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Minority-business group DISA asks Columbia committee to approve Phase 1 of city-focused business-development program
Summary
A DISA representative presented a two-year proposal aimed at expanding minority and small-business participation in City of Columbia contracts, seeking Phase 1 approval while urging procurement changes, faster payments and measurable performance targets.
A representative of DISA asked members of a City of Columbia economic development committee to approve Phase 1 of a city-focused business-development program, saying the nonprofit would provide technical assistance, mentorship and a performance dashboard to increase small- and minority-business participation in local contracts.
The DISA representative told the committee the organization has worked on business growth and development for decades and that “when the businesses grow, the city grow,” arguing the program would increase tax revenue, workforce development and business capacity for the city and surrounding Richland County.
DISA said the proposal targets business growth and investment, entrepreneur opportunity expansion, and inclusive business practices. The presenter said the organization has operated the Minority Business Enterprise Center for more than 20 years and that this proposal would focus on Richland County with emphasis on the City of Columbia.
Key components DISA described included efforts to streamline the city procurement system, expand mentor–protégé relationships that can move subcontractors toward prime-contractor roles, improve payment speed by adopting ACH, and develop quarterly business-opportunity notices and measurable performance indicators that the city could use to evaluate the program after one year.
The presentation identified several obstacles: limited engagement from small businesses, a drop in construction work for local contractors, resistance to joint ventures from large prime contractors, slow payment processing for small vendors and data-collection/reporting complexity. The presenter said state procurement law’s low-bid emphasis constrains options but that the city can explore alternatives such as design-build or other collaborative procurement models.
DISA asked the committee to approve the Phase 1 implementation and proposed a two-year project timeline with a built-in first-year evaluation. The transcript records the request for approval but does not record a formal vote on the Phase 1 request during the meeting.
Quotes from the presentation included: "We wanna be judged, wanting to be measured, and wanting to see, does this work to grow the city?" and "ACH is gonna happen because it's the easiest way to pay the business and the quickest," both attributed to the DISA presenter.
Committee members followed with brief praise and questions about measurable outcomes and alignment with existing city offices. The presenter recommended forming a city task force to update procurement policies and emphasized succession planning and capacity building as program priorities.
No formal action or vote on the Phase 1 implementation request is recorded in the provided transcript excerpt.
