The Lab has developed an AI-powered chatbot to serve as a learning companion for small business owners trying to understand university procurement. This report examines the interaction of 160 unique users with the chatbot between March and July 2025 and the insights we gained into how entrepreneurs actually experience the journey from procurement confusion to clarity.

• Sustained Learning Journey Behavior: Across 408 total interactions from 160 users, users consistently engage in educational progressions, building understanding layer by layer from basic concepts to implementation-ready knowledge within single sessions.
• Exceptional User Engagement: With 2.5 interactions per user, our chatbot significantly exceeds industry benchmarks for informational chatbots (2.0-3.0 = "good" range), indicating high value delivery.
• Guided Learning Success: 68.9% of queries use embedded prompts, demonstrating effective user guidance while still allowing room for sophisticated custom questions (31.1%).

A nationwide survey of 101 procurement professionals from diverse institutions explored gaps between supplier diversity commitments and implementation, practical steps for progress, and ways diverse suppliers can access the higher education marketplace. Insights were further enriched through three focus groups with procurement experts.

• Commitment vs. Implementation: Institutions often fall short in turning supplier diversity commitments into actionable progress.
• Key Obstacles: Challenges include limited resources, identifying qualified suppliers, complex procurement processes, and reliance on existing vendors.
• Progress Through Strategy: Some institutions are expanding diverse supplier participation through strategic initiatives.
• Training Gaps: Awareness and training for procurement staff and stakeholders remain limited, hindering progress.
• Building Supplier Capacity: Positive experiences with diverse suppliers highlight opportunities to help them compete more effectively.

An analysis of 114 New England higher education institution websites revealed a significant lack of publicly available information about the procurement process -- creating an awareness deficit for small, local businesses.

• Small, local businesses often have difficulty learning how to look for opportunities to do business with colleges and universities.
• Most higher education websites provide no information about their procurement policies and procedures.
• There are a few examples of websites that show how small suppliers can navigate the procurement process.

Based on a survey of 359 small, local New England companies, this groundbreaking study highlights both the barriers and challenges faced by these companies in doing business with colleges and universities.

• Small, local suppliers often face what they perceive as insurmountable barriers in the higher education marketplace.
• They perceive a lack of awareness of contract opportunities as the top barrier to doing business with colleges and universities.
• Other barriers included a knowledge gap relating to an often complex procurement process, a lack of relationships with existing vendors, and limited business development capabilites.
• The institutional commitment to supplier diversification, however, presents small, local suppliers with opportunities to enter this market with adequate preparation and proven business development tactics.