This Board Action Request would authorize funding for consulting services with Fearless Commerce and The Activate Network to assist the county in achieving its disparity reduction goals in the employment and income domains. The consulting services to be provided by Fearless Commerce and The Activate Network intersects with work in Human Resources Workforce Development, Housing and Economic Development and Purchasing and Contract Services.

Workforce:

The Employment domain is focused on ensuring individuals secure employment that creates and provides opportunities for livable wages. There are 2 very critical components to this concept, the career seeker, and the employer. This contract will provide Hennepin County the opportunity to partner with employers as they identify their needs and priorities as it relates to their future workforce. Consulting services include internal strategic planning and scope of work, business engagement strategies, technical assistance to employers, creating an intersect between understanding the needs of employers and creating a skilled talent pool to meet those needs.

Purchasing and Economic Development:

Hennepin County’s Purchasing and Economic Development teams are partnering on a shared scope of work with Fearless Commerce and The Activate Network to support businesses owned by women of color in building strong business models, obtaining certification, and competing for contracts with Hennepin County and other agencies.

Hennepin County Purchasing has increased our contract spend by over 100% with BIPOC vendors since 2015. Yet, we continue to see gaps with our outreach efforts with women of color. Fearless Commerce and The Activate Network bring subject matter expertise and unique lived experiences, as Black women owned businesses, to assist the county with identifying the barriers faced by women of color when responding to the county’s procurement opportunities, and providing recommendations for eliminating those barriers. These recommendations, and follow-on actions by the county, will be beneficial to all small businesses.

Hennepin County Economic Development is offering an unprecedented level of technical assistance to small businesses to accelerate economic recovery from COVID-19. The expanded network of technical assistance providers includes a wide range of specialized expertise as well as culturally specific business consulting, all of which is accessible online through an innovative new online platform, Elevate Business HC. Elevate Business HC is an entirely new online platform launched in late 2020 through a public-private partnership with the Minneapolis Regional Chamber.  Fearless Commerce and The Activate Network will work with Hennepin County and the Chamber to provide strategic guidance, establish operational policies and guidelines, and ensure that the platform, technical assistance, webinar programming, and external marketing are centered in equity and inclusion.

The consulting services include hosting a cohort of BIPOC women owned businesses through the registration and certification process, taking the certification into the marketplace, and strengthening their capacity to grow and succeed over the long-term. This cohort approach will be coordinated with other resources, offerings, and promotional opportunities available through Elevate Business HC.