The Pennsylvania Department of General Services (DGS) is currently conducting a disparity study on the experience of diverse businesses in doing or attempting to do business with the state. As part of the disparity study, DGS is seeking comment from small businesses, small diverse businesses, veteran-owned business enterprises, and disadvantaged business enterprises (or DBEs).
As part of its attempt to gather public feedback on the state's contracting, the DGS will hold four public comment meetings, all taking place on Wednesday, July 12, and Thursday, July 20 of 2023, through the Microsoft Teams platform. Attendees will be able to learn more about the study from a study consultant, get their questions answered, and provide detail about their own experiences relating to state contracting.
The disparity study will seek to understand whether or not there is underutilization of DBEs and other diverse businesses by the state relative to their availability. If such disparity is found, the findings of the study will form a crucial part of the legal basis on which remedies can be undertaken.
Read the press release from Pennsylvania DGS (complete with links for registering for the public comment forums) at https://www.media.pa.gov/pages/DGS_details.aspx?newsid=173. