Implementation of Pilot Community-Based Enhanced Services (CBES) Initiative in Baltimore, Maryland, and the Identification of Other Markets To Be Considered as Alternatives to the Minority Business Development Center Program for the Delivery of Management and Technical Assistance to Minority Firms and Entrepreneurs

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Minority Business Development Agency

[Docket No. 960214029-6029-01]

RIN 0640-XX01

Implementation of Pilot Community-Based Enhanced Services (CBES)

Initiative in Baltimore, Maryland, and the Identification of Other

Markets To Be Considered as Alternatives to the Minority Business

Development Center Program for the Delivery of Management and Technical

Assistance to Minority Firms and Entrepreneurs

AGENCY: Minority Business Development Agency, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) will begin to

implement, on a pilot basis, its Community-Based Enhanced Services

(CBES) Initiative in the Baltimore, Maryland Metropolitan Statistical

Area (MSA) as an alternative to the Minority Business Development

Center (BDC) Program. Under the CBES Initiative, the Department of

Commerce has made a financial assistance award to the Empower Baltimore

Management Corporation (Empower Baltimore), a Maryland non-profit

corporation, to assist Empower Baltimore in establishing a

comprehensive minority business assistance program. Through the efforts

of Empower Baltimore, the services provided under this award shall be

coordinated with the activities of Baltimore's Federal Empowerment

Zone. Should the Baltimore pilot prove successful, MBDA has also

identified other markets which will be assessed to determine the

feasibility of providing services under a fully developed and

implemented CBES Initiative.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Paul R. Webber, IV, Assistant

Director for Operations, Minority Business Development Agency, U.S.

Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. 20230. (202) 482-3237.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CBES Initiative is a community-based

strategy that seeks to identify joint venture partners with whom MBDA

can collaborate in order to provide an enhanced level of services to

minority firms. The purpose of the CBES program is to enable MBDA to

enter into strategic alliances, coordinating the delivery of its

services with those of other entities capable of assisting in minority

and/or small and disadvantaged business development in a particular

market. The collaborative approach of CBES is intended to maximize

opportunities for MBDA to leverage its funding with state, local,

public, non-profit and private funding in order to produce the most

effective coordinated services available to the local service area.

Under this pilot CBES Initiative, Empower Baltimore has been

selected as the recipient of federal funding. Empower Baltimore is the

non-profit corporation established by the City of Baltimore to

coordinate all activities arising from Baltimore's designation as a

Federal Empowerment Zone, and to administer all funds earmarked for the

Zone. Services to the minority business community under this award will

be provided by the Council for Economic and Business Opportunity, Inc.

(CEBO), a Maryland-based non-profit organization with over twenty-seven

(27) years of experience in minority business development. The total

annual cost of this project will be $575,000. The federal share will be

$250,000 per year. The recipient's non-federal share, in the amount of

$325,000, will be derived from client fees, in-kind contributions, and

substantial additional funding awarded to CEBO by the City of

Baltimore, Baltimore County and other non-federal sources.

The terms of this award require CEBO to continue to provide general

management and technical assistance and other business assistance to

minority firms and entrepreneurs in the Baltimore MSA, using its

existing non-federal funding. The proceeds from the federal financial

assistance will be used to provide specialized and enhanced management

and technical assistance in the areas of 1) finance and capital

development, and 2) marketing and procurement. As the singular

organization charged with managing Baltimore's Empowerment Zone,

Empower Baltimore brings a unique capability to coordinate all of the

economic development activity within the Zone, and to insure that

MBDA's goals for minority business development are achieved.

The selection of CEBO as subcontractor was based on a comprehensive

market assessment prepared by the research firm of D.J. Miller &

Associates, Inc., an independent consultant under contract with MBDA.

The purpose of the assessment was to examine the business environment

for minority firms in the Baltimore, MSA, identifying the particular

needs of local minority firms, and to identify resource providers and

service organizations providing assistance to the minority business

community. Since the Baltimore pilot is being used to test the CBES

Initiative, MBDA proceeded to conduct an internal review of the

organizations listed in the report to determine which one would be best

able to accomplish the program goals of the award, based on existing

capabilities and funding levels. CEBO was identified from this review

as the most suitable provider. Should the Baltimore pilot prove to be

successful and the CBES Initiative expanded to other markets, the

Department of Commerce will make future awards on a competitive basis.

Statement of Policy:

The CBES Initiative is considered to be an alternative service

delivery program which could replace the BDC Program in certain

selected markets. The Empower Baltimore Award will be

[[Page 8920]]

used to test the feasibility of the Initiative. One of the key benefits

of the CBES approach is that it enables MBDA, with the participation of

joint venture partners, to deliver management and technical assistance

services that are specifically tailored for a given minority business

community.

In its initial stage, markets targeted for CBES will undergo a

comprehensive community assessment, which will be used to determine the

feasibility of providing service to those markets under the CBES

Initiative and, if appropriate, to design a coordinated funding and

service delivery strategy for its subject market, including the

identification of community-based organizations and service providers

who, by virtue of their resources and expertise, would constitute

potential joint venture partners. Subject to funding availability, and

shifts in the Agency's program goals with respect to specific markets,

MBDA expects to assess the following locations to determine the

feasibility of providing service to these markets under the CBES

Initiative: Anaheim/Santa Ana, California; Los Angeles, California;

Oxnard, California; San Francisco, California; Jacksonville, Florida;

Orlando, Florida; Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia;

Chicago, Illinois; Shreveport, Louisiana; Boston, Massachusetts; Las

Vegas, Nevada; Newark/Jersey City, New Jersey; Bronx, New York;

Charlotte, North Carolina; Cincinnati, Ohio; Brownsville, Texas; Corpus

Christi, Texas; El Paso, Texas; Houston, Texas; Laredo, Texas; McAllen,

Texas; San Antonio, Texas; and Washington, D.C.

The comprehensive market assessments of these locations will also

be prepared by the research firm of D.J. Miller & Associates, Inc.

These assessments will result in written final reports which will then

be used to determine the optimum service delivery strategy for each

market. Organizations interested in being included in the market

assessments should contact the further information contact listed at

the beginning of this notice.

MBDA will contribute federal funding to selected joint ventures,

and its best practices experience and technical support from its

headquarters and regional offices. Recipients of direct federal funding

will be limited to non-profit organizations, state, local or Indian

tribal entities. State and local governments, as well as private

funding sources, will be attracted to the joint venture because the

pooling effect of funds for a common mission will allow all partners to

realize a greater return on investment. Furthermore, the delivery of

enhanced services through community-based partners decreases the

dependency of the project on any single funding source, and facilitates

the development of the project as a long-term resource in its local

market.

Individual notices, which will solicit applications for Federal

funding on a competitive basis, will be published in the Federal

Register as new markets are identified for inclusion in the CBES

Initiative.

Authority:

15 U.S.C. Sec. 1512 and Executive Order 11625.

Dated: February 28, 1996.

Joan Parrott-Fonseca,

Director, Minority Business Development Agency.

[FR Doc. 96-5260 Filed 3-5-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-21-P