Harrisburg and Dauphin County have announced that they will jointly conduct a disparity study into contracting conditions in the area. The study will examine the experience of diverse and disadvantaged businesses in working with and seeking to work with the city and the county, and whether such businesses are underutilized relative to their availability.
The work of the disparity study is expected to begin later in 2022, with delivery expected in 2023. The categories of businesses studied will include minority-owned businesses, woman-owned businesses, veteran-owned businesses, LGBTQ-owned businesses, and people with disabilities-owned businesses. If findings of significant underutilization are made, the study can then be used as part of the legal basis for attaching participation goals to contracts and RFPs.
The study follows a similar disparity study conducted by the Pennsylvania Department of General Services (DGS) covering the period from 2011 to 2016, which found that while minority- and woman-owned businesses accounted for 22 percent of the state marketplace but only received 4.5 percent of state contract dollars during that period.
"This [disparity study] fortifies our commitment to doing what it takes to accommodate hard-working entrepreneurs," County Commissioner Chad Saylor said in a press release.
Read the press release from Dauphin County at https://www.dauphincounty.org/news_detail_T14_R562.php.
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