Published by BBC Research & Consulting

This report commissioned by the City of Boston provided research on the utilization of minority and women-owned businesses in the City on contracts and procurements, evaluation of the Small Local Business Enterprise Program’s (SLBE) effectiveness, legal analysis of the SLBE Program, and barriers in the local marketplace that might affect their ability to compete for City contracts and procurements. BBC’s availability calculations were based on prime contracts and subcontracts that the City awarded between July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2019. To implement the SLBE program, the City uses various race and gender-neutral measures. In the context of contracting and procurement, race and gender-neutral measures are measures that are designed to encourage the participation of small businesses in a government organization’s contract, regardless of the race/ethnicity or gender of the businesses’ owners. In contrast, race and gender-conscious measures are measures that are specifically designed to encourage the participation of minority and women-owned businesses in government contracting. The City does not currently use any race or gender-conscious measures as part of the SLBE Program. For all contracts and procurements minority and woman-owned businesses considered together exhibited a disparity index of 65 for contracts and procurements that the City awarded during the study period, indicating substantial underutilization.

Published by Keen Independent Research

In this study, the authors examined Minnesota’s Hennepin County, particularly the race and gender-neutral Small Business Enterprise (SBE) Program that has been operating since 1996. Keen Independent examined County procurements from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2016. Of the county’s $2.98 billion total procurement for this time period, 3,857 procurements (including subcontracts) that totaled $1.4 billion were included in the disparity analysis. The County when studied had an overall goal of 25 percent SBE utilization for construction and for professional services and a 20 percent goal for commodities and other biddable services. The study found that while the SBE program has made progress in encouraging the utilization of minority and women-owned firms, these firms still receive only slightly more than 50% of the County procurement dollars they might be expected to win under parity.

Published by MGT Consulting Group

A disparity analysis of the utilization of minority and women-owned business enterprises (M/WBEs) in City of New York’s contracting, as compared to the availability of M/WBEs in the relevant market, was conducted. The review of purchasing policies, practices, and procedures was for the scope of the study period covering July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2015. The report concluded that disparities do exist for M/WBE firms operating in the private sector within the City’s market area. Thus, the City may have a compelling interest to continue its current M/WBE program to avoid becoming a passive participant to discrimination. The study’s disparity analysis summary highlighted disparities existing for all racial and ethnic groups in the five identified major industry categories.

Published by Mason Tillman Associates, Ltd.

The State of New York’s disparity study analyzed the state’s underutilization of Minority and Woman-owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) at the prime contract and subcontract levels across four industries: construction, construction-related services, non-construction related services, and commodities and other services. The study found that MWBE utilization was disproportionately lower than MWBE availability in every category of state contracting. The study specifically found disparities across racial groups including Black Americans, Asian-Pacific Americans, Asian-Indian Subcontinent Americans, and Hispanic Americans. The prime contract utilization analysis examined $63,391,070,587 of the State’s procurements and expenditures on prime contracts awarded during the April 1, 2010, to March 31, 2015, study period. A total of 56,065 prime contracts were analyzed, which included 10,134 for construction, 2,785 for construction related services, 5,427 for non-construction related services, and 37,719 for commodities and other services. The State subcontractor utilization analysis examined $644,483,321 expended on subcontracts awarded by the State’s prime contractors from April 1, 2010, to March 31, 2015. A total of 4,295 subcontracts were analyzed, which included 2,857 for construction, 1,025 for construction-related services, and 413 for non-construction related services.