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Experts urge mentor‑protege programs, prompt payment and project‑level goals to grow minority and women‑owned suppliers
Summary
A national panel at the Charlotte retreat recommended project‑level participation goals, mentor‑protégé programs and prompt‑payment pilots to expand minority‑ and women‑owned business participation on upcoming infrastructure work.
Charlotte council members heard national and regional practitioners advise several practical reforms to expand minority‑ and women‑owned business participation on large public projects, including mentor‑protégé programs, prompt‑payment rules and project‑by‑project, commodity‑specific goals.
Monica Allen (assistant city manager) introduced a panel that included Franklin Lee (legal advisor with long experience in disparity studies), Eulace Cleckley (infrastructure and urban projects), and Marcus Kirkman (business inclusion manager, Asheville). The experts emphasized that legal constraints exist, but local leaders can still adopt a mix of tools that increase participation while reducing legal risk.
Key recommendations and examples from the panel:
- Project‑level goals and objective scoring: Experts urged councils to set participation goals that are specific to each contract and informed by availability analyses. Franklin Lee recommended evaluating waiver requests…
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