HUB & Small Business Programs

Program Overview

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston’s (UTHSC-H) HUB and Small  Business Program is fully committed to the Good Faith Effort to enhance the opportunity of  HUBs and Small Businesses participating in the State and Federal marketplace.  UTHSC-H’s  HUB and Small Business Program was established to identify, educate and assist HUBs and Small Businesses in participating in the purchasing process thereby increasing the number and value of contracts and purchases awarded to minority, woman-owned and small businesses.

Supporting HUBs and Small Businesses is the responsibility of everyone with the authority to obligate funds at UTHSC-H. Please remember to use HUBs and Small Businesses in your day-to-day purchasing decisions. Working together, we can be successful in our efforts to be good community partners. Thank you for your cooperation and recognition of this important effort.

HUB Vendor Profile

Upcoming Events

Useful Tools


The HUB and Small Business Program is pleased to announce the introduction of the new HUB Vendor Locator. The new HUB Vendor Locator allows you to search for a HUB vendor by category or with a keyword search by the vendor name or product/service. This database will be updated on a regular basis to ensure the information is always current and accurate. Please note in order to perform a keyword search the “Submit” button needs to be pressed. Pressing the “Enter” key after entering a keyword will not perform a search.

Anyone with an ldap user name and password can run a report of HUB spending for your department or groups of departments for any time period within the last 15 months. The report is based on data in the non-salary spending table. The table gets updated on the first day of every month with the most recent fifteen months information.

Frequently Asked Question

What is a HUB vendor?

How does my company become HUB certified?

What are the benefits of HUB certification?

What is a Mentor Protégé program and how can I enroll?

HUB Subcontracting Frequently Asked Questions and Common Errors:

What is a Vendor Identification (VID) Number and where can I get one?

My business is certified as a Historically Underutilized Business (HUB). Must I complete the HSP?

I am not subcontracting. Do I have to complete the HSP?

I am a manufacturer and have several distributors that are HUB certified and some that are not. How do I reflect this in the HSP?


Are there detailed instructions on how to complete the HSP?





What is a HUB vendor?

A Historically Underutilized Business (HUB)

• is at least 51% owned by an Asian Pacific American, Black American, Hispanic American, Native American and/or American woman,
  is an entity with its principal place of business in Texas, and
• has an owner residing in Texas with a proportionate interest that actively participates in the control, operations and management of the entity’s affairs.

How does my company become HUB certified?

To obtain State of Texas HUB certification, complete and submit a HUB Certification Application.
Allow 30 – 45 days after receipt to process the application. 

The following entities offer reciprocity with the State of Texas when you have their certification and meet State certification requirements:

• Central & South Texas Minority Business Council
  
  City of Austin
  
  City Houston
  
  Dallas/Fort Worth Minority Business Dev. Council
  
  El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
  
  Houston Minority Business Council
  
  South Central Texas Regional Certification Agency
  
  Texas Department of Transportation
  
  Women’s Business Council - Southwest
  
  Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance

What are the benefits of HUB certification?


In accordance with Texas Administrative Code §111.13, each state agency shall make a good faith effort to utilize HUBs in contracts for construction, services (including professional and consulting services) and commodities purchases.

• HUB certification is free of charge.
  
  

  
  
• Certification is valid for 4 years, provided that business continues to meet the eligibility requirements*.
  
  
• Business is registered on the Comptroller’s web-based HUB Directory. State agencies use the HUB Directory in conjunction with the Comptroller’s Centralized Master Bidders List (CMBL) to solicit bids from certified HUBs for state purchasing and public works contracts. Prime contractors also use the HUB Directory to identify HUBs to whom they will send notification of their subcontracting opportunities.
  
  
• Increased exposure to the general public, as well as, other entities that have a supplier diversity program and are searching for minority and woman-owned businesses.
  
  
• Certification is valid for 4 years, provided that business continues to meet the eligibility requirements*.
  
  

*Note: Vendors may also receive HUB certification by way of a certification memorandum of agreement the Statewide HUB Program has entered into with other local governments or nonprofit organizations. (see above)



What is a Mentor Protégé program and how can I enroll?

