Leveraging the Buying Power of Cities: New City Accelerator Uses Innovation to Increase Procurement and Economic Opportunity

Accelerating economic development remains one of the top priorities for mayors around the country, with an increasing focus on intentionally targeting socioeconomic issues, such as income inequality. Seventy-five percent of mayors highlighted economic development in their 2016 State of the City address, according to the National League of Cities, with 22 percent looking specifically at providing greater support to small businesses and 17 percent mentioning businesses owned by women and people of color.

Few cities are currently embracing the full potential of their procurement spending—the purchasing of goods, services and construction—to achieve a double bottom line that includes inclusive economic opportunity. Even fewer cities are coordinating this kind of effort with private sector companies in their own backyards. Challenges in communities across the country vary, but often include an insular, risk-averse procurement culture that makes it difficult for newer, smaller, often more innovative vendors to provide goods and services to the city; ineffective or confusing communication about procurement opportunities; limited access to capital and capacity development needed for smaller businesses to expand to meet city needs; and systemic underutilization of businesses owned by people of color. Read more.