In order to generate long-term institutional knowledge about a build-local strategy, put together an oversight committee with a consistent membership that meets quarterly to review and discuss performance against goals for inclusion in construction projects.  

Include all the key players 

• This committee should minimally include:
• The institution’s CFO
• A representative from the office of planning, design and construction
• A representative from the office of government relations
• A representative of community partnerships staff
• A representative from the local government office that handles diversity participation in construction

Review all projects at one quarterly meeting

At quarterly committee meetings, the general contractor for each project should present their most recent results in the format that you have negotiated. We recommend including basics like inclusion goals, actual performance, and the variance between them in terms of local and diversity participation in contracts and labor, but you may add reporting categories that support your strategy. Giving each contractor time to explain their performance – whether it exceeded or fell short of goals – is informative and important. 

Having all of your institution’s contractors on active projects report to the same committee at the same time allows the committee to compare management and performance decisions across construction projects. You may have one contractor claim difficulty identifying local suppliers and labor to explain suboptimal performance, while another developer may be exceeding goals while working in the exact same pool of labor and suppliers. This is a chance to validate reported information and share best practices from strong performers with those who may be struggling to meet goals. 

Reports from high-performing contractors will help you develop a sense of best practices; ask what they are doing to achieve participation goals, and use their numbers to hold the lower performers accountable. 

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