A Brief History of Vendor Outreach / CSULB Opportunities
CSULB held its first "Opportunities Workshop" in 1993 and has continued to hold the one-day business outreach workshop each year since then.
The program has grown from a CSULB-oriented program to a CSU system outreach program where suppliers may network with procurement officers from the Chancellor's Office and the sister campuses in Southern California.
The Opportunities Workshop is aimed primarily at small and disabled veteran businesses, as well as reaching potential "new" suppliers. The goal of the workshop is to educate suppliers on the procurement rules and requirements of doing business with the CSU – i.e. what needs to be done in order to do business with the University, and to show what business opportunities are available.
After a joint session which includes Small Business and DVBE presentations by the Office of the Chancellor and the Department of General Services, separate breakout sessions are held for suppliers who supply goods and suppliers who are construction contractors.
Procurement representative from CSULB and our sister campuses are introduced at the breakout sessions and are available at the networking session to discuss bidding opportunities on their individual campuses.