Roundtable:
Government Procurement and Social Equity
(Social Equity)
Thursday, November 3, 2016: 3:00 PM-4:30 PM
Morgan (Washington Hilton)
*Names in bold indicate Presenter
Roundtable Organizers: Ashley A Putnam, NYC Mayor's Office of Workforce Development
Moderators: Ashley A Putnam, NYC Mayor's Office of Workforce Development
Speakers: Lukas C. Brun, Duke University, Ken Nim, Office of Economic and Workforce Development, City and County of San Francisco, Rafiq Munir, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Joe Conway, Center for Transportation Workforce Development, USDOT FHWA
With increased concerns about the connection between urban development and communities that are often left behind, local and national governments are taking an innovative approach to inclusive development through procurement policies. These initiatives include a range of strategies from preferences for Minority/Women/Disabled Business Enterprise (MWDSBE) contractors to targeted hiring initiatives. More recently, major cities have focused on connecting the workforce with economic development investments by stipulating that contracts provide additional impact through local hiring or “first look” policies. These policies leverage the power of government procurement to provide job opportunities to local communities through contracts.
The panel of experts on procurement policy and local hiring will discuss how different initiatives approach the connection between government investments and the workforce, and what programs work best in what context. Panelists will also discuss what evidence demonstrates about the impact of procurement policies, and how these programs are being measured and evaluated. The group of practitioners and researchers will clarify how they define inclusive economic development, and what social equity outcomes have been achieved through these procurement policies.
