Supplier Diversity Certification – Overview

Several prospective clients, past clients, and consulting colleagues have asked whether R|CAT is certified. As of November 2015 –

No, R|CAT is not yet certified.
Yes, R|CAT was previously certified under several criteria.
Yes, R|CAT is applying for certification to organizations, where R|CAT fulfills the certification criteria.

About this post. This overview is the first of several posts sharing R|CAT’s afternoons of in real time blogging about gathering information to submit certification applications for select certifying entities

• The Supplier Clearinghouse
• Department of General Services
• California Unified Certification Program
• U.S. Small Business Administration
• Women’s Business Enterprise National Council
• National Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc.

UPDATE: Posts related to R|CAT’s certification endeavors are tagged certification for ease of reference.

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Why Certify

In short, government agencies, regulated businesses, and other organizations have procurement goals for procuring products and services from certified business entities.

What does certified mean? A business may become certified by qualifying and fulfilling certification criteria, depending on the certifying organization requirements. Some organizations have a fee for certification, while many do not have fees. All organizations have application forms.

As one example, the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC’s) Supplier Diversity Program states –

Our program monitors supplier diversity in procurements by participating utilities and oversees a clearinghouse of women; minority; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT); and disabled veteran-owned business enterprises.  

For reference,the CPUC compiled a table (.pdf) of available certifications.

Fulfilling Certification Criteria

Each certifying entity has prescriptive criteria. Based on a cursory review of the available certifications, R|CAT may secure certification for the following:

• Woman Owned Business Enterprise
  (The Supplier Clearinghouse under CPUC supervision)
• Minority Owned Business Enterprise
  (The Supplier Clearinghouse under CPUC supervision)
• Small Business Enterprise or Microbusiness Enterprise
  (Department of General Services (DGS))
• Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
  (California Unified Certification Program (CUCP) under the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), CalTrans)
• 8(a) Business Development Program
  (U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA))
• Women Owned Small Business
  (U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA))
• Women’s Business Enterprise
  (Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC))
• Minority Business Enterprise
  (National Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc. (NMSDC))

R|CAT does not fulfill the following criteria: LGBT Owned Business (CPUC), Disabled Veteran Business (DGS), The Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) (SBA), and Service Disabled Veteran Owned (SBA).

Following this post is a series of blog posts about certifying entities and their certification criteria.

What certification(s) does your business maintain? What tips do you have for completing the certification process?

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