Water Equity Clearinghouse

Corvias

Nationwide
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

Corvias is a private company that partners with government agencies and higher education institutions to build more dynamic and resilient communities through effectively managing public resources, local job creation, and financial strength and sustainability. Corvias works with all levels of government, as well as military partners, and has partnerships with academic institutions in Michigan, Washington DC, and Georgia.

Efforts to Advance Water Equity

An example of one of Corvias’ partnerships is the Clean Water Partnership (CWP), with Prince George’s County’s Department of the Environment. The county leadership created CWP to transform a regulatory mandate from a liability into an opportunity to achieve compliance while creating sustainable economic and community impact. Under the partnership, Corvias and Prince George’s County committed to creating benefits for the local economy through a range of performance requirements including subcontractor utilization, local subcontractor development and mentorship, workforce utilization and development, and community outreach.

As opposed to a traditional procurement model, the public-private partnership shifts many of the program’s risks to Corvias, while the county retains ownership over the program and ensures accountability to community interests. One of the performance requirements established by the CWP is to utilize county-based minority- and women-owned businesses for 30 to 40 percent of the total project scope, with 50 percent of that participation being county-based small businesses. The contract includes economic incentives for Corvias to remove barriers to entry for small businesses, offer skills training, and use these firms on subcontracts. In the first option phase of the agreement, CWP is exceeding these social economic performance metrics, with 77 percent participation coming from county-based businesses, small businesses, and minority-owned businesses, and 95 percent of that participation from county-based small businesses.