Contract Management

Responding to NYPA/Canal Solicitation with Supplier Diversity Participation Goals?

Review Appendix C of the solicitation document carefully. Only include NYS-certified MWBEs and SDVOBs for utilization credit. This is the only certification that will be accepted. Submit a Utilization Plan with the proposal or within ten days of NYPA/Canal's request.

If your firm has determined it cannot meet the Supplier Diversity Utilization Goals (total or partial), it may submit a Request for Waiver with the proposal or until the last invoice is submitted. Waiver requests must include supporting documents that detail the vendor's good faith efforts to engage NYS-certified MWBE and/or SDVOB suppliers or subcontractors for the solicitation or Contract. Additional instructions are available on the document.

If your question pertains to a specific active procurement, please direct all inquiries to the Designated Contact Person listed in the procurement.
For general questions, please email Supplier.Diversity@nypa.gov.

For reference purposes only, Utilization Plan and Request for Waiver Forms are available below:

Vendors with NYPA and Canals contracts that have MWBE and/or SDVOB Participation Goals must submit the Contractor Compliance & Payment Report to indicate the payments made by the vendor to NYS-certified MWBE and/or SDVOB suppliers or subcontractors under the covered contract for each previous quarter. The payments are made in compliance with the contract documents for the referenced project. Additional instructions are available on the document.

For reference purposes only, a sample Contractor Compliance and Payment Report is available here.

Reports must be sent to DiversityComplianceReporting@nypa.gov on or before the established due date.

The following is the schedule for the submission of Reports for commodities and services other than construction. Construction and construction-related contracts must submit their reports monthly.

Period of Performance Report Due
Q1: July 1 - September 30 On or Before October 10
Q2: October 1 - December 31 On or Before January 10
Q3: January 1 - March 31 On or Before April 10
Q4: April 1 - June 30 On or Before July 10

 

NYPA and Canals procurements that have established Supplier Diversity (MWBE/SDVOB) Participation Goals, prime contractors are required to complete a Supplier Diversity (MWBE/SDVOB) – Utilization Plan and/or a Request for Waiver. The Utilization Plans identify MWBE and/or SDVOB subcontractors and their participation in the contract. Approved Plans and all Request for Waivers are made available on this webpage pursuant to 5 CRR-NY 142.5(b) and 9 CRR-NY 252.2(k).

Review the latest approved Utilization Plans and Waivers Requests

 

 

Responding to NYPA/Canal Solicitation with Diversity Practices Questionnaire?

Pursuant to NYS Executive Law Article 15-A, the Authority may elect to evaluate the diversity practices of its vendors to include New York State-certified Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises ("MWBEs") in their overall business practices. Below are responses to frequently asked questions regarding evaluating diversity practices in the Authority's procurements.

Diversity practices are the efforts of contractors to include New York State-certified Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises ("MWBEs") in their overall business practices. Diversity practices may include past, present, or future actions and policies and include activities of contractors on contracts with private and public entities.

Assessing the diversity practices of contractors enables New York State and the Authority to engage in broader, more meaningful, and capacity-building collaborations between contractors and MWBEs in the context of building a diverse network of suppliers.

New York State Executive Law Section 313-a directs the New York State Department of Economic Development to establish rules and regulations requiring state agencies to assess the diversity practices of contractors. The Authority recommends that all questions regarding this section of the Executive Law be referred to the Division of Minority and Women's Business Development of the New York State Department of Economic Development.

No. The Authority will only evaluate the diversity practices of respondents in procurements where this evaluation is practicable, feasible, and appropriate and only in best value Request for Proposals (RFP) procurements where the estimated value is at or greater than $250,000.
Each solicitation will detail the minimum qualification(s) of all proposers and the information required for a proposal to be considered "responsive." All respondents are strongly encouraged to review the solicitation documents and submit a complete and accurate response.
The point values associated with the diversity practice evaluation are specific to each procurement. Proposers are strongly recommended to review all aspects of the solicitation document and how each technical section may be evaluated.
Vendors are strongly encouraged to review each solicitation document carefully. However, the questions in the diversity practices questionnaire are not specific to each procurement but rather specific to your organization's diversity practices.
All questions regarding the solicitation must be addressed to the Designated Contact Person.
Organized and operated independently of the Authority, your local APEX Accelerators or NYS Empire State Development's Entrepreneurship Assistance Centers can assist. These third-party resources can assist with responding to a wide range of NYPA, Canals, and Federal, State and City solicitations.

How are some of the diversity practices questions evaluated?

This question solely addresses whether the respondent employs a Chief Diversity Officer. To receive points for a response to this question, a respondent should provide all the information requested, including evidence of initiatives performed by the Chief Diversity Officer. Merely identifying a Chief Diversity Officer without providing the requested information may result in a score of zero.
These questions direct respondents to provide information on the share of expenditures that the respondents made with MWBEs. Only the prior fiscal year of a respondent may be taken into account. Any additional data respondents provide illustrating expenditures made with MWBEs in other fiscal years will be disregarded.

