CUMU Conference 2019

Anchored in a shrinking, segregated, and deindustrializing city, the University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB) is surrounded by communities with systematically depressed health, economic, and social outcomes. As a highly specialized public institution, UMB spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year in relatively narrow spending categories that are intensely competitive, such as medical equipment, lab supplies, chemicals, and other technology. And this spending is done in a highly regulated and restrictive purchasing environment.

Despite these frustrating, but common challenges, how is UMB working to drive new revenue to small businesses owned by marginalized people in communities surrounding its campus? What spending strategies can be leveraged by both private and public institutions to improve economic opportunity in neighboring communities?