A disparity study examines whether there are differences between:

• The percentage of dollars that minority-, woman- and disabled veteran-owned businesses received on an organization’s prime contracts and subcontracts during a particular time period (utilization); and
• The percentage of dollars that those businesses would be expected to receive based on their availability to perform on the organization’s prime contracts and subcontracts (availability).

The comparison between the participation of minority- and woman-owned businesses in an organization’s contracting and the availability of those businesses to perform that work is referred to as a disparity analysis. In addition to utilization, availability, and disparity analyses, disparity studies typically examine other quantitative and qualitative information about:

• Legal considerations surrounding the implementation of minority-, woman- and disabled veteran-owned business programs;

• Conditions in the local marketplace for minorities; women; and minority-, woman- and disabled veteran-owned businesses;
• Contracting practices and business assistance programs that the organization currently has in place; and
• Potential program measures for consideration as part of the organization’s implementation of minority-, woman- and disabled veteran-owned business programs.

The City of San Diego would like to assess its efforts to encourage the participation of minority- and woman-owned businesses in city contracting. In addition, the City would like to establish a benchmark for the participation of minority-, woman- and disabled veteran-owned businesses and determine what, if any, improvements are needed to refine the SLBE/ELBE Program and state contracting processes.

The study will be completed in December 2020. View the study schedule.

The Disparity Study will examine prime contracts and subcontracts that the state awarded from July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2019. The study will examine construction, professional services and goods and other services contracts.

Information that the project team collects as a part of the City of San Diego Disparity Study will help inform the city’s implementation of the SLBE/ELBE Program. Among other information, the disparity study will provide:

• An independent, objective review of minority-, woman- and disabled veteran-owned business participation in state prime contracts and subcontracts.
• Information that is useful for setting overall annual aspirational goals for the participation of minority-, woman- and disabled veteran-owned businesses in state contracting; and
• Insights about how the City might improve contracting for local businesses and how it could better encourage the participation of minority-, woman- and disabled veteran-owned businesses in the future.

Yes, the results of the disparity study will be made public at the end of the process.

There are several ways in which you can participate in the City of San Diego Disparity Study:

• Share your experiences working in the local marketplace by emailing the project team directly at (insert email here).
• Join us for a community meeting where you can learn more about the disparity study process, ask questions, and submit testimony about your experiences working in the marketplace. For details about community meetings, email the Project Team at SanDiegoDisparity@bbcresearch.com.
• Respond to our requests to complete an availability survey. If you represent a business working in the local marketplace, you may be contacted as a part of the availability survey process. If you are contacted, please help the project team by participating!
• Contact us via email if you have any unanswered questions about the study: SanDiegoDisparity@bbcresearch.com.