The PennDOT Mentor Protégé Program program empowers prime consultants (DB or Non-DB) as mentors to transfer knowledge through the project development process on active projects to help DB firms become self-sufficient and long-term business partners and grow team relationships to include more underrepresented firms to improve participation and eradicate barriers to opportunities.
Certified DBs desiring to participate in PennDOT’s highway construction program are eligible to receive all DB Supportive Services Center services at no charge.
To be eligible, you must be a Diverse Business (DB) is a for-profit small business that is:
A disadvantaged business, minority-owned or women-owned business, or service-disabled veteran-owned or veteran-owned small business has been certified by a third-party certifying organization and is both an ECMS Business Partner and pre-qualified if required.
Certifying Organization:
We can help you navigate the full PennDOT process from Business Partner Registration, Contractor Prequalification & Consultant Qualification all the way through to bidding on and executing a contract.
Certified DBs desiring to participate in PennDOT’shighway construction program can receive all DB Supportive Services Center services at no charge. Download our guide to learn more about participation.
Participation is voluntary. ProRank and PenDot will assist Protégés who cannot find a Mentor. To the extent possible, the MPP will either match Mentor and Protégé businesses of the same field, discipline, and geographic region or will allow the Mentor to pair with a Protégé of their choosing. Whether established independently or with BDISBO’s assistance, a pairing will not create a contract between the Mentor and Protégé.
Once a Mentor and Protégé are matched and agree to enter into the MPP, they will enter into a “Mentor Protégé Program Agreement” (MPP Agreement), which will define the relationship between the Mentor and Protégé firms and any developmental goals identified by the participants.
The mentor and protégé firms will partner to establish protégé firms as experienced vendors for the Commonwealth. Together, they will explore opportunities to provide training and development, share knowledge, and collaboratively review the protégé’s work product.
As an example, a Consultant Mentor / Protégé team pursuing a project would go through the following steps together in the Statement of Interest (SOI)process: