September 27, 2019 – MOVEBR through its Small Business Outreach initiative is hosting the first in a series of informational workshops on Thursday, October 3, 2019. This workshop is open to appraisers, abstractors, real estate agents or others interested in the available opportunities to do business with MOVEBR related to the topic of right of way acquisitions.
As the MOVEBR program implements transportation and infrastructure improvements across East Baton Rouge Parish, a wide variety of opportunities will occur for all businesses — irrespective of size — to participate in the process. These will be advertised through the normal procurement processes of the City-Parish. Specific efforts related to training and capacity building will be offered to small businesses through the Small Business Outreach (SBO) initiative.
“MOVEBR provides an opportunity to invest in our local economy by helping our small businesses flourish, which are the backbone of our community. Ultimately, we’re investing in people as well as concrete,” said Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome. “The diversity and inclusion of a wide range of small businesses is key to ensuring these investments are cost-efficient and spread equally throughout our community.”
The SBO effort will include targeted outreach for emerging and established businesses. Throughout the course of the MOVEBR program, several informational sessions will be offered for the various disciplines needed to support the MOVEBR program as the program evolves. The first session will take place on Thursday, October 3, at the Delmont Gardens Branch Library, 3351 Lorraine Street, Baton Rouge, from 5:30-7:00 p.m. It will focus on Right of Way services. Small-business owners interested in those services are encouraged to attend this session. Subsequent workshops will be held for other disciplines and trades, including engineering and construction services.
“The Small Business Outreach (SBO) Initiative will empower local, small, minority-, women- and veteran-owned companies by connecting them with opportunities to participate in the process,” said Raymond Jetson, MOVEBR’s SBO Workgroup Leader. “It’s important that we help small businesses compete for these opportunities by providing timely communications, capacity-building strategies and technical assistance.”
MOVEBR Small Business Definitions
For the purposes of outreach and engagement, a MOVEBR Small Business is defined as an entity that holds one of the following certifications and/or participates in one of the listed programs:
DBE – Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
SDB – Small Disadvantaged Business
MBE – Minority Business Enterprise
WBE – Women Business Enterprise
WOSB – Women-Owned Small Business
Service-disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business
Louisiana Veteran Initiative
Hudson Initiative
The MOVEBR Small Business Outreach effort does not restrict or prohibit any otherwise designated small business or non-small business from pursuing opportunities with the City-Parish. The definition above is intended to identify the types of small businesses the effort is designed to reach, inform and support their inclusion in the MOVEBR Program.
For more information on this workshop or the SBO program, please visit www.movebr.brla.gov.