Database linking projects, contractors created

Published: September 3, 2003

The nonprofit developer of a database to link minority and women’s businesses   to public projects has formed young alliances with some of southeastern Wisconsin’s   biggest public and private owners.

"We want to provide assistance to corporate America or to the public sector   to find the qualified businesses," said Leni Siker, executive director   of the Wisconsin Business Resource Center Inc. in Milwaukee. "Nationwide,   the (minority business enterprise) participation average is about 7 percent,   and Wisconsin is a little bit above 3 percent. So we need to step it up."

Working with grants from the state and federal departments of Commerce, the   Resource Center has created a free online database listing both public requests   for proposals and a directory of the minority, women-owned, disadvantaged and   emerging business enterprises each public agency has certified. By checking   company information from its contractors against the work requested in each   public agencies’ RFP, the database can trade information between the two groups,   Siker said.

"Once we tap into the RFPs, and once we have this database list of the   contractors, we match them," Siker said. "We have two tracks. One   track we’re building the most comprehensive list of any small business certified   by any agency in the state of Wisconsin. We’re trying to get 30 percent of all   the RFPs out there. Eventually, we want to capture 80 percent."

The database will include RFPs and contractor listings from the state Commerce   and Transportation departments, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, city   and county of Milwaukee, Milwaukee Public Schools and University of Wisconsin   system.

"I think what they’re doing is great," said Rhonda Kelsey, manager   of the city of Milwaukee EBE Program. "Any additional resources is always   helpful, and if you are concentrating information, that is a good thing. I just   think it’s an additional resource."

Corporate collaborations sought

In addition to the public collaborations, Siker said her organization has been   consulting with the Wisconsin Energy Corp. and Johnson Controls Inc. On Thursday   morning, Siker was to present the database to the Wisconsin Supplier Development   Council, which tries to connect corporate owners with DBE firms, at Wisconsin   Energy’s Milwaukee headquarters.

"We all know that there are challenges, and the whole point is to identify   those challenges and come up with solutions," said Jerry J. Fulmer, director   of the Wisconsin Energy Corp.’s Supplies Diversity Initiative. "I just   heard of them in the last month. It’s really a new initiative. They’re really   trying to put themselves in the position of being an intermediary between different   organizations."

The Sept. 10 release of the Resource Center’s database is only the beginning,   Siker said. The seven-month-old organization will next try to convince local   governments outside of the Milwaukee area and Wisconsin corporations to put   their RFPs on the database.

"Corporate America is the last people you can convince because they want   to see that it works first," she said.

While Fulmer said Wisconsin Energy was considering putting its RFPs onto the   database, there were concerns they had to work out. He said he didn’t know if   using the database to find companies would alter with the corporation’s qualification   process for potential contractors.

"That is something that we are looking at, but it has to be in a way that   we have some input into it," Fulmer said. "It’s not going to happen   in one day. They have to sit down and talk about it."

Siker said she was also trying to assemble a Minority Business Opportunity   Committee to expand the Resource Center’s services. Having confirmed Milwaukee   County Executive Scott Walker and city Mayor John Norquist, she said she wanted   to recruit local corporate chairs and CEOs for the job.

Sean Ryan can be reached at 414-276-0273, Ext. 107, or by email.