Richmond, VA - The City of Richmond is proud to announce the launch of a new dashboard to improve transparency of the City's procurement functions. The dashboard, which published today on rva.gov, is meant to offer clear, accessible insights into the City's stewardship of public funds, and is available to residents, media partners, community organizations, and businesses alike. Councilmember Kenya Gibson's recently introduced ORD. 2025-211, which requires increased public access to procurement data, provided the impetus for the new dashboard.

"This is about building accountability and trust," said Mayor Danny Avula. "When Richmonders can see how we are using their hard-earned dollars to reinvest into their communities, it strengthens confidence in our government and helps us all to feel more connected to the work of serving our community."

The dashboard consolidates links to various preexisting, city-managed data sources which provide up-to-date insights into City contracts, bids (successful or otherwise), requests for proposals, suppliers, and more.

These data sources, including the RVA Open Data Portal, the Minority Business Development Vendor Registry, and OpenGov, are critical to improving trust, creating equal opportunity, and building accountability.

"Transparency is central to the work of the Avula administration," said Chief Administrative Officer Odie Donald II. "The Administration and City Council are united in a commitment to transparency, which only happens with the leadership of our partners in City Council. Their vision for a more transparent procurement process is in lockstep with our own and I am so thankful for their work, particularly that of Councilmember Kenya Gibson, in advocating for these solutions."

"The residents of Richmond deserve to know exactly how their money is being spent by the City. To that end, I've introduced ORD. 2025-211 specifically to give the public access to an extensive set of data about the City's procurement functions. This level of transparency is an absolute must, and I'm looking forward to collaborating with the Administration on this ordinance," said Councilmember Kenya Gibson.

The announcement precedes discussion by the Governmental Operations Standing Committee on ORD. 2025-211, amending the section of City Code concerning general requirements of the open data portal. The ordinance includes language to expand the datasets published by the City, an intention accomplished by the City's new dashboard.

Learn more about the City's commitment to a more transparent procurement process and explore the new dashboard: https://rva.gov/procurement-services/procurement-transparency-dashboard.