(This is a rescheduled event from December) 

Autonomation: Growing Revenue and Margin with Technology

The University of Virginia is seeking an experienced firm to provide broadband communication services to Health Care Providers (HCPs) in the University’s Virginia Acute Stroke Telehealth (VAST) network for a six year period.

Proposal due date is Tuesday, February 28, 2012.
The RFP can be downloaded from: http://www.procurement.virginia.edu/main/publicpostings/rfp/broadbandrfp.pdf

The University of Virginia seeks proposals from experienced and innovative firms that can provide Water Treatment Services. The proposals should reflect efficient and cost effective ways of handling water treatment that reduce the overall costs associated with said services.

The RFP can be viewed @ http://www.procurement.virginia.edu/pagerfp

Proposal due date is February 14, 2012 by 3:00.

For those small business owners in the Charlottesville area, this is a great (free) networking group that features excellent speakers and ample networking time. I plan to be at both the January and February meetings:

January 24, 2012, 6pm-830 pm, Stultz Center at PVCC. Featuring Christian Howell from Adams & Garth Staffing to talk about how to hire and register employees: http://www.meetup.com/cvbusinessowners/events/46006032/

Febraury 29, 2012, 6pm-830 pm, CitySpace. Featuring Fredrick Smith of UBS Inc. and Andrea Nierenberg, author and networking professional: http://www.meetup.com/cvbusinessowners/events/44313282/

Don’t forget to RSVP on the website if you plan to attend. See you there?

The UVa School of Medicine will be hosting a Life Sciences Product Show on Wednesday, January 11, at Jordan Hall from 12 pm-1:30 pm. The flyer for the event is pasted below. Several minority-owned businesses will be featured, including:

• The McConnell Group, currently on the UVa Animal Husbandry contract
• Quality Biological, Inc., currently on the UVa Laboratory Equipment, Supplies & Services contract
• Mays Life Sciences, currently on the UVa Laboratory Equipment, Supplies & Services contract

Innovator Award Presented to UVa Procurement and Supplier Diversity Services on Behalf of Governor McDonnell

The Governor of Virginia, along with the Virginia Department of Minority Business Enterprise, awarded the Supplier Diversity Innovator Award to the University of Virginia’s Office of Procurement and Supplier Diversity Services for its use of competitive negotiation on November 14, 2011 at the Public Procurement Forum.

The Supplier Diversity Innovator Award “recognizes state entities that develop and implement a non-traditional approach to increasing SWaM expenditures through creative, strategic, and effective means, which could be used as a model or ‘best practice’ benchmark by another state entity.” Instead of invitations for bids, the University of Virginia uses competitive negotiation in most non-construction procurements in order to increase opportunities for SWaM (Small, Women-owned, or Minority-owned) firms. Using either what is called a “short form RFP” or a “long form RFP,” UVa buyers encourage both SWaM and non-SWaM proposals to include innovative approaches towards fulfilling the University’s needs. Instead of being based solely on price, the University is able to weight its priorities for each individual procurement, including a firm’s SWaM status and/or plan for using SWaM-certified subcontractors.

“We have seen that the use of competitive negotiation results in contracts more applicable for cooperative use at other public bodies and in more innovative products and services for the University. Additionally, it creates more opportunities for SWaM firms in subcontracting by weighting each firm’s SWaM plan, and results in the ability for the University to negotiate, among other things, pricing, giving SWaM firms a second chance to compete,” said Eric Denby, Director of Procurement and Supplier Diversity Services at the University of Virginia.

Other notable VASCUPP (Virginia Association of State College and University Purchasing Professionals) Supplier Diversity Award winners included:

• Supplier Diversity Award for Business Outreach to VASCUPP for its annual SWaMFest event
• Supplier Diversity Champion Award, to Rick Berry, Executive Director, Construction & Procurement Services, Old Dominion University
• Supplier Diversity Achievement Award to James Madison University
• Pacesetter of the Year to Virginia Commonwealth University
• Program Leaders of the Year to Greg Woodyard, Supplier Diversity Manager, George Mason University

VASCUPP SWaM Committee with Supplier Diversity Outreach Award

VASCUPP Directors

Procurement and Supplier Diversity Services at the University of Virginia includes Accounts Payable, Purchasing, Supplier Diversity, and Surplus Property. The Procurement and Supplier Diversity Services Department’s mission is to support the purpose and goals of the University of Virginia — its educational, research, patient care, and public service missions — by purchasing and providing quality goods and services at the best value to the University, providing proper financial stewardship for payments, and offering responsive and responsible service to all University departments. For more information, and to view Publicly Accessible Cooperative Contracts, please visit http://www.procurement.virginia.edu/index.htm.

