The Office of Business Opportunity, established in March of 2008, is responsible for the administration of the Small/Minority/Women- Owned Business Enterprise (S/MWBE) Program and the Mayors’ Executive Order 1-7 Pay or Play (POP) Program for Houston Public Works. 

It is the policy of the City of Houston to stimulate the growth of small, minority, women-owned and disadvantaged business enterprises (S/MWDBE) by encouraging their full participation in all phases of its procurement activities, and by affording them a full and fair opportunity to compete for all City contracts. 

Services We Provide:

• Assistance with locating contract opportunities in Houston Public Works.
• Coordinate meetings with department representatives, prime and subcontractors.
• Provide education and outreach opportunities using business events/meetings.
• Serve as an MWDBE/SBE advocate in the PWE Department.  

Contract and Procurement Opportunities:

The Public Works Department is one of the largest departments in the City of Houston and provides many of the basic services Houston citizens rely on daily. Examples of these services include the planning and engineering of the City infrastructure, production and distribution of drinking water, the treatment of wastewater, street and bridge maintenance and much more. Providing for these services allows us to have ample opportunity for small and minority businesses.

Public Works Contract Areas:

• Professional Service Contracts
• Construction Contracts
• Supply and Non-Professional Service Contracts

Contract Examples:

Professional Service - Engineering and architecture services; environmental consulting; and construction management; construction materials testing.

Construction - Underground utilities; excavation; site clearing; electrical; sidewalks; waterline repairs; traffic signs; lift stations; street overlays; street reconstruction.

Non-Professional Services - IT, HVAC; grounds maintenance; janitorial; plumbing; electrical; fence repair; graffiti removal; facility maintenance.

Supply - Building materials; vehicles; fire hydrants; traffic control devices; chemicals; paints & solvents; rubber goods; uniforms; hand tools; office furniture & supplies; safety equipment.

For more information regarding non-professional service or supply contracts contact

Stanley Newman at (832) 395-3671 or Mary Williams at (832) 395-3685.

Construction Contracts:

• Construction contracts are advertised for bid, in the Notice to Bidder section of the Houston Chronicle Business Journal, every Friday.
• All bid advertisement will include pre-bid conference details for all contractors interested in learning more about the projects up for bid.
• All MWDBE/SBE's are encouraged to attend the pre-bid conferences where you will have the opportunity to market your services and form potential business partnerships with attending prime contractors.

Supply and Non-Professional Service Contracts:

• Supply & Non-Professional Service Contracts are solicited in two ways: formal and informal bids.
• A schedule of pre-bid conferences can be found on the City's Strategic Purchasing Division web site at https://puchasing.houstontx.gov.
• Formal bids- solicitation for goods and services valued over $50,000.
• Advertised for two consecutive weeks in the Houston Business Journal and minority newspapers.
• On the bid due date, the bid is publicity read by the City Secretary in the Council Chambers and is awarded by a recommendation from the bid department to Council.
• Informal bids - Solicitation for goods and services valued at $50,000 or less.
• Bids made by mail, telephone or facsimile and processed as purchase order.

Professional Service Contracts:

• The Public Works department solicits professional engineering services, once a year, through Request for Qualifications (RFQ's).
• To be considered for evaluation, firms should have a Public Works-100 form on file and submit a Statement of Qualification (SOQ), for each project the firm is interested in providing services for.           
• Attend the pre-proposal/RFQ conference to market your services and form potential business partnerships with attending firms