If ”yes”, provide a description of such training, which should include, but not be limited to, the date the program was initiated, the names and the number of minority- and women-owned business enterprises participating in such training, the number of years such training has been offered and the number of hours per year for which such training occurs.

Respondents may score points in response to this question by identifying industry-specific technical training of MWBEs. Technical training is specific to the industry in question. It does not include generic training in skills that are transferable across industries. Examples of training that do not qualify as technical training include training in managerial skills and leadership, effective communication, and professional development and networking.

Examples of technical training topics include the use, installation, or safe handling of particular products, the use of industry-specific IT, and industry-specific sales and customer service strategies. In assessing the robustness of a respondent's technical training, the Authority may consider the duration of the technical training program, the number of MWBEs served and the total number of hours devoted to the technical training of MWBEs.

The characteristics of a robust technical training program will vary based on the nature of the industry and the associated opportunities for MWBE training. However, characteristics of technical training programs fitting the "minimum" scoring criterion will typically be, respondent has:

  • been providing technical training for one year or less,
  • provided fewer than one hundred hours of technical training, or
  • provided technical training to only one MWBE firm in a contracting area for which there is significant MWBE availability.

In order for a respondent to receive points for their response to this question, the respondent must provide documentation demonstrating its participation in a mentor-protege program approved by a governmental entity. Such a governmental entity need not necessarily be the State of New York.

Appropriate documentation of the existence of a mentor-protege program will vary based upon the approving governmental entity. Documents generated by a governmental entity may be accepted to demonstrate the existence of a mentor-protege program. A robust mentor-protege program must include the following elements:

  • The mentee must be able to meaningfully participate in the delivery of contract requirements.
  • For services contracts: at least one element of the scope must be performed by the MWBE with the Prime serving as mentor. Multi-year contracts must have a plan in place to expose the MWBE to each element of the scope through the lifetime of the Contract.
  • Mentor and mentee must enter into an agreement approved by a governmental entity, which outlines the expectations of each party.
  • Specific metrics must be identified, which will be used to measure the effectiveness and success of the Mentor/Protege relationship.

This question evaluates both the existence of MWBE goals on the part of the respondent in its own contracting and the respondent's achievement of these goals. Whether a goal is robust depends on the availability of MWBEs in the industry in question. One tool to assist you in determining the availability of MWBE firms in the industry is the New York State Contract System MWBE Directory <https:></https:>. This analysis should, to the extent possible, be based upon subcontracting activities that are available in the industry in which the respondent is engaged, not solely the availability of MWBE subcontractors for the procurement being made by your organization.

This question considers whether a respondent has an immersive, formal program to promote the use of MWBEs as suppliers. A formal supplier diversity program must be documented via a program policy manual or similar document describing the requirements for participation and elements of the program, as well as documentation of program activities.

Characteristics of a supplier diversity program meeting the minimum requirement for the respondent to be awarded points could include a supplier diversity program with weak verification procedures focused solely on creating a list of diverse suppliers from which the respondent may procure goods or services. A robust supplier diversity program may be characterized by rigorous verification of MWBE status, plans for outreach to MWBE suppliers, and training and education programs designed to increase the capacity of MWBE suppliers.

Workforce Utilization Report

Pursuant to NYS Executive Article 15-A, and/or the terms and conditions of your Authority contract or purchase order (Contract), certain NYPA and Canals vendors may be required to submit a Workforce Utilization Report (Report). Contractors must submit a Report and require each of its Subcontractors to submit a separate Report related to the actual workforce utilized on certain Authority Contracts.

The Report is to be submitted monthly for construction Contracts, and a quarterly basis for all other Contracts, during the entire Contract term, to report on the actual workforce utilized in the performance of the Contract broken down by job title. Pursuant to New York Executive Order 162, Contractors must report the gross wages paid to each of their employees identified in the Report. This Report does not relieve the Contractor’s responsibility to submit payroll certifications as elsewhere provided.

Reports are to submitted electronically through NYPA/Canals EEO Reporting portal or in Microsoft Excel format using the provided Report worksheet submitted via email to EEOReporting@nypa.gov. Reports are due within 10 days of the end of each month or quarter, whichever is applicable. 

New Yorkers now have the option to choose "X" as a gender marker. State agencies and authorities are required to provide an option for individuals to mark their gender or sex as a non-binary "X" on all state forms that collect gender or sex information. Agencies and authorities are required to include this information in data collection.

For Individuals Compensated at a Hourly Rate:

The Contractor shall report the product of such employees’ hourly wage and the number of hours worked on the Authority Contract during the period covered by the Report.

