Office of Procurement Newsletter
September 2024 Newsletter
Two months after officially announcing the establishment of the Prince George's County Office of Procurement (OOP), we have been making our way around the County attending business outreach events, engaging in productive conversations and hearing from businesses like yours. We are committed to being inclusive, transparent, and equitable with public funds, while buying goods and services on behalf of the County. This will be accomplished by empowering progress through accountable, collaborative and transparent procurement practices.
WHO WE ARE
OOP is comprised of four key offices:
Office of the Director - Plays a pivotal role in overseeing agency operations and offering strategic policy guidance to the operating divisions.
Office of Accountability - Dedicated to fostering the development, growth and retention of County-based businesses, while actively promoting economic development across the County’s commercial corridors.
Business Services - Provides overall management and direction for the County’s purchasing functions in accordance with the legal authority established by Section 603 of the Charter, Subtitle 10A of the Prince George’s County Code.
Office of Administrative Services - Dedicated to delivering comprehensive human resource management services, with a focus on attracting, developing, and retaining a highly skilled and diverse workforce.
Please visit our webpage to learn more detailed information about OOP and its offices. OOP Webpage: http://procurement.mypgc.us.
NEW FISCAL YEAR
July 1st, 2024, marked the start of the County’s new fiscal year, and with that comes exciting new procurement opportunities! Information related to current opportunities can be found in our FY25 Procurement Forecast, which is posted online and routinely updated. The procurement forecast features a breakdown of forthcoming opportunities to procure goods and services with the County. This includes the corresponding County agency, estimated budget, procurement method and expected timeline. This information is available on our webpage under “Finding Opportunities” Have a question related to a current solicitation? Please send us an email.
OUTREACH
OOP regularly hosts and attends outreach events in the business community to share information about agency initiatives, procurement opportunities, business certifications and other resources. OOP closed out FY24 having participated in 53 outreach events. In addition, OOP hosts a monthly virtual training to guide businesses on how to apply for County Business Certifications, as well as a separate training on how to successfully complete the certification application. These trainings aim to inform participants about the benefits of certification, type of certifications available, certification requirements and a visual tutorial on navigating our Business Highway portal. To sign up for an upcoming certification training or to invite OOP to attend and present this information to your organization, please email ckelly@co.pg.md.us.
BUSINESS GROWTH
The formation of the OOP has generated much excitement throughout the County and in the vendor community. According to business formations statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, Prince George’s County has the greatest number of new businesses of any County in the state of Maryland. In July 2024, the Supplier Development & Diversity Division (SDDD) processed over 100 business certifications with an average processing time of 3 business days. To begin the certification process, businesses should click on “Get Certified” on www.pgcbusinesshighway.com.
FEATURED PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY
In September 2024, the Office of Central Services will be issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for Architectural & Engineering Services, with the intent to issue multiple awards to A&E firms with construction experience. Once available, the opportunity will be publicized in our SPEED Discovery Portal. Businesses can view/bid on procurement opportunities through our SPEED Discovery Solicitation Portal by accessing "Finding Opportunities" on www.pgcbusinesshighway.com. Businesses may also view all state, County and local government procurement opportunities by accessing eMaryland Marketplace Advantage (EMMA).
COUNTY NEWS
On August 9th, our office disseminated information to the business community announcing Council Bill CB-012-2024, which amended provisions of Subtitle 10A – Purchasing of the County Code. The bill extends the length of validity for all new and recertifications received after August 9th, 2024, from one year to two years for County Based Minority Business Enterprises (CBMBE), County Based Small Businesses (CBSB) and County Based Businesses (CBB), making the certification/recertification process less cumbersome for County businesses. The Council Bill and its attachments may be viewed in its entirety on the County’s Legislative webpage at: https://princegeorgescountymd.legistar.com/Legislation.aspx.
VENDOR SPOTLIGHT
Gina S. Duncan is originally from New Jersey and moved to Prince George’s County Maryland in 2001 where she later opened her business in 2018 known as Livescan\MD Fingerprinting Services. Gina, whose background was in conducting investigations for the insurance company she worked for, used her experience to transition into a business owner that independently offers background investigations.
LiveScan MD Fingerprinting Services offers State of MD live scan background checks, FBI fingerprint cards, FBI departmental orders, Florida LiveScan and ATF background checks. They also offer other ancillary services such as ground, priority and overnight mail services and will soon offer child identifications with photo and fingerprints.
Gina shared that she chose Prince George’s County as the place to establish her business because it felt inviting as a woman and minority owned business. Gina specifically highlighted the FSC First Level Up Program, the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation’s Step Forward Initiative and Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Small Businesses (10KSB) program as key programs that propelled her forward as a business owner.
Livescan\MD is headquartered in Upper Marlboro, MD and has another branch in Waldorf, MD. They are a County Based Small Business, County Based Minority Business Enterprise and hold additional business certifications through the State of Maryland. Gina is a proud member of the Maryland Black Chamber of Commerce, Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce and Bi County Business Roundtable. Livescan\MD was recently awarded a grant through the Greater Washington Community Foundation and Gina looks forward to building partnerships and expanding the services offered by Livescan\MD. For more information about Livescan\MD and its services visit: https://www.livescanmd.com
Each month the Prince George’s County Office of Procurement will feature a County Certified Business in its Vendor Spotlight. To have your business considered, please email ckelly@co.pg.md.us.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Below is a list of events happening in the business community during the month of September. Communications related to upcoming events are disseminated via email to certified businesses listed in our online Certification Compliance System (CCS). Please be sure to keep your CCS vendor profile up to date with the best contact information, so that you are in constant receipt of these communications. If you are not a certified business but would like to remain in the know about events happening in the business community, please email ckelly@co.pg.md.us to be added to our listserv.
Sept 11 – PGC OOP Business Certification Overview Training
Sept 16 – Bi County Business Roundtable Breakfast Meeting
Sept 18 – M&T Bank Diverse Supplier & Small Business Luncheon
Sept 19 – PGC EDC Latino Business Breakfast
Sept 24 – PGC OOP Vendor Day
Sept 25 – PGC OOP Certification Compliance System Overview Training
Sept 27 – PGC EDC Gala & Awards Ceremony