Prince George's County hosts Procurement 360 to boost local contracting

Prince George's County staged a Procurement 360 session Jan 13 at the Innovation Station Business Incubator, 1801 McCormick Drive, Suite 450 in Largo, aiming to put local small businesses face to face with public-sector procurement officers and contracting leads. The mobile, sector-targeted program is run by the Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation and is designed to give attendees real-time contract leads and targeted learning about agency needs and procurement timelines.

The January installment featured representatives and opportunity briefings from major public-sector partners, with examples cited including PEPCO, BGE and WSSC Water. Sessions are organized around three core objectives summarized as "ALIGN, ENGAGE, WIN"—helping firms identify where contracts exist, meet decision-makers, and build the capacity to compete for awards. The event listing included registration and sponsorship information and resources for businesses seeking to pursue government contracting in the county.

For Prince George's businesses, the direct value is practical and immediate. Procurement 360 narrows the information gap between local vendors and large procurement shops, shortening the time firms spend tracking solicitations and learning agency-specific requirements. For minority-owned and small enterprises that often lack in-house capture teams, access to procurement officers and contracting leads can translate into faster responsiveness to solicitations and clearer timelines for bidding and performance. The sessions also create networking spillovers: companies that attend can discover subcontracting or teaming opportunities with larger bidders.

From a policy and market perspective, the program reflects a county-level strategy to expand participation in public contracting as a lever for local economic growth. By targeting sector-specific needs and bringing agency representatives into neighborhoods, the Economic Development Corporation aims to convert procurement spending into more visible local business activity. That can support local job retention and revenue growth for firms that win or sub-contract on public projects.

What this means day to day: small suppliers should expect more accessible briefings on upcoming agency procurements and a clearer view of procurement calendars. Firms that want to compete effectively should use events like Procurement 360 to gather agency contacts, ask about pre-bid qualifications, and follow up on registration or certification steps the county or agencies require.

The takeaway? Treat Procurement 360 as a working meeting, not a sales pitch. If you run a small or minority-owned business in Prince George's, use these sessions to collect contract leads, confirm timelines, and build relationships with procurement officers. Our two cents? Bring a focused capability statement, follow up quickly after the session, and track agency procurement calendars so those leads turn into real bids.