Commonly used terms: 

Bid – an offer to do work at a stated price.

Bidder – a business which has submitted a bid to provide goods or services to the County.

Business – any business, regardless of legal status, including persons, corporations, partnerships, joint stock companies, joint ventures and any other private legal entity.

Contract – a mutually binding legal relationship or any modification thereof obligating the seller to furnish equipment, materials or services, including construction, and obligating the buyer to pay for them.

Contractor – a business which has a contract with the County to provide goods or services.

County – Durham County, North Carolina.

County Manager – Durham County Manager.

DBE – disadvantaged business enterprise.

Department Heads – any Durham County Department Head, such as the Director.

Designee – a person who has been designated to represent another person.

Goods – apparatus, supplies, materials, and equipment.

Historically Underutilized Business – a business which meets the conditions specified in G.S. 143-128.4(a), also referred to as a minority-owned business enterprise or MWBE, where:

1. In which at least fifty‑one percent (51%) controlled and managed by one or more citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States, and must be members of one or more of the following groups: (1) Black, (2) Hispanic, (3) Asian American, (4) American Indian, (5) Female, (6) Disabled and (7) Disadvantaged; or in the case of a corporation, in which at least fifty‑one percent (51%) of the stock is owned by one or more of the above mentioned groups; and
2. Of which the management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more owners of the business who are members of at least one of the groups set forth in the groups above.

 HUB Certification – the process by which a vendor’s eligibility as a historically underutilized business is determined through the North Carolina Department of Administration. 

Joint Venture – an association of two or more businesses to carry out a single enterprise for profit, for which purpose they combine their property, capital, efforts, skills, or knowledge.

Limited Liability Corporation – a limited liability company is a business entity created by statute. It has some characteristics of a partnership and some characteristics of a corporation. 

MBE – minority business enterprise.

MWBE - minority and/or women-owned business enterprise.

Minority - an individual who is a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States and who is:

1. African American or Black - A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa; or
2. Asian American - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, Asia, Indian continent, or Pacific Islands or;
3. Hispanic American - A person of Spanish or Portuguese culture having origins in Mexico, South or Central America, or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race; or
4. Native American - A person having origins in any of the original Indian peoples of North America; or
5. Female.

Procurement Manager – Durham County Procurement Manager in the Purchasing Division of the Finance Department.

Professional Services - construction services such as architecture, engineering, or surveying.

Services – non-construction services.

Socially/Economically Disadvantaged Individual - any individual who is a citizen (or lawfully admitted permanent resident) of the United States and who has been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias within American society because of their identity as a member of a group and without regard to their individual qualities.

Stakeholder – a person with an interest or concern in something, especially a business.

Subcontractor - any business contracting with a contractor to provide goods and/or services in fulfillment of the contractor's obligations arising from a contract with the County.

Supplier Diversity – a business strategy that aims to strategically increase equity and inclusion in procuring goods and services. The Supplier Diversity team at Durham County is housed in the County Manager’s Office.

WBE - woman-owned business enterprise.