Supplier Diversity Program

The Supplier Diversity Program works to ensure that we are creating policies and programs that increase access to City contracts for historically underrepresented businesses in City contracting. This includes minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned, and other diverse businesses.

 

• Zoom Certification Office Hours - Join the City of Boston's weekly MWBE Zoom Certification Hours, every Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Click here to join. No registration is necessary.
• Boston Supplier Diversity Week 2024
• Cambridge Supplier Diversity Fair - October 22, 2024
• Upcoming small business workshops
• How to do Business with the City of Cambridge Workshop Presentation (October 2021)

There are many ways to work with the City. We are always looking for the best partners, regardless of whether we have worked together in the past. The City of Cambridge posts bids on a weekly basis. 

Click here for current bids

The Purchasing Department manages the City of Cambridge Vendor Registry. Suppliers must be registered in order to do business with the City. 

The Registry is an opportunity for vendors to share with the City that they are interested in participating in the City's procurement of goods and services. When the City solicits a bid for goods or services that you may provide, your company will be sent a notification. The City also will utilize the Vendor Registry to identify vendors from whom to solicit quotes.

As of September 2024, the City has transitioned to a new eProcurement platform for publishing solicitations and receiving vendor responses. Registration is free for vendors. After registering, subscribe to the City's e-Procurement Portal.

Register as a Vendor with the City

Certification gives underrepresented businesses, including minority-, veteran-, and woman-owned access to a variety of opportunities. Certification also provides access to government and private company contracts, networks and marketing, and other opportunities. A diverse supplier is a business that is at least 51% owned and operated by an individual or group that is part of a traditionally underrepresented or underserved group. There are a variety of organizations that offer certification to business owners. Below are a few public agencies that offer certification.

City of Boston

The City of Boston offers certification to businesses interested in doing business with the City or other organizations. Click here to learn more about Boston’s certification process.

State Supplier and Diversity Office (SDO)

Each year state agencies purchase millions of dollars’ worth of products and services from businesses that have been historically disadvantaged.

To participate in these opportunities, each business must be certified through the State’s Supplier and Diversity Office (SDO).

The Commonwealth's Supplier Diversity Program (SDP) includes the following designations: Minority (MBE), Women (WBE), Service-Disabled Veteran (SDVOBE), Veteran (VBE), Lesbian, Gay Bisexual, Transgender (LGBTQ), Disability-Owned Business Enterprise (DOBE), and Portuguese-Owned Businesses (PBE). To learn more about these certifications, click here.

Click here for information on upcoming state training sessions.

Small Business Administration (SBA)

The SBA provides You may take for granted that your company is a "small business." The distinction is important if you wish to register for federal contracts as a small business. To learn about how to certify your business as a small business and other federal contract opportunities, click here.

The Cambridge Business Diversity Directory is intended to celebrate and highlight the diverse, and historically underrepresented, independent and locally owned small businesses, entities, and sole proprietors whose place of business is in Cambridge.

The directory presents information about business ownership, location, goods and services offered, and unique features in a way that is easy to search and share. Custom reports, searches by keyword, and photos are now available. The Cambridge Business Diversity Directory is not intended for solicitation purposes. Business owners do not need to be certified in order to participate in the Directory.

To be considered for inclusion in the Cambridge Business Diversity Directory please click here to be taken to the intake form.

All respondents must meet the stated eligibility requirements to be confirmed for inclusion. Upon receipt, staff in the Community Development Department (CDD) will review the information provided and decide regarding eligibility. The Cambridge Business Diversity Directory and Open Data Set are updated on an ongoing basis.

For any questions regarding the Cambridge Business Diversity Directory, contact Tyrone Fells at tfells@cambridgema.gov or 617/349-7223.

Cambridge Diversity Directory

City policies and resources:

• Cambridge Disparity Study (2023)
• Guide to Procurement Practices (2024)

State policies and resources:

• The Chapter 30B Manual (PDF)
• COMMBUYS - official procurement record system for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
• Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Office (SDO)
• State Supplier Diversity Office Multilingual Brochures