Supplier Diversity
CalPERS is committed to awarding 3% of all eligible competitive contracts and procurements to Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises (DVBE) and maintaining an overall Small Business/Micro Business (SB/MB) contract participation goal of 25%, in keeping with state public contracting laws. CalPERS exceeded the required participation levels for DVBE at 5.79% and SB/MB at 25.73%.
Achieving and exceeding this commitment enriches California’s local economy and our experience by doing business with a wide range of supply and service vendors. To better understand the supplier and vendor community through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion, a continued top priority this year was to increase the participation rate for the Voluntary Statistic Data Sheet (VSDS), through which we collect supplier diversity data that helps gain a better understanding of our supplier demographics. We realized that if we wanted to make a significant change, we needed to simplify the VSDS and how we solicited its completion.
Key Highlights
- Increased participation in supplier survey data to better understand demographics:
- Updated vendor responsibility language
- Transitioned to an online survey
- Requested vendors participate annually
- Streamlined process for vendor completion of survey data
- Improved the number of responses received for 2021-2022
- Processed four spring-fed pool solicitations in FY 2021-22, which allowed CalPERS to award multiple contracts and increase the number of suppliers we can do business with.
- These contracts also require subcontracting 3% or more of the work to DVBEs, also increasing the number of DVBE suppliers CalPERS does business with.
- Achieved a Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises (DVBE) participation level of 5.79% of all contracting, well above the 3% goal set in 2005. Highlights of DVBE participation include:
- 10.36% procurement of non-information technology (IT) goods and services.
- 21.23% procurement of IT goods and services.
- Achieved a 25.73% SB/MB participation level. Contracts and procurements remained consistent with the prior fiscal year, including:
- A total of 12.33% to SB prime contractors for the procurement of non-IT goods.
- A total of 64.12% to MB prime contractors for the procurement of IT goods and services.
- Broadened access to bidder’s conferences by offering in-person and online attendance options.
- Increased participation in business fairs, SB/DVBE advocate meetings, and trade shows.