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SANDAG Equity Plan and Bench Program Put DBEs in the Game
For many Disadvantaged Business Enterprise firms, the most challenging part of gaining traction in the transportation industry is securing their first contract. The reason is the proverbial Catch-22; it takes prior experience to win a contract, but it is impossible to get experience until someone provides an opportunity. This situation can leave firms stuck on the outside trying to find a way in, and sometimes leads to DBEs seeking opportunities outside of the transportation sector to fulfil their business goals.
The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is addressing this dilemma through a program designed to offer a streamlined path into public transportation opportunities; especially for DBEs providing professional services in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction Management fields. The SANDAG Bench Program was created in 2012 to provide DBEs greater opportunity to work on capital development projects.
SANDAG is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for San Diego County and 19 local governments in Southern California. The agency is one of few MPOs that administers capital development activities for the region, and one of few that administers a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program for projects funded by the USDOT Federal Transit Administration and Federal Highway Administration.
The SANDAG DBE Program is closely aligned with the agency’s overall commitment to equity and inclusion. The SANDAG Board of Directors has affirmed support of greater Diversity, Equity & Inclusion through adopting a “Commitment to Equity” statement to accompany the agency’s vision and mission statement.
“This statement is the foundation for the actions SANDAG will take to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion in all programs, projects, and policies,” said SANDAG Executive Director Hasan Ikhrata. “The goal is to capture the agency’s unequivocal commitment to antiracism and provide a foundation from which to develop an equity action plan in 2021.”
The statement identifies how the agency will move forward to create greater equity and says, in part:
Although SANDAG has a track record of promoting opportunities for small, minority- and women-owned businesses, the new equity action plan is included in the agency’s current Regional Transportation Plan and will further strengthen these efforts.
Bench Program
SANDAG Diversity and Equity team holding “BENCH” sign in front of the San Diego skyline. From left David Santos, Senior Compliance Analyst; Raychel Jones, Small Business Coordinator; Elaine Richardson, Director of Diversity and Equity; Brittany Yamagata, Small Business Coordinator; Erik Staples, Senior Compliance Analyst; (Not Pictured) Alexia Spivey, Senior Administrative Analyst.
A key strategy SANDAG uses to promote equity and provide opportunities for small and diverse firms is its Bench Program. The program provides small companies and DBE-certified firms an opportunity to submit information and be placed on a list, called the “Bench,” - with the possibility of being selected to work on Architecture and Engineering (A&E) or Construction Management (CM) contracts. Bench firms are available to work as subconsultants on task order contracts performed by several prime consultants holding an “on call” contract with the agency.
The Bench Program was launched in 2012 in preparation for a Request for Proposals for on-call contracts for A&E consultants. The creation of the Bench led to a substantial increase in the number of subcontracts provided to small businesses and DBE firms. Prior to 2012, prime consultants were required to submit a listing of their DBE subconsultants during the proposal process to receive an on-call contract, but oftentimes DBEs listed in the proposal did not match the categories needed to complete specific task orders, so opportunities were limited. The new Bench Program eliminated this challenge by allowing SANDAG to set DBE or small business goals on each task order and requiring prime consultants to select companies from the list of Bench firms that were approved to work on SANDAG projects. Depending on their qualifications, small and DBE firms were approved in 45 different A&E categories to provide prime consultants an ample supply of capable subcontractors.
After the Bench Program was implemented in 2012, the number of DBE firms participating as subconsultants on the A&E on-call contracts increased significantly from 15 to 78 firms. Additionally, payments to small business and DBEs increased from $9.4 million to $50.4 million. This data confirms that the Bench Program tremendously increased awards to women- and minority-owned businesses.
Elaine Richardson, SANDAG Director of Diversity and Equity, said, “We develop programs at SANDAG not just to follow the regulations; instead, we do it because it is our responsibility as a public agency to assist businesses of color and women by implementing these programs so they may have the same opportunities as any other firm that wants to do business with SANDAG.”
The agency expects even greater results from the Bench Program as proposals were submitted in Spring 2021 for the next round of on-call contracts. For the latest consultant selection process, SANDAG has added a small business component by breaking out smaller contracting needs available to state certified small businesses.
Speed Networking Events
Small businesses and prime contractors participate in a speed networking event for the SANDAG Mid-Coast Trolley project in 2019.
