Published by Colette Holt & Associates

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) performed a study in conformance with constitutional standards and best practices for DBE programs to determine its utilization of Disadvantaged, Minority, and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (collectively “DBEs” or “D/M/ WBEs”); the availability of DBEs in its market area; any disparities in its wider economy between the business formation rates and receipts of DBEs and those of White male-owned firms. This was used to evaluate whether the use of race-conscious measures is supported by the results of this analysis. The study collected anecdotal data about barriers to full and fair opportunities on the basis of race/ethnicity or gender and evaluated CTA’s DBE programs.

Published by BBC Research & Consulting

The study evaluated the State of Indiana’s Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises (M/WBE) Program. The Indiana Department of Administration (IDOA) operates the State of Indiana’s M/WBE Program, which is designed to encourage the participation of minority and women-owned businesses in state contracting and create a fair, competitive, and equitable environment for those businesses. The program comprises various measures to encourage the participation of minority and women-owned businesses in state contracting. Some of those measures are race and gender-neutral, which are designed to encourage the participation of all businesses in state contracting, and other measures are race and gender-conscious, which are designed to specifically encourage the participation of minority and women-owned businesses in state contracting (e.g., using MBE/WBE participation goals to award individual contracts). IDOA also operates the Indiana Veteran-owned Small Business (IVOSB) Program, which is designed to encourage the participation of veteran-owned businesses in state contracting and help ensure that those businesses can build productive relationships throughout relevant contracting industries.

Published by Mason Tillman Associates, Ltd

Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) programs are designed to ensure that minority-owned businesses are afforded equal access to public contracting opportunities. MBE programs can contain both race-conscious and race neutral policies and procedures to achieve the objectives of the program. Prime contractor utilization between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2015 in four industry sectors (construction, construction-related services, engineering and professional services, and materials/commodities and services) were studied. The distribution of total prime purchase orders by dollar amount for all industries indicated minority-owned businesses. Minority females and minority males received 1.15% and 8.92% respectively. The disparity analysis summary found disparities for African Americans and Hispanic Americans related to construction prime purchase orders valued at $10,001 to $20,000. It also found disparity related to construction prime purchase orders among African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian-Indian Americans, Asian Pacific Americans for purchase orders valued at $20,001 to $1,710,000. Anecdotal findings included: barriers created by MSD managers and inspectors, bid shopping, good old boy network, difficulty meeting bonding and insurance requirements, difficulty obtaining financing, late payments. The study concluded that minority business disparity exists by industry sector but it is not all inclusive of all minority sub-groups.

Published by Keen Independent Research

This report commissioned by the City of New Orleans found that there is not a level playing field for minority and women-owned businesses in City contracts, and recommended ways the City can increase or strengthen procurement opportunities for small minority and women-owned businesses. Some of the findings included that the overall MBE/WBE utilization on City contracts roughly matched what would be expected based on the availability analysis, and there were disparities in utilization in City contracts for some MBE/WBE groups for some types of work, including Asian American- and Hispanic-American-owned firms, overall, and African American-owned construction firms; and there were substantial disparities between utilization and availability for each minority group and for white women-owned firms in the subcontracting realm. The recommendations included the need for the City to assist minority and women-owned companies in its procurement, the consideration of adding stronger measures to its State and Local Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (SLDBE) program, including programs focused on vendors, prime contractors, and consultants; and maintain defensibility of the program through close monitoring.