Primary Department: Economic Equity and Opportunity
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Tiko Reynolds-Hausman, Executive Director
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: N/A
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Transmittal
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Transmittal by the Department of Economic Equity & Opportunity of the Harris Hub Program Year 2 Evaluation Report.
end
Background and Discussion:
On November 15, 2022, the Commissioners Court approved the advertisement of an RFP for Harris Hub, an ARPA-funded small business technical assistance and accelerator grants program. The program focuses on funding community-based organizations with experience and expertise in providing hands-on, tailored technical assistance to small businesses with an emphasis on supporting businesses and entrepreneurs that face multiple barriers.
On June 6, 2023, Baker Ripley, ROADS Consulting, and Geocko, Inc. DBA FORWARD were awarded contracts as subrecipients to administer the Harris Hub program.
On March 14, 2023, Elite Research was awarded a contract to provide applied research, data analysis, and other services in pursuit of a comprehensive evaluation of the Harris Hub program under Job No. 210317. This subaward is funded through FLEX fund dollars as made available by ARPA funds.
This comprehensive evaluation provides a thorough assessment of program implementation in Year 2 and highlights success from various stakeholders’ perspectives. It also explores the value of the program, including impact stories describing the personal journeys of selected beneficiaries.
Expected Impact:
Acceptance of the Harris Hub Year 2 evaluation report will enable the Commissioners Court, stakeholders, and community members to review a comprehensive analysis of the program and understand the value of this strategic investment in Harris County.
Alternative Options:
N/A
County Strategic Plan Goal: 3. Make our economy more inclusive.
County Strategic Plan Objective: M: Ensure that Harris County remains the best place in the region to start and grow a business, with a focus on equitable economic growth.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): N/A
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): N/A
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): N/A
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan: N/A
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
11/15/2025 |
#270 |
Approved advertisement of an RFP for Harris Hub program (220392). |
|
3/14/2023 |
#11 |
Approved an order authorizing the expenditure of funds in the amount of $599,251 for a comprehensive program evaluation of Harris Hub, as a subaward of the agreement with Elite Research, LLC approved by Commissioners Court on March 22, 2022 under Job No. 210317. |
|
6/6/2023 |
#250 |
Approved the selection of and award to Harris Hub vendors BakerRipley, ROADS Consulting, and Geocko, Inc. DBA Forward to administer application and data platform for Harris Hub program. |
|
11/14/2023 |
#11 |
Amendment to an agreement with Geocko, Inc. DBA FORWARD to replace and update dollar amounts on a certain Exhibit for Harris Hub program for the period of June 6, 2023 - June 6, 2026, at no additional cost to the county. |
|
4/23/2024 |
#21 |
Approved a Data Use Agreement between Harris County, Geocko, Inc. DBA FORWARD, and Elite Research, LLC at no cost to the county. |
|
6/25/2024 |
#16 |
Amendment to an agreement with Geocko, Inc. DBA FORWARD to update the budget contained in Exhibit B (BAFO), the administrative fee, and transition the payment structure to milestone-based billing for Harris Hub program for the period of June 6, 2023 - June 5, 2026, with no increase in the total contract amount. |
|
12/19/2025 |
#7 |
Amendment to an agreement with Roads Consulting Group LLC for Harris Hub program for the extended period of June 7, 2026 - October 31, 2026, at no cost to the county. |
|
1/9/2025 |
#382 |
Amendment to an agreement with BakerRipley for Harris Hub program for the extended period of June 7, 2026 - October 31, 2026, at no cost to the County. |
Location:
Address (if applicable): N/A
Precinct(s): Countywide
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Service Name |
Program Planning & Innovation |
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Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
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Recurring Expenses |
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Funding Sources |
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Total Existing Budget |
$ |
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$ |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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Total Additional Budget Request |
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Total Funding Sources |
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Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
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No. of Grant Years |
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Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
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Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
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$ |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new Position Control Numbers (PCN)s) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
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Additional Positions Request |
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Total Personnel |
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County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
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CAO Reviewer Name and Title |
N/A |
CAO Review Completion Date |
Click or tap to enter a date. |
Anticipated Court Date: 11/13/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): N/A Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department:
Tiko Reynolds-Hausman, Executive Director, Economic Equity & Opportunity;
Jie Wu, Director of Program Planning & Innovation Division, Economic Equity & Opportunity;
Dr. Paula Pineda, Assistant Director of ARPA Initiatives, Economic Equity & Opportunity
Attachments (if applicable): Harris Hub Program Year 2 Evaluation Report