At this month’s Workshop Wednesday, about 30 attendees had the opportunity to hear from Earl Finley, HISD’s senior sourcing specialist for bond projects.

Finley gave an overview of the bond program, spoke about the importance of registering online as a vendor, and encouraged the group to study the wealth of procurement and bond-related information housed on the district’s website.

“Spend some time studying the information on the website,” Finley said. “It will give you a serious advantage in bidding on construction projects.”

Finley answered questions about the bidding process and the difference between bidding on CMAR (construction manager at risk) and CSP (competitive sealed proposal) projects. He also gave some tips on submitting successful bids, and spoke about the importance of pre-bid meetings.

“It’s important to make connections so you can participate in bids,” he said. “The people I see who are most successful with bids – they came to the pre bid conference.”

Attendees were also urged to connect with the business assistance department to receive communications about networking and bid opportunities, and they were reminded that strict deadlines are observed when submitting bids and proposals.

“If it’s even a minute late, we can’t take it. So allow extra time to get your bid in on time,” Finley said.

The monthly workshop, held the first Wednesday of each month, is sponsored by the Business Assistance Supplier Diversity Department. Topics vary and are designed to benefit small and minority- and women-owned businesses (M/WBEs) that are looking to develop more opportunities and grow their business.

The next Workshop Wednesday will be held June 3, and is open to any small business or M/WBE interested in working with HISD.