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Supplier diversity
Create Campaign, Inc. believes in a fair and equitable contracting environment for minority-owned firms to
grow through public and private contracting.
The following programs are the result of collaborative planning
to advance local inclusion in contracting.
If you are a minority-owned business seeking to expand through public and private contracting, please contact Create Campaign, Inc. to be placed in our distribution list for updates as this effort advances. Email: info@createcampaignks.com
LEARN & LEAD
Held in March 2022, Learn & Lead is a Virtual "How to do Business with..." and matchmaker event for diverse suppliers and purchasing officials who want to diversify their contracting pool.
The workshop presented ways to get involved in vendor systems.
The matchmaker allowed participating companies and purchasing officials the chance to connect and learn more about one another's contracting needs.
Learn & Lead was presented by Create Campaign, Inc. in partnership with the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce and Burns & McDonnell
BLACK BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE 2022 -
The Journey Continues
Held in February 2022, Create Campaign's Black Business Roundtable 2022: The Journey Continues brought public and private organizations together to discuss the results of work in 2021, the experience of using minority and women contractors solely on a private construction project, how contractors can be more competitive and what's ahead.
The roundtable is conducted annually by Create Campaign, Inc. and used as a method to determine priority actions for the year ahead.
By Design Supplier Diversity Symposium
Create Campaign, Inc., Kansas Business Services and the Wichita State University Office of Strategic Planning and Engagement invited purchasing professionals, business leaders and minority business enterprises to gather to learn best practices in contracting, competitiveness and creating inclusive corporate cultures.
Maia Siprashvili, Deputy Commissioner, Supplier Diversity, State of Indiana, Department of Administration shared her division's work overseeing the implementation of goals for spending with certified minority and women businesses, the state's disparity study findings (a roughly $1 million study conducted every five years by state statute) resulting in the establishment of goals and how her division is measuring impact and overseeing compliance.
LaShonda Garnes, VP of Inclusion, Equity and Diversity of Fidelity Bank, shared strategies for creating a corporate culture that supports inclusion.
Darrius Wright, event partner and Principal of Kansas Business Services, discussed with minority contractors ways to be more competitive and how to build relationships with purchasing professionals.
Rhonda Harris, Director of the Office of Minority and Women Business Development with the Kansas Department of Commerce, discussed upcoming legislation pertaining to the establishment of purchasing goals at the state level.
Kaye Monk-Morgan, VP of Strategic Planning and Engagement at WSU, discussed how the University is updating its software system to improve data collection on supplier diversity while also reexamining its request for proposal processes and outreach about bidding opportunities to encourage more minority participation on campus projects.
Participants also heard from Wayne Bell, Director with the US Small Business Administration's Wichita District Office and Marcia Stevens of the WSU Kansas Small Business Development Center.
To keep the momentum, participants are working together to create a playbook of local, actionable practices to implement. Participants also have an opportunity to schedule virtual coffees with Create Campaign, Inc. to discuss their strategies in moving the work forward.
More than 70 people from Wichita and the surrounding region registered for the Symposium.
BLACK BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE
Held in February 2021 and garnering more than 2.1k views and has reached 4.5k viewers since its release, Create Campaign's Black Business Roundtable brought together local business leaders to discuss the state of purchasing by entities with Black businesses. The roundtable prompted a series of actions including the return of the "How to do Business with the City of Wichita" trainings, Wichita State University convening the Minority Business Consortium to look at vendor software improvements and stronger outreach for university bidding opportunities, among other local actions.
The roundtable will be conducted annually by Create Campaign, Inc.
PROSPER COMMUNITY CONTRACTOR COLLECTIVE
A supplier diversity initiative that combines contractor preparedness education with community improvement impacts.
Click here to discover program impacts.
Prosper is made possible by the funding support of the Evergy Community Investment Fund at the Wichita Community Foundation, Koch Industries and Bank of America
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