City of Durham

The buyer is seeking proposals from qualified firms to conduct a Disparity Study of its contractual awards in construction services, professional services, services, and goods. The study will cover the period from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2025. The objective is to determine the effectiveness of the buyer's current policies related to Equal Business Opportunity Program and Small Local Business Program. The study aims to identify any existing underutilization of minority and women-owned businesses in City contracting and ways to reduce barriers for these businesses.

• 2/5/2025 - Pre-Bid Meeting
• 2/14/2025 - Questions & Answer Period
• 3/25/2025 - In-Person Presentations
• 3/31/2025 - Proposal Due Date

• Conduct data collection and analysis relevant to the Disparity Study
• Analyze City's contracting and procurement data
• Determine if statistically significant disparity exists in utilization of minority and women-owned businesses
• Research reasons for any under-utilization of minority and women-owned businesses
• Analyze disparity between local and non-local minority and women-owned businesses
• Collect and analyze anecdotal information from surveys, focus groups, and meetings
• Provide recommendations to improve opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses
• Determine if legal predicate exists to maintain or create remedial programs
• Develop public-facing marketing collateral to summarize study findings
• Present findings to City Council and public stakeholder groups