Published by CRP, Inc.

In fulfillment of a legislative mandate pursuant to the authority set forth in the Establishment of the Minority- and Women-Owned Business Assessment Program, the District of Columbia’s Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) commissioned CRP to evaluate if there is a specific evidentiary foundation against minority- and women-owned businesses; assess if there are disparities between the availability and utilization of minority and women-owned prime contractors and subcontractors and, if there are, describe and analyze the most relevant causal factors; and determine if there are statistically significant disparities in the utilization of minority- and women-owned businesses by prime contractors on government-assisted projects awarded. Since the lack of available data made it impossible for the authors to appropriately complete a disparity study meeting industry standards, the authors’ work outlined the steps that the District of Columbia would need to engage in to conduct a disparity study by industry standards. Implementation of these recommendations, coupled with administrative support, will provide the District with an actual gauge of the state of procurement in the city, particularly related to the equitable participation of minority- and women-owned businesses in procurement and contracting transactions.