Dear Colleagues,
As our state’s flagship public university, we have an obligation to allocate our resources in an inclusive manner that creates opportunities for everyone.
The State of Illinois Business Enterprise Program (BEP) helps to provide equal access and opportunity to all businesses in the university’s procurement process. BEP is the operational portion of the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women and Persons with Disabilities Act, which codifies specific goals for state purchasing. Certified BEP vendors have met the same rigorous standards as non-BEP vendors to be approved for purchasing.
All campus units are expected to participate in equitable procurement practices, including using BEP registered and certified diverse businesses. You can do so by logging into iBuy and viewing catalogs under “Diverse Suppliers” to determine if your purchasing needs can be met by these businesses. If you are already working with a vendor that meets BEP requirements but is not registered, please encourage them to register.
In 2024, we worked diligently to award 13% of our spending to BEP vendors. However, it is only a milepost on our path toward increasing that spending to 30% — an aspirational goal dictated by statute.
We must intensify our efforts to engage with BEP vendors. Your participation ensures that we are using public resources in a responsible manner, and it creates a more welcoming climate within your unit. Data on each unit’s spending practices and opportunities is publicly available on the University of Illinois System Diverse Spend Dashboard. Please take a moment to review your unit’s spending.
One-page informational sheets have been created for specific BEP vendors through whom the data indicates our campus can achieve the most movement in our spending goals. Please review those vendors and share this link with anyone in your unit who is responsible for purchasing or vendor selection: go.illinois.edu/BEPinfo.
For more information on BEP vendors, visit the Purchasing and Contract Management Office.
Please share this message within your unit as you deem appropriate. Thank you for using BEP and for prioritizing our commitment to fostering an inclusive, equitable and competitive business environment that will strengthen communities throughout the state of Illinois.
Sincerely,
Robert J. Jones
Chancellor