A Virginia school district has completed a six month disparity study that documented a low level of utilization of minority and women owned businesses on the district's contracts.
The $131,930 study was conducted for Portsmouth Public Schools by MGT of America, Inc.
Competing Against Large Firms: The study also collected data about the barriers that business owners attributed to the low utilization figures. Almost half of the respondents noted the difficulty of competing against larger firms.
2% on Construction Projects: Less than 2% of the district's construction contracts were awarded to minority or women owned businesses.
Goals Recommended: The study recommended that the district add utilization goals to its contracts to increase the use of minority and women owned businesses as subcontractors.
National Issue: The challenges facing minority, women, and small businesses in competing for government work are not unique to the Portsmouth Public Schools. In Washington State, key stakeholders have created a Small Business Task Force, appointed by the Capital Projects Advisory Review Board (CPARB), to develop strategies to increase utilization of small businesses on public contracts.
Mike Purdy's Public Contracting Blog© 2011 by Michael E. Purdy Associates, LLChttp://PublicContracting.blogspot.com
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