Small businesses and businesses owned by women will get more money from Virginia agencies in accordance with an order from a commission Gov. Mark R. Warner created last month.
At the commission's first meeting, held last Friday, Warner reiterated the importance that state agencies submit their initiatives to work actively to solicit minority businesses. The minority businesses then would have to compete actively with each other for contracts.
"Virginia spends $5 billion a year on goods and services," Warner spokeswoman Ellen Qualls said. "A relatively small portion of that goes to women-owned and small business."
The executive order was drafted by the Commonwealth's advisory commission on minority business enterprise.
The commission aims to reinforce the Commonwealth's commitment to minority business enterprises. The mission also includes recommending changes to make the businesses more efficient by studying the effectiveness of minority procurement, especially small and women-owned businesses.
The University represents one state agency to be affected by the commission's order.
"We obviously support his [Warner's] examination of the issue," said Karen Holt, director of the University's Office of Equal Opportunity Programs.
Holt added that the University already takes minority procurement "quite seriously," noting that it maintains an office for minority procurement.
"U.Va. has been and will continue to be proactive in ascertaining that small, women-owned and minority businesses get a fair share of the University's business," said Donald W. Jones, director of the Office of Minority Procurement Programs.
"We have always done business with small and women-owned firms ... but none as a direct result [of the commission] because the University ... has always been proactive in utilizing minority businesses, small and women-owned business," Jones said.
Jones sees the order as compelling the University to effectuate the change to include more women-owned and small businesses. Jones feels the University must make certain those businesses have the same opportunity as minority firms at the University.
"In the past, we have concentrated on minority firms but we have done business with small and women-owned businesses," he said.
Women-owned and small firms the University contracts include office supply and equipment companies, medical supply companies, computer services and engineering companies, Jones said.
He was unable to release the names of the firms the University currently uses because of the novelty of the commission's order.
"We don't know where [the order] is going," he said.
Qualls commended the University on already working to ensure such groups enjoy equal opportunities in securing contracts.
"U.Va. has done a good job of reaching out to these businesses already," she said.
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