Sept - Oct 2020 | Insights to Opportunity
www.houstontx.gov/obo | Page 2
DIVISION HIGHLIGHT CERTIFICATIONS & DESIGNATIONS
Team offers guidance for applicants By: Enzo Mungu
T
he Certifications and Designations Division of the City of Houston’s Office of Business Opportunity serves Houston’s business community by building a supplier diversity pipeline for City contracts. COH certifications allow small businesses to thrive and position themselves to take maximum advantage of various opportunities in doing business with the City and other public and private contracting entities in the Greater Houston area. The certification team processes four (4) City of Houston certifications, which include Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), Women Business Enterprise (WBE), Small Business Enterprise (SBE), and Persons with Disabilities Business Enterprise (PDBE). Additionally, the team processes two federal certifications on behalf of the U.S. Department of Transportation: Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Airport Concessionaire Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE). Currently, the entire certification application process is web-based. This allows for those applying to do so at their convenience, while also affording applicants the ability to save their application to complete
GET CERTIFIED: Visit houstontx.gov/obo and click on the Certifications link to access information about the certfication process, pre-certification workshops, and applications and forms.
later. With the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the first priorities for OBO leadership was to work with the certification team to also move application-related support fully online. While held in person before the pandemic, the Pre-Certification Workshop, a recommended first step when applying for certification, is now held virtually at 2 p.m. every first and third Tuesday of each month. In this live workshop, a member of the Certification team walks prospective applicants through the process and attendees can ask questions during the Q&A segment after the workshop. Outside business hours, OBO’s on-demand Pre-Certification Workshops in English and Spanish are available on-demand 24/7 via YouTube. This workshop delivery method has been met with great response from local business owners and OBO has been able to serve double the number of prospective certification applicants, based
BEST PRACTICES - CERTIFICATION To ensure timely processing of certification applications, Senior Business Development Coordinator Vanessa Aplon-Letson suggests the following: Attend the Pre-Certification Workshop for general knowledge of the program Gather all documents (in digital form) on the checklist for certification business type (SP, LLC, LP, or Corp) Choose the correct business type (SP, LP, LLC, or Corp) so the application may draw the correct checklist
Make sure your contact email address listed will receive notifications from the application system Section 3 of the application must be completed by ALL owners (application will allow for just one owner to submit but it is required that all owners complete this section) ALL owners must complete Affidavit of Non-Interest To learn more about getting certified, call 832-393-0600, Option 1, or email obocertification@houstontx.gov.
upon historical attendance levels. Downloadable PDF copies of the Pre-Certification Workshop presentations in English and Spanish are also available, which can serve as a reference guide while completing the application process. Registration is required for OBO’s live virtual workshops, with registration forms accessible through the OBO website: https://www.houstontx.gov/obo/registrations.html. The on-demand workshops are also accessible through this link. In addition, the Certification team has also adjusted to working online, including transitioning to paperless day-to-day work, online document signing and retrieval, and conducting virtual site visits. “The goal has always been to allow businesses applying for certification to experience a seamless process and the availability of staff ready to provide responses to any questions and/or concerns that may arise,” said Certification Division Manager Timothy Warren, who leads a team of 11 certification officers. “Throughout the changes brought on by the pandemic, the team has continued to provide excellent performance, commitment and dedication in sustaining the integrity of the certification program.” As of Oct. 2020, OBO’s certified firm directory boasts 4,172 small businesses with one or more certifications. With an always increasing volume of applications, the team has received, on average 83 applications monthly for fiscal year 2021; however, with the mayor’s commitment to ensuring that Houstonians obtain certifications and get to work on upcoming projects by increasing the division’s headcount, the team has been successful in reducing certification processing time.
