS code for the product or service for which you wish to acquire, visit the NAICS website to search for a specific code using keywords); or
  • Enter a key word in the "Search Commodity Codes" search box (ex. "scientific") and click the "Search" box; then
  • Click "Add" for the applicable NAICS codes you would like included in your search; then
  • Under the "Search by Commodity Code" heading check the "Include any lower level codes of those selected" box. This will give you the broadest search result; then
  • Click on the "Finished" box.
• Click the "Search" box at the bottom of the screen.
• Click the hyperlink in the "Certification" column to see the details of each vendor listed in the search results.

METHOD 3

Using the SBA Small Business Dynamic Search to Find Certified MBEs and WBEs (not for use with New York State contract and grant related procurements)

The SBA maintains a separate database that is limited to small business firms. The SBA Small Business Dynamic Search must be performed using two distinct searches:

• Search for small disadvantaged businesses under the 8(a) Certified Program; and
• Search for woman-owned businesses under the Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) Program.

The procedures for using the SBA Small Business Dynamic Search are provided below. Access the SBA database.

• Find small disadvantaged businesses that qualify as 8(a) Certified:
  
  • Under the Location Profile heading, identify the state(s) in which you wish to search (hold down the CTRL button to make multiple selections).
  • To find Small Disadvantaged Businesses that qualify as 8(a) Certified, select the following radio button:
    
    • 8(a) Certified "Required (active certifications only)" under the Government Certifications heading.
  • If you would like to limit the search by specific industries, under the Specific Nature of Business heading, enter the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code(s) to locate firms in a specific industry. If you do not know the NAICS code for the product or service for which you wish to acquire, visit the NAICS website to search for a specific code using keywords, or you can enter keyword(s) in the "Keywords" box.
  • At the bottom of the screen, press the "Search Using These Criteria" button to generate results. The results of this search will include firms that qualify as M/W/DBEs.
  • Click the hyperlink in the "Name and Trade Name of Firm" column to see the details of each vendor listed in the search results.
• SBA has an Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) Program that meets M/W/DBE criteria as well. Find woman-owned firms under the EPA EDWOSB Program:
  
  • Under the Location Profile heading, identify the state(s) in which you wish to search (hold down the CTRL button to make multiple selections).
  • Select the following radio button:
    
    • Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business under the Women-Owned Small Business Program "Required (active certifications only)" under the Government Certifications heading.
  • If you would like to limit the search by specific industries, under the Specific Nature of Business heading, enter the NAICS code(s) to locate firms in a specific industry. If you do not know the NAICS code for the product or service for which you wish to acquire, visit the NAICS website to search for a specific code using keywords, or you can enter keyword(s) in the "Keywords" box.
  • At the bottom of the screen, press the "Search Using These Criteria" button to generate results. The results of this search will download to your computer and will include firms that qualify as M/W/DBEs.
  • Click the hyperlink in the "Name and Trade Name of Firm" column to see the details of each vendor listed in the search results.