WASHINGTON — Competitiveness is the theme for this year’s National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Week Conference hosted by the White House Initiative on HBCUs.
Centering around the theme “HBCU Competitiveness: Aligning Institutional Missions With America’s Priorities,” presidents and representatives from the nation’s HBCUs, policymakers and stakeholders had the opportunity to learn about federal agency opportunities, partnerships and research opportunities, innovation development, workforce development and more in order to prepare HBCUs, their students and faculty to compete nationally and internationally.
“U.S. competitiveness attaches to the best opportunities our nation has to offer,” said Johnathan M. Holifield, executive director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs, in opening remarks. “The arch of U.S. competitiveness is long, but it bends towards HBCU competitiveness.”
In a breakout session on establishing and leveraging public-private partnerships, panelists spoke about how HBCUs can secure contracts with industry and government partners, build research capacity for economic development and participate in several opportunities for institutions’ faculty and students to work with federal and independent agencies and organizations.
Dr. Legand L. Burge Jr., president of LLBurge and Associates, LLC, gave a brief overview of applying for contracts, which include elements such as a proprietary information agreement; a global memorandum of understanding; teaming agreements; a statement of work; and an understanding of cost orders, among other components.
Drafting this institutional “resume,” HBCUs should include in their contract proposals the resources they have to offer, existing competencies and other emerging capabilities, Burge said.
Darold L. Hamlin, president and executive director of Emerging Technology Consortium, acknowledged that the number of federal contracts is going down, but that grant awards are rising.