The State of Texas Mentor Protégé Program is designed to foster long-term relationships between prime contractors and Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBs). The objective of the Mentor Protégé Program is to provide professional guidance and support to the protégé (HUB) in order to facilitate their growth and development and increase HUB contracts and subcontracts with the State of Texas.

Participation the program requires the protégé be State of Texas HUB certified and the Mentor Protégé Agreement be sponsored by a state agency.


The following criteria may be considered for Mentor participation by state agencies:

• Registration with the State of Texas Centralized Master Bidders List,
• Previous mentoring experience and prior work history,
  
  
• Ability to provide developmental guidance in areas identified by the protégé, and
  
  
• "Good Standing" in doing business with the State of Texas.
  
  
  
  

The following criteria may be considered for Protégé participation by state agencies:

• Eligibility and willingness to obtain HUB certification under the State of Texas HUB Program (Protégé must be certified as a HUB prior to TPASS listing the Mentor Protégé Agreement on the official list),
  
  
  
• Business in operation for at least one year,
  
  
  
• Desire to participate with a mentoring firm,
  
  
  
• Ability to identify the type of guidance needed for business development, and
  
  
  
• "Good Standing" in doing business with the State of Texas.

To apply, the prospective mentor and protégé must complete the application and submit to Nina Lahasky, HUB Manager.



Mentor Protégé Application

UTHSC-H’s currently sponsors the following mentor protégé relationship:

Mentor: The Trevino Group            Protégé:  Caprock Electric



HUB Subcontracting Frequently Asked Questions and Common Errors:

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a Vendor Identification (VID) Number and where can I get one?
• A VID number is issued by the Comptroller’s office to every vendor who does business with the state of Texas. Typically, the unique VID number is based on your business’s federal Employer Identification Number (EIN).
  
  
  
• If you have not done business with the state before and do not have a VID, please provide your EIN in areas that ask for the VID.
  
  
  
• If you do not have an EIN number, please contact the IRS and apply for one by telephone at (800) 829-4933 or online at https://sa2.www4.irs.gov/modiein/individual/index.
  
  
  
  
2. My business is certified as a Historically Underutilized Business (HUB). Must I complete the HSP?
• Yes. Certification as a HUB does not exclude HUBs from responding to solicitations as prime contractors and therefore does not exempt a HUB-certified business from completing the HSP and making a good faith effort to contact other HUBs to notify them of subcontracting opportunities.
  
  
  
  
3. I am not subcontracting. Do I have to complete the HSP?
• Yes. All respondents must complete the HSP. If you will not be subcontracting, complete only the necessary sections, including Section Nine, which asks for a detailed explanation of how you will meet contract expectations using your own resources.
  
  
  
  
  
4. I am a manufacturer and have several distributors that are HUB certified and some that are not. How do I reflect this in the HSP?
• If you do not have a Mentor/Protégé agreement with your HUB distributors, you must still make a good faith effort to contact three HUBs to notify them of subcontracting opportunities as required in Section Six of the HSP. The HUB vendors you contact can be HUBs that you currently use to distribute your goods.
  
  
  
• List all distributors you may use in Section Eight of the HSP. If the list exceeds two, include an attachment in the same format that continues the list.
  
  
  
• For all non-HUB distributors, provide written justification of your selection process as requested in Section Eight.
  
  
  
5. Are there detailed instructions on how to complete the HSP?
   
• Yes. You can view detailed instructions on how to complete the HSP
  in three audio-visual formats (Windows Media, QuickTime, and Macromedia Flash) or view instructions in a text transcript (.rtf file, 160K).

Common Errors

1. Affirmations provided in lieu of descriptive language in Section Nine of the HSP
• It is not sufficient to simply affirm that you will complete the contractual obligations using your own resources. You must describe how you will do this using your own equipment, supplies, materials and/or employees.
  
  
2. Failure to make good faith effort
• You must contact at least three HUBs per subcontracting opportunity that you identify in your HSP. You are required to document that HUB vendors were contacted and submit the supporting documentation with your HSP. This documentation can include phone logs, e-mails, faxes, etc

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