Rhode Island Department of Transportation
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is responsible for over 1,100 miles of highways and 836 bridges throughout the state. With an annual budget of approximately $350 million it is one of the largest agencies in the state’s government. In fiscal year 2006, Contract Administration participated in the award of 84 construction projects worth $312 million.
Action The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) construction program revealed that from 2000 to 2004 only 11% of award dollars went to Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE). In response, RIDOT sought the services of a qualified and experienced business outreach provider to increase DBE participation on RIDOT projects and programs. The overall goal was to have DBEs more equitably represented in the distribution of RIDOT awards.
PLEXUS, a consulting firm focused on the transportation industry with developed expertise in the engineering, procurement, systems design and construction fields, asked North Star Marketing to be its marketing partner in submitting their bid for the contract.
Solution Working with RIDOT and PLEXUS, North Star Marketing created a multi-faceted program to increase and enhance participation of minority businesses on RIDOT projects. The team took a comprehensive approach realizing that all aspects of a DBEs business may need improvement to compete for and effectively perform on RIDOT projects. North Star Marketing branded the initiative developing the name Mission 360˚ and creating a logo to capture the inclusive nature of the program.
Mission 360˚ provides a wide range of assistance including workshops and individualized consulting in areas such as financial management, scheduling, documentation, bookkeeping, RFP and bidding responses, estimates and bids, marketing and more.
North Star Marketing provides marketing expertise to the individual DBEs, as well as for the overall program. For instance, we work closely with each DBE to create a marketing package that includes a sell sheet, webpage, and business card. North Star also produces a monthly eNewsletter and a printed quarterly newsletter for all DBEs and the prime contractors. Externally, North Star Marketing provides public relations support to increase awareness of DBEs in the transportation community particularly the large contractors or primes, as well as increase awareness of Mission 360˚ in the DBE community.
Results Six months into implementation, the Mission 360˚ program was recognized as one of the more innovative and successful minority business programs in the U.S. In April 2007, Phillip Kydd, Assistant Director of RIDOT, was asked to present at the National Transportation Summit on the key to Rhode Island’s success in working with minority businesses. After only eight months, Mission 360˚ participants are engaged and seeing tangible results from the program as illustrated below:
Increased access to capital through favorable low interest loans Assisted 5 DBEs to secure new business with RIDOT Assisted 20 DBEs to submit bids to RIDOT Assisted 5 DBEs to write a business plan as required to secure loans
The word about Mission 360˚ is spreading as evidenced by a recent workshop where several individuals who are not in the program attended. The team also receives calls from DBEs asking to join Mission 360˚. The email newsletter is also proving to be a useful tool to provide information with open rates and click through rates well above industry averages.
Finally, area contractors have seen a difference in the way minorities are bidding and going after work and managing their jobs. This bodes well for improving contract performance ratings of DBEs on RIDOT projects.
And as one grateful business owner said, “Mission 360˚ was heaven-sent. Without a team like Mission 360˚ I would have been lost in running my business. I now fully understand the whole day-to-day operations from A to Z.” -Rolanda Edmonds, Able Industrial Sweeping
The program has also been helpful for the Primes, “The Mission 360˚ program has enabled us- The Aetna Bridge Company- to become familiar with new and potential DBEs who might be able to quote on and be a part of the RIDOT projects we are bidding on - and hopefully awarded.” -Chip Mainelli, Aetna Bridge Company |
Insight 