Subject Area: Procurement and Payment Services
Responsible Office: Financial Services
Sponsor: Chief Financial Officer
Originally Issued: January 1996
Revised: March 2010, June 2024
Refer Questions To: Mark Fehlberg, 773-702-3321
Policy
The University of Chicago considers diversity to be a strength—and, indeed, foundational to our academic success. Advancing rigorous inquiry requires welcoming a diversity of perspectives and ideas, as well as a diversity of life experiences. Business diversity is fundamental to the University’s commitment to grow and develop a portfolio of critical and valued business partners. Generating open competition gives the University the ability to leverage the best resources in the market and increases access to the most creative and innovative talent locally and nationally. Procurement Services is responsible for establishing procurement standards and procedures to ensure that positive efforts are made to utilize minority-owned, women-owned, local, small, and other diverse or disadvantaged businesses . Procedures to further this goal shall include the following steps:
- Make information on forthcoming opportunities available to encourage and facilitate participation by minority-owned, women-owned, local, small, and other diverse or disadvantaged businesses.
2 Ensure that firms competing for multi-tier contracts describe plans to subcontract with minority-owned, women-owned, local small, and other diverse or disadvantaged businesses enterprises.
- Use the services and assistance, as appropriate, of organizations such as the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the Small Business Administration (SBA), and National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) in the identification and certification of minority-owned, women-owned, local, small, and other diverse or disadvantaged businesses.
- Procurement Services will be responsible for tracking progress toward the University of Chicago’s goal of providing opportunities for minority-owned, women-owned, local, small, and other diverse or disadvantaged businesses to participate in the University’s procurement process.