MSD Board approves enhanced Supplier Diversity and new Community Benefits programs

Supplier Diversity
February 27, 2019

Louisville MSD’s Board of Directors approved on February 25 a pair of programs intended to improve the diversity of firms that receive MSD contracts and create community benefits in neighborhoods where MSD is working. The enhanced Supplier Diversity Program and the new Community Benefits Program take effect on July 1, 2019.

For the Supplier Diversity Program,  construction and construction-related services valued at or above $150,000 must include goals for the following qualified vendors who can perform a clear and commercially useful scope of work on the project:

•  African-Americans – 18 percent

•  Asian-Indian Americans – 2 percent

•  Caucasian females – 15 percent

MSD’s Supplier Diversity Program will also include a 10 percent bid discount applied to bids up to $500,000, with a maximum discount not to exceed $50,000 on bids submitted by Minority- and Woman-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE) vendors. Other new additions include incentive credits, outlined in MSD’s Disparity Study Fact sheet, available at https://bit.ly/2Tjacat.

The program changes are the result of a disparity study completed in July 2018 by Mason Tillman Associates, Ltd. The study looked at MSD’s procurement policies and evaluated contract data for construction, construction-related services, engineering, and professional services and materials and commodities. Additionally, vendors were interviewed as part of the assessment process. The study found statistically significant evidence of disparity in the award of MSD prime and subcontracts among African-American, Asian-Indian and Caucasian females.

“The enhanced Supplier Diversity program is MSD’s commitment to addressing the disparities identified in the study by increasing access and opportunities to underserved groups in Louisville,” said MSD Chief Procurement Officer Rene´ Thomas. “MSD believes in being intentional about ensuring everyone in the community, including underserved groups, can work with MSD.”

The board also approved a Community Benefits Program to leverage the economic and social impact MSD has in the community with its large-scale engineering projects by ensuring ratepayers benefit from MSD’s capital investment. The program will provide specific opportunities in workforce development, skills-trade training, small business outreach, and mentorship, and exposing youth to careers in the water sector. The vendor will provide a financial contribution, volunteer hours or in-kind services to local non-profits and schools. No dollars for this effort will come to MSD.

MSD will host training to ensure those who bid on projects understand the new requirements. MSD will also host community meetings over the next several months to explain the benefits of both programs.

For more information about our new programs and to view the Disparity Study, please visit http://www.louisvillemsd.org/doing-business-us.