Both certify that a business is at least 51% owned and controlled by members of minority groups, after a review of its papers and its operations. NMSDC certification is national and is granted through regional councils such as the Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council, while BEP certification is the State of Illinois’s, and it’s the one Illinois State contracts count toward their goals. Pace Systems holds both, as a certified MBE through NMSDC by the Chicago MSDC and as a business certified by the Illinois Business Enterprise Program.
What does NMSDC certification check?
The National Minority Supplier Development Council defines a minority business enterprise as a for-profit business at least 51% owned, operated and controlled by one or more U.S. citizens who identify as Asian-Indian, Asian-Pacific, Black, Hispanic or Native American. The minority owners must hold the top job (President or CEO where both exist) and must be active in the daily management of the business.
The review takes in documents, interviews and a site visit, and certified businesses are recertified. NMSDC says plainly that certification does not promise any contract, but what it does tell a buyer is who owns and runs the company, checked by a site visit.
We’ve been minority-owned since our founding in Naperville in 1983, and we hold our MBE certificate through the Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council and renew it each year.
What does Illinois BEP certification check?
The Business Enterprise Program of the Illinois Commission on Equity and Inclusion certifies businesses owned by minorities, women and persons with disabilities. According to CEI’s certification page, it requires at least 51% ownership and at least 51% control by one or more of those groups, an owner who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, and annual gross sales under $150 million. Certification is free, and certified firms are listed in CEI’s public online directory, so that buyers can look them up.
If a business is already certified by the Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council, it can apply through CEI’s FastTrack Certification with proof of that certification and a signed, notarized BEP affidavit.
How does a certified MBE count toward a goal?
On Illinois State contracts, the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act sets an aspirational goal in Section 4: not less than 30% of the dollar amount of State contracts to businesses owned by minorities, women and persons with disabilities. Of that, at least 16% goes to businesses owned by minorities, 10% to women-owned businesses and 4% to businesses owned by persons with disabilities. For State construction contracts the goal is 20%, split 11%, 7% and 2%.
Only spending with certified vendors that perform a commercially useful function counts, and the Act ties that phrase to the federal definition in 49 CFR 26.55(c): the firm must be responsible for the work of the contract and carry it out by performing, managing and supervising it. That means a firm that is only an extra participant, through which money passes to look like participation, doesn’t count.
A bidder on a State contract with a BEP goal attaches a utilization plan, which shows whether the bidder meets the goal by doing the work itself (if it is certified) or through certified subcontractors, and each certified subcontractor signs a participation agreement that goes in with the plan.
Hospitals, universities and companies with supplier diversity programs write their own rules for what they count, so ask the supplier diversity office which certifications it accepts before the bid goes out.
How can a general contractor use Pace on a public job?
We can take a certified share of a public job as a subcontractor that does the work with our people. Our installers are members of IBEW Local 134, and we take prevailing-wage and project labor agreement work with certified payroll. The work we can take on such jobs includes structured cabling and fiber, security systems, audio-visual rooms, Wi-Fi and networks, and devices.
For a utilization plan, a general contractor needs a participation agreement signed by us and our certificates, and we send our W-9, insurance certificate and MBE certificates the same day they are asked for.
Pace’s licenses and numbers lists the certifications with our other credentials. If you are a public body buying directly, How to buy from Pace and Can a city or school district buy IT without a bid? cover the contracts, and About Pace tells the rest of the company’s story.
Questions
Is Pace Systems a certified minority business?
Yes, Pace Systems is certified as a minority business enterprise through NMSDC by the Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council, renewed each year, and is certified by the Illinois Business Enterprise Program. We’ve been minority-owned since our founding in 1983.
Does BEP certification cost anything?
No, the Illinois Commission on Equity and Inclusion says BEP certification is free, and applications go through its certification and compliance portal.
What is the Illinois goal for minority-owned businesses on State contracts?
The goal is at least 16% of the dollar amount of State contracts, within an aspirational goal of 30% for businesses owned by minorities, women and persons with disabilities. On State construction contracts, the minority share is at least 11% within a goal of 20%.
Can a hospital or university count Pace toward its supplier diversity goal?
That depends on which certifications the program counts, so ask its supplier diversity office. Pace holds an NMSDC certificate and an Illinois BEP certificate, and we send our MBE certificates the same day they are asked for.