Voices from Participants

Organizations from the first and second Ones to Watch (OTW) cohorts shared some thoughts on their experiences with and the value of their participation in the Ones to Watch program. OTW is a collaborative initiative of the Commonwealth of Virginia, which selects small businesses for program participation, the department of Small Business Supplier Diversity, the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, and SPQA.

The comprehensive program provides participating organizations free training on how to conduct a Discovery (Baldrige based) self-evaluation of their business processes, support of an experienced mentor who works alongside the business to help navigate and complete program requirements; and a feedback report of strengths and opportunities for improvement with actionable comments. Program participants are also provided access to a network of professional services and resource providers tied to needs identified in the feedback report

Read about the experiences of several participating organizations, here.