An administrative proposal commits Winnipeg city hall to help the local business community get a larger share of civic contracts through a variety of measures, including:
-- Establish better communication with potential bidder by: making tenders/RFPs simpler to use; partner with advocating agencies to more regularly present salient information to members; work with the Office of Public Engagement to investigate most effective communication strategies for target audiences; investigate the use of social media as a communication platform.
-- Increased transparency will be achieved through the city’s Open Data portal, which includes assisting local businesses in accessing and deciphering the content; conduct regular reviews to determine what new relevant information can be disseminated; regularly connect with industry to determine what information would be of interest to them; use improved communication tools to guide stakeholders to the information that is available; potentially work with international open contracting organizations to assist in making data more accessible and transparent.
-- Improving debriefing sessions with losing bidders.
-- Review contracts that may be suitable to be awarded in smaller contracts, providing the opportunity for small local businesses to better participate.
-- Explore opportunities to implement further procurement policy changes, including cross-jurisdictional scans to determine best practices for incorporating social enterprise into municipal procurement.
A copy of the report can be downloaded at: http://wfp.to/Kd6.