Clark Aims to Increase Small Business Capacity Nationwide

Bethesda, Md. – This fall, Clark has expanded its Strategic Partnership Program and is offering the intensive executive MBA-style class in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Southern California, and, for the first time, in Boston and Chicago. More than 110 participants, whose businesses include construction trades and other industries, are taking part in the program.

"Our commitment to small businesses goes beyond any single project or contracting goal," said Robert Moser, President and CEO of Clark Construction Group. "We developed the Strategic Partnership Program as a means to enhance these entrepreneurs' business acumen and increase their firm's capacity to take on larger, more complex projects. This program is a key element in our holistic effort to support small businesses on a national scale."

The Strategic Partnership Program's curriculum was created in conjunction with Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business and consists of weekly courses, supplemented by experiential learning in the field. Clark employees and industry experts work with program participants to review the fundamentals of project management, estimating, purchasing, basic accounting and financial reporting, bonding and insurance requirements, and how to read and understand contracts. The program culminates with a capstone project requiring groups of students to develop and submit a small business plan and present it to a team of Clark executives.

Program participants work with Clark's Subcontractor Development Group and are encouraged to bid on company projects and to team with larger firms in their division to gain additional mentoring and foster continued growth and development.

Since its inception in 2006, 340 small business owners have graduated from the Strategic Partnership Program. Their companies have been awarded 498 contracts on Clark projects totaling $664 million.

For more information about the Strategic Partnership Program, visit click here.