PHILADELPHIA- Dozens of IT vendors and representatives of more than a dozen City government departments gathered at the University of Pennsylvania this morning for an event aimed at forging connections between the City and Philadelphia’s vendor community.
The event, titled “Connecting for Contracts,” was sponsored by the Office of Innovation & Technology, in partnership with the Office of Economic Opportunity and the Chief Administrative Officer.
IT vendors had the opportunity to meet and speak with representatives from the City about upcoming IT contracts. The event also provided a space for minority vendors to build relationships with each other, and with prime vendors — an effort to increase the number and diversity of companies seeking out City contract opportunities. A select number of minority-owned businesses also hosted information tables.
“We recognize that the City’s procurement and contract process can be complicated and difficult to navigate,” said Chief Innovation Officer Charles Brennan. “OIT is excited to provide this opportunity for Philadelphia’s vendor community to meaningfully interact and meet with City departments.”
More than 15 City departments participated, with representatives from offices ranging from Sustainability to 911 Services on-site to talk about their major upcoming capital IT projects.
Brennan said the event proved extremely productive. “Vendors gained a better sense of how we actually work and what contracts are coming up. It’s important that we engage with vendors and do everything possible to be the best business partner we can be and OIT is eager to be spearheading these efforts. We want to encourage and facilitate women-and-minority-owned firms to go after contracts so this event is a great first step in making those changes and accomplishing those goals.”
In order to encourage attendance, the event was open-house style, with no set program or agenda. “We really wanted to get the relevant people in the room and let them organically speak with each other and use the time in the way that would be the most helpful for them,” said Brennan.
Other departments participating included Police, the Managing Director’s Office, Finance, Sustainability, Records, Public Property, Streets, Procurement, and Parks & Recreation.