Frequently Asked Questions

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

The study was completed in July 2021. View the study schedule for reference.

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

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

• 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 were made public at the end of the process. The final report (July 2021) is published.

There were several ways in which interested parties were able to participate in the City of San Diego Disparity Study:

• They shared their experiences working in the local marketplace by emailing the project team directly.
• They joined the project team and the City in community meetings where they were able to learn more about the disparity study process, ask questions, and submit testimony about your experiences working in the marketplace. Details about the community meetings held are published online.
• They responded to the project team's requests to complete an availability survey. If they represented a business working in the local marketplace, they might have been contacted as a part of the availability survey process.
• They were also able to reach out directly to the project team via email for any unanswered questions.