Part of what makes the Bench Program so successful is the outreach conducted by SANDAG through speed networking events. SANDAG hosts large speed networking events to ensure that small and DBE firms on the Bench are able to meet with prime consultants in a one-onone format for 5-minute networking sessions. These events are planned and coordinated for every new series of A&E and CM on-call contracts, and SANDAG holds one event at the procurement stage and another when the contracts are executed.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, SANDAG held speed networking events in-person at a venue that holds over a thousand people. The venue would be lined with rows of tables set up in a “speed dating” style. Hundreds of small business owners eagerly awaited the opportunity to network with prime consultants. However, once the pandemic occurred, it was necessary to shift to a virtual event.
SANDAG hosted two virtual events to support the new A&E and CM on-call procurements. This new virtual method of hosting the speed networking was a game-changer for small and DBE participation. For CM, over 600 networking connections were made between potential prime consultants and small and DBE firms. The A&E speed networking event had over 1,600 one-onone meetings scheduled between primes and Bench firms. SANDAG representatives are ecstatic about these results and grateful to the prime contractors who volunteered their time and resources to accommodate these meetings with small and disadvantaged businesses and continue to support the SANDAG Bench program.
DBE Success Stories
The success of the Bench Program is a clear indication of the positive impact the SANDAG DBE Program has on the agency’s equity goal. The agency’s overall accomplishments for DBE participation are also impressive. During federal fiscal year 2020, SANDAG achieved DBE awards of 16.7%, far exceeding its FTA-approved goal of 10.3%. SANDAG also maintained this performance during the 2021 fiscal year and is currently tracking at 16.1% DBE participation for the current federal fiscal year.
Aerial view of the SANDAG $2.2 billion Mid-Coast Trolley project.
Much of the success during the past few years is related to creating DBE opportunities on the $2.2 billion Mid-Coast Trolley project. The project is one of the largest ever in the San Diego region, extending the Blue Line Trolley from Downtown San Diego approximately 11 miles to the north and terminating at University City, near the University of California, San Diego. The project began in 2017 and will open to public during the 4th quarter of 2021. SANDAG established a DBE goal of 11.3% for the project and has achieved 13.3% DBE participation to date, with 109 different DBE firms completing work on the project.
The lead contractor on the project, the Mid-Coast Transit Constructors (MCTC), is a joint venture of Stacy and Witbeck, Herzog, and Skanska. MCTC has worked closely with the SANDAG Office of Diversity & Equity to ensure DBEs had access to opportunities on the project; and they have been an active participant in the San Diego Construction and Collaboration (C&C) Mentor Protégé Program. The mission of the C&C Mentor Protégé Program is to provide a forum for small businesses and prime contractors seeking to connect through collaborative and cooperative partnerships.
Through the contracting outreach, Bench Program and mentoring efforts, the Mid-Coast Trolley project has resulted in several success stories of DBEs growing their company size and overall capacity while working on the project. None of those success stories is more impressive than the growth of Leinaia’s Transportation, a woman-owned DBE firm. Company owner Leinaia King attended several small business outreach and workshop events hosted by SANDAG and MCTC during the early stages of the project. King persistently followed up with people she met at the meetings and was invited to bid on trucking services with MCTC. Her company then won its first contract for $500,000 in May 2015.
Since the first contract, Leinaia’s Transportation has continued work on the project, and its contract value has grown to approximately $9 million. The company has expanded from Ms. King as the single employee to 20 employees, and grown from one dump truck to 18 trucks, including multiple water trucks and a street sweeper. King shared her advice to other DBEs seeking business opportunities: “Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get a call back right away. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call them (contractors) and take charge at the risk of being a little pushy. Go for it. The worst that could happen is they say no!”
Richardson said that the SANDAG Bench Program has proven to be one of the agency’s most successful programs because it has increased small and disadvantaged business opportunities; additionally, it promotes and fosters diversity, and acts as a conduit for creating valuable business partnerships between large and small firms. She also attributes the success of the SANDAG DBE Program to the strong support of the agency’s Board of Directors and Executive Director Ikhrata. She said: “It is so very important, because if you don’t have their support, you cannot implement these types of programs. It takes support from leaders, project managers, and staff to make it work.”
