Next City Event: Procurement & the Pandemic: How to Support Minority-Owned Businesses During the Recovery and Beyond

For the Feed Phoenix shot: Photo courtesy Local First Arizona

Join Next City and Living Cities for the remaining two events of a three-part live webinar series, running April through June, on public procurement, race, and the pandemic. The data has shown what many already knew to be true: that businesses owned by people of color are the hardest hit by the pandemic and its continued economic fallout. Federal aid programs such as the PPP have once again proven that when failing to be intentional about who gets access to money, people of color are inevitably stuck at the back of the line, or left behind entirely when it comes to getting help.

But even now, with looming budget deficits, cities can still leverage the power of their own public spending. Procurement is not the only tool cities have (or would like to have) at their disposal, but it can mitigate disproportionate losses for workers and for the neighborhoods they support. A commitment to inclusive procurement is an obvious way to support Black and Brown business owners. Now that the 2021 American Rescue Plan has allocated more than $45 billion in budget support to cities, local governments have the chance to structure that spending in ways that will support MWBEs specifically, now and into the future

This event series will bring together perspectives from business leaders, policymakers and community leaders who are responding to these challenges, using established methods as well as new approaches. Join us as we convene three panel conversations to unpack the lessons learned from decades of work on MWBE procurement programs; learn of emerging practices that can make procurement more effective for small businesses entering this realm for the first time; and how cities can best earmark their recovery funds in order to guarantee a truly equitable economic recovery.

Event 1
Culture and Process: Doing Business Where Government Has Never Done Business Before - watch a recording of the event that aired on April 7.

Event 2
Making Procurement Equitable in Places With Hostile Politics: Accounting for Race When You Can’t Account for Race - the event will be taking place on May 26. More details will be coming soon.

Event 3 Keynote
Rodney Strong on Lessons from Decades of Helping Cities Support MWBEs

This webinar series is underwritten by Living Cities and its City Accelerator, an initiative that drives inclusive economic opportunity through procurement and which is supported by the Citi Foundation. All who register will receive a copy of the Next City ebook, “The Power of Procurement,” plus the upcoming report from the most recent City Accelerator cohort, which has been focused on “Doubling the Adoption of Procurement Processes to Promote Economic Equity.”

Your contribution toward these webinars will be used to find even more amazing guests, cover hosting fees, and organize seminars like this one more frequently. In addition to most major credit cards, Next City accepts Apple Pay and Google Pay. A video of the webinar will be made available to those who register.