For Salaried Individuals not Compensated on a Hourly Basis

The Contractor shall first determine the average hourly gross wages of such employees by dividing the employees’ gross wages by the estimated number of hours worked by such employees during the period covered by the Report. After determining the average hourly gross wages of salaried employees, contractors shall report the product of such employees’ average hourly wage and the number of hours worked on the Authority Contract during the period covered by the Report.

Other Circumstances

When all employees of the contractor perform functions that prevent the Contractor from determining the number of hours worked on the Authority Contract, such as call center operators simultaneously providing call center services for multiple clients, the Contractor may report the total gross wages of such employees.

When some employees of a Contractor perform functions that prevent the contractor from determining the number of hours worked on the Authority Contract, but the Contractor can determine the number of hours worked on the Authority Contract by other employees of the contractor, the contractor should report only on the gross wages of the employees whose work on the Authority Contract can be precisely determined and need not report the gross wages of any other employees.

In limited circumstances, when the workforce to be utilized on the Authority Contract cannot be separated out from the Contractor’s and/or subcontractor’s total workforce, the Contractor shall submit the Report and indicate that the information provided is the Contractor’s and any subcontractor’s total workforce during the subject time frame, not limited to work specifically under the contract.

In instances where there are subcontractors providing goods or services under an Authority Contract, the prime Contractor will be responsible for obtaining completed Reports from its subcontractors for and submitting the same to the Authority.

Instructions for Completing the Workforce Utilization Report

HTML Button Generator

Please use the link below to access the EEO Reporting Portal. For information on how to create a new user account, please review the PowerPoint deck. (see attached PP to email). For any questions regarding access this portal or for additional information on how to use the system, please e-mail eeoreports@nypa.gov

  1. Check off the appropriate box to indicate if the entity completing the Report is the contractor or a subcontractor.
  2. Enter the number of the contract that the Report applies to along with the name, address and FEIN of the Contractor or subcontractor for which the Report has been prepared.
  3. Check off the box that corresponds to the applicable quarterly or monthly reporting period for this Report.
  4. Check off the appropriate box to indicate if the workforce being reported is just for the contract or the Contractor’s or subcontractor’s total workforce.
  5. Verify that job titles are provided under the column titled “SOC Job Title” for each employee whose work will be reflected on the Report. If a necessary job title is not included, please add the corresponding job category, title and corresponding job code to the “EEO 1 Job Categories” “SOC Job Title” and “SOC Job Code” columns from the list of job categories, SOC titles, and SOC codes reflected on the Classification Guide. The Classification Guide can be located by clicking here.
  6. In the first group of boxes, identify the number of hours worked by persons identifying with each racial/ethnic category by gender for each job title in the SOC Job Title column.
  7. In the second group of boxes, identify the number of persons identifying with each racial/ethnic category by gender for each job title in the SOC Job Title column.
  8. In the third group of boxes, identify the total gross wages paid to all employees for each job code, and each gender and racial/ethnic group, as identified in the Report. Contractors and subcontractors should report only gross wages for work on the contract paid to the employee during the period covered by the Report. “Gross wages” are those reported by employers to employees on their wage statements. Gross wages typically include every form of compensation for employment paid by an employer to his, her or its employees, whether paid directly or indirectly by the employer, including salaries, commissions, bonuses, tips and the reasonable value of board, rent, housing, lodging for similar advantage received.
  9. Enter the name and title for the person completing the form, enter the date upon which the Report was completed, and check the box accepting the name entered into the Report as the digital signature of the preparer.
  10. Label the Excel File in the following format: NYPA_PO/Contract# 11. E-mail the Excel File to EEOReporting@nypa.gov.

Race/Ethnic Identification

For the purposes of this Report, NYS Empire State Development Corporation developed the following Race/ethnic designations. These designations do not denote scientific definitions of anthropological origins.

For the purposes of this Report, an employee must be included in the group to which he or she appears to belong, identifies with, or is regarded in the community as belonging. However, no person should be counted in more than one race/ethnic group. The race/ethnic categories for this Report are:

  • WHITE (Not of Hispanic origin): All persons having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East.
  • BLACK/AFRICAN AMERICAN: A person, not of Hispanic origin, who has origins in any of the black racial groups of the original peoples of Africa.
  • HISPANIC/LATINO: A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
  • ASIAN, NATIVE HAWAIIAN OR OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDER: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent or the Pacific Islands.
  • NATIVE AMERICAN/ALASKAN NATIVE: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North America, and who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition.

Confidentiality

Reports do not require contractors to identify any individual employee by name, number, or other identifier specific to any individual. The Authority will notify contractors of any Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests that are made to obtain any of the data provided on any Report, and will protect the confidentiality of Report data to the maximum extent possible, consistent with FOIL and the trade secrets exemption as set forth pursuant to Public Officers Law Section §87(2)(d).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Contractors may refer to the FAQ issued by the NYS Empire State Development Corporation.

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