Tag: anchors

Local procurement means big impact: The power of the Anchor Institution Collaborative

By Lindsey Silvia,

Collaboration, one of San Diego’s greatest strengths, is at the core of the EDC’s Anchor Institution Collaborative: A partnership between the region’s largest buyers committed to using their combined purchasing power to strengthen our local economy.

Launched in 2020, the Anchor Institution Collaborative brings together San Diego universities, hospitals, utilities, and large companies around a shared goal of supporting small, local, and diverse businesses to drive inclusive economic growth.

Working with and through our largest buyers

EDC’s role has always been to work with and through large employers and entities that are physically bound to our region to create change that reaches across the business ecosystem. Local anchors—including CSU San Marcos, the San Diego International Airport, Dexcom, and others—have a powerful influence on how money and opportunity flow through the region.

These anchors drive real impact in San Diego, by buying locally and contracting with small and diverse suppliers. In 2024 alone, seven regional anchors we surveyed spent a combined $763 million with local diverse suppliers and $245 million with regional small businesses, representing 16 percent and five percent respectively of their total combined spend.

Looking ahead to 2026, the collaborative will continue to help anchor institutions identify strategic opportunities to expand local impact, through shared learning, goal-setting, and data collection. By continuing to align spend toward local, small, and diverse businesses, anchors can help create a stronger, more resilient economy for all of San Diego.

Investing in San Diego’s small business economy

Small businesses remain the backbone of San Diego’s economy, now accounting for 99 percent of all businesses and 59 percent of all jobs in the region. These companies create jobs, spark innovation, and bring character to every community.

While many small businesses struggle to compete with larger firms for contracts and cannot always offer comparable wages, securing a major contract from a large buyer is often a major turning point that enables these businesses to grow local quality jobs and better weather economic downturns. Our entire region prospers when small businesses can engage, compete, and win these contracts.

While spending toward small business represents only a portion of total anchor spending in San Diego, it signals a strengthening commitment among major employers to partner locally as global supply chains continue to shift. Of the data reported by the seven anchors surveyed, the share of spending directed toward small businesses increased by an average of 19 percent from 2023 to 2024. Though significant opportunities remain for anchors to further expand local procurement (particularly with small businesses), this growth reflects a meaningful deepening of their investment in the regional economy.

Now is a prime opportunity for small businesses to take advantage of this shift—anchor institutions are continuing to evolve their supply chain strategies to include supplier diversity initiatives, streamlined procurement processes, and new tools to connect with small vendors. For example, SDG&E’s Level Up webinar series is a collaboration with the San Diego and Imperial Small Business Development Center Network to help small businesses to gain the tools and confidence to compete for big contract opportunities. And UC San Diego’s Small Business First program works to direct contracts between $10,000 and $250,000 to certified small and diverse businesses when no large sourcing agreement exists. These efforts not only expand opportunities for small businesses but also maximize our region’s shared prosperity.

What’s next for the Anchor Institution Collaborative

In the coming year, EDC will support both big buyers and small businesses through continued partnership among the Anchor Institution Collaborative.

EDC will continue to help large buyers in the Collaborative expand contracting opportunities through shared learning, goal-setting, and data collection.

In turn, the Collaborative will invest in small business growth and job creation by developing a playbook for vendors, creating a guide outlining the requirements for doing business with anchor institutions, and exploring a fund to help small businesses overcome financial barriers such as insurance premiums, certifications, and compliance costs.

The goal is simple: To make San Diego a place where large institutions and small businesses grow together—where every purchasing decision contributes to a more inclusive, resilient, and thriving local economy.

A collective effort

Economic development doesn’t happen in isolation. It requires inclusion and collaboration across sectors, shared accountability, and a long-term commitment to the region’s people and businesses. The Anchor Institution Collaborative is proof that when our largest employers work together to invest in and lift the smallest, we can collectively strengthen our local supply chain and build economic resilience.

As we look to the year ahead, EDC invites big buyers—whether you represent a healthcare system or a homegrown company, a sports team or an education institution—to join the Collaborative and share resources, expand opportunity, and work together to ensure that San Diego’s growth benefits us all.

Interested in leveraging your company’s spend to support San Diego small businesses?

GET INVOLVED

To learn more, contact:

Lindsey Silvia
Lindsey Silvia

Sr. Manager, Economic Development

Inclusive Growth Spotlight: Cultura

By San Diego Regional EDC,

To celebrate and inspire the efforts of regional employers, EDC’s Inclusive Growth blog series highlights San Diego companies helping to drive progress on the 2030 Inclusive Growth goals.

Launched in 2018 and informed by a partnership with the Brookings Institution, the Inclusive Growth initiative sets 2030 goals for San Diego related to increasing: 1) the supply of talent, 2) quality small business jobs, and 3) newly thriving households. The goals inform San Diego’s economic priorities and make the business case for economic inclusion.

Small businesses are the backbone of the economy

San Diego small businesses represent 98 percent of all firms and account for 59 percent of total employment, outpacing the national average. In 2023, San Diego County ranked third for most new business formations in California. Despite significant contributions, small businesses struggle to keep up in an increasingly expensive market.

With a goal to add 50,000 new quality jobs in small businesses by the end of the decade, EDC data shows a surge in progress after years of steady recovery. In 2023, the region added 48,481 new quality* small business jobs, nearly surpassing the goal.

While the significant rise in quality jobs is reassuring, small businesses still struggle to compete. Employer-led efforts to support small businesses and increase the number of quality jobs are critical to the future of the region’s economy, and Cultura is among the local companies contributing to the progress.

How Cultura is moving the needle

Cultura is a San Diego small business specialized in a broad range of furniture solutions tailored to fit the needs of its clients. Since 2009, Cultura has partnered with more than 1,250 companies to build spaces that support their businesses, people, and ultimately culture. Whether it’s designing inviting lobbies, creating flexible workspaces, or setting up collaborative meeting rooms, Cultura excels at transforming environments that foster both productivity and well-being.

As a diverse, women-led company, Cultura plays a critical role in the region’s economic ecosystem. By providing tailored solutions for office environments, Cultura directly supports the infrastructure needs of San Diego companies while also adding to the region’s number quality jobs. Cultura also prioritizes small, local businesses in its internal vendor selection process, further strengthening the local economy.

When local firms choose to work with local vendors, they are not only fulfilling their needs but also investing back into the regional economy. This practice helps keep procurement dollars circulating locally, promoting quality jobs and fostering a more resilient local economy. In fact, EDC has found that if local anchors shifted just one percent of existing spend to local, small, or diverse suppliers, San Diego would see millions of dollars in economic impact and thousands of jobs.

The synergy between large anchor institutions, smaller businesses, and local vendors like Cultura creates a powerful multiplier effect that fuels job growth, drives innovation, and sustains a thriving economy.

Cultura’s mission to create the best work environments begins internally. Offering flexibility in the work schedule, competitive salaries, matching retirement contributions, annual bonuses, and a unique work environment, the company demonstrates how small businesses can contribute to Inclusive Growth progress.

Join the movement

Progress on EDC’s 2030 Inclusive Growth goals is only achievable with and through the region’s employers who must be committed to scaling innovative and intentional solutions in San Diego. Companies like Cultura are helping to collectively pave the way toward a more inclusive regional economy. Join us:

*A quality small business job is defined as one provided by a company with fewer than 100 employees and that pays at least $23 per hour and provides healthcare benefits.

To get involved in EDC’s work, contact:

Bree Burris
Bree Burris

Sr. Director, Communications & Community Engagement