Metropolitan Council Underutilized Business Program (MCUB)

The Metropolitan Council Underutilized Business (MCUB) program is designed to engage and promote businesses that are vying for Met Council projects and procurements and are owned and operated by women; Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, and Asian people; veterans; and people with disabilities.

Quick links:

• Qualifying as MCUB
• Applying for DBE, Targeted Group or CERT Certification
• Directory of MCUB Firms
• MCUB Participation Contract Goals for Locally Funded Projects
• MCUB Procurement Programs 
• Contact Us

MCUB firms can do business with the Met Council in two ways:

• Through procurements, selling products or services to the Met Council
• Through projects, as a prime or subcontractor working on the Met Council's projects

We have established these agency-wide MCUB goals:

• At least 10% of all P-Card purchases
• At least 14% of total commitments for construction and contracted services

Qualifying as an MCUB

In order to qualify as an MCUB firm, the business must be Minnesota-based and have an active certification from one of these programs:

• Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) (MNUCP)
• Targeted Group Business (TGB) (Minnesota Department of Administration)
• CERT-WBE and MBE businesses only (City of Saint Paul)
• Veteran or Service Disabled owned business (Minnesota Department of Administration)

Applying for DBE, Targeted Group or CERT certification

The Minnesota Department of Administration has created a one-stop-shop certification portal for businesses that wish to submit an application for any of the three certifications listed above.

Directory of MCUB firms

Firms with these active certifications are listed in the MCUB Directory, which is updated monthly.

MCUB participation contract goals for locally funded projects

Project contracts will include MCUB participation goals if they meet the following three requirements:

• The project is locally funded.

• There are opportunities for subcontractors.

• The contract value is estimated at or above $175,000.

Staff in our Office of Equity and Equal Opportunity set contract-specific goals for MCUB participation on projects meeting the requirements listed above. Bidders/proposers for projects with an assigned MCUB goal must either meet the MCUB goal percentage or submit good faith efforts if they are not successful at meeting the assigned goal. The Met Council will not entertain requests to waive the requirements to meet the goal or submit good faith efforts. Bidders/proposers can review additional guidance on MCUB Good Faith Efforts (PDF).

MCUB procurement programs

We have MCUB procurement programs called MCUB Direct, Select, and Preference, which are intended to reduce barriers and increase utilization of MCUB firms that do business with us.

MCUB Direct: The Met Council may award a contract for goods, services, or construction directly to a small, targeted group business designated under Minnesota Statutes section 16C.16, or veteran-owned small business designated under Minnesota States section 16C.16, when the total contract value is equal to or less than $100,000.

MCUB Select: The Met Council will apply a sheltered market solicitation process for a procurement for goods, services, or construction when at least three (3) small, targeted group businesses designated under Minnesota Statues section 16C.16, or three (3) veteran-owned small businesses designated under Minnesota Statues section 16C.16 are likely to respond to a solicitation.

MCUB Preference: The Met Council will provide a 12% evaluation preference for a procurement for goods, services, or construction solicited via request for competitive quote, invitation for bid, or proposals to a small, targeted group business designated under Minnesota Statutes section 16C.16, or veteran-owned small business designated under Minnesota Statutes section 16C.16.