Success in Business Diversity

The list of milestones was long for the NTTA in 2009, including areas of business diversity. The NTTA spent 18.3 percent, or $11.7 million, more with disadvantaged, minority and woman-owned business enterprises (D/M/WBE) in 2009 than it did in 2008. 

“The NTTA’s efforts to improve our diverse spending have resulted in additional opportunities for these businesses,” said NTTA Assistant Executive Director of Administrative Services Kim Tolbert. “Business diversity is a priority at all levels of the organization, and we are proud of our Business Diversity Department for their accomplishments.  We will continue to seek new ways to enhance diverse participation. I look forward to continued progress in 2010.”

Professional services saw the most significant growth in combined prime and subcontractor D/M/WBE participation in 2009, with 37.8 percent of professional services contracts going to diverse businesses, compared to 23.5 percent in 2008. The 2009 contracts represent the highest diversity participation in any contract category since the inception of the NTTA’s diversity program in 2002. 

While the overall numbers are trending upward as the NTTA continues its outreach efforts, there is opportunity for the NTTA to improve access and participation in targeted procurement categories such as construction and goods and services. 

The NTTA’s Business Diversity Department is responsible for determining goals for NTTA contracts based on the availability of D/M/WBE firms in a particular trade.  In 2010, the NTTA adopted a new diversity policy, which included many recommendations of the 2008 Availability and Disparity Study.  Additionally, the NTTA Business Diversity Department has implemented a number of outreach programs, including Vendor Outreach Symposiums, which are traveling road shows designed to inform interested contractors about upcoming opportunities, and bi-weekly business chats, which are informal and informative discussions held at the NTTA’s administrative offices in Plano. The chat sessions also give potential contractors the opportunity to network with other contractors and NTTA staff.

Most recently, the NTTA launched its Relationships and Opportunities Advancing Diversity (ROAD) program, an initiative that pairs prime contractors and subcontractors to build partnerships that strengthen capacity and promote diverse participation in NTTA contracting opportunities. The 2010 ROAD program participants were introduced at the February NTTA Board of Directors meeting. For informtion about NTTA's Business Diversity Department, visit: www.ntta.org/WorkingWithUs/Business+Diversity+Department/