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The University of Virginia seeks an experienced firm to provide financial support to the University in exchange for certain promotional and availability rights for beverages.

The RFP can be viewed @ http://www.procurement.virginia.edu/pagerfp

Proposal due date is January 30, 2012 by 3:00. (extended)

University of Virginia Awards Term Contract to BAM Architects

Historic Award is the University’s First Architectural Services Contract to a Minority-, Woman-owned Firm 

The University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors approved the architect/engineer selections for the Term Contracts for General Academic Projects to BAM Architects, a minority- and women-owned architectural services firm, and three other firms at its September 15-16 meeting. The award to BAM Architects represents the first significant architectural services term contract awarded by the University to a minority-owned firm, and reflects the University’s commitment towards the inclusion of women- and minority-owned business partners in its supply chain.

The contract, issued by the University’s Facilities Planning & Construction Contract Administration office, includes an initial one-year term contract, followed by four one-year renewals. Term contracts allow Facilities Management project managers a quick and efficient method to hire professional services firms, and combined with previous term contract awards to women-owned firms, the inclusion of BAM Architects represents Facilities Management’s dedication to supplier diversity. More information about University of Virginia Facilities Planning & Construction may be found at http://www.fm.virginia.edu/fpc/. A complete listing of UVa professional services contracts may be found at: http://www.fm.virginia.edu/fpc/ContractAdmin/ProfSvcs/ProfessionalServices.htm.  

Located in Richmond, Virginia, BAM was founded in 1998 by Burt Pinnock, Anne Durkin, and Mary Lorino, and offers planning, architecture, interior and graphic design services. BAM specializes in adaptive reuse of existing buildings, has a strong background working within sensitive and historic contexts, and has extensive experience in educational design, as well as in the civic, commercial, cultural, and residential sectors. More information about BAM Architects may be found at http://bam-architects.com/.

Procurement and Supplier Diversity Services at the University of Virginia includes Accounts Payable, Purchasing, Supplier Diversity, and Surplus Property. The Procurement and Supplier Diversity Services Department’s mission is to support the purpose and goals of the University of Virginia — its educational, research, patient care, and public service missions — by purchasing and providing quality goods and services at the best value to the University, providing proper financial stewardship for payments, and offering responsive and responsible service to all University departments. For more information, and to view Publicly Accessible Cooperative Contracts, please visit http://www.procurement.virginia.edu/index.htm.

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UVa Procurement & Supplier Diversity Services’ bi-monthly vendor training dates for 2012 have been announced, and registration is now open. This session is a great way to get an introduction to how the University does business, and how to use the information offered on Procurement & Supplier Diversity Services’ website to your full advantage. All vendor training sessions are held in Carruthers Hall on UVa Grounds, and online registration is required. The 2012 dates are:

• January 11, 2012
• March 21, 2012
• May 16, 2012
• July 11, 2012
• September 12, 2012
• November 14, 2012

For more information about vendor training, and to register, please visit: http://www.procurement.virginia.edu/pagevtraining

The University of Virginia and Applied Knowledge Labs is pleased to present “Why Don’t They Buy?” on Tuesday, November 29, from 9 am – 12 pm at Holiday Inn Monticello in Charlottesville.

This session is a continuation of Session 1 of “Building A Better Business, Then Winning as a SWaM” on Fast and Sustainable Growth, which focuses on Applied Knowledge Labs’ 2011 survey of VASCUPP to find out what successful small businesses are doing to win (and lose) business at the public higher education institutional level. Session 2 will cover the tactics of success and the failure points of current SWaM contracts to improve small businesses’ odds of finding, winning, and servicing state business.

Based on the SWaM Best Practices Survey conducted as part of SWaMFest VII, participants will receive a copy of the Final Report made to the VASCUPP (Virginia Association of State College and University Purchasing Professionals) Board of Directors.

Attendees will also receive a generalized map of a VASCUPP institution’s procurement process linked with the Best Practices to improve their chances of successfully selling to the state.

Here’s what small business attendees had to say about Session 1:

• “Vital to our biz.”
• “Very well organized content”
• “Great session. A lot of knowledge.”

For more information, and to register, click here. Hope to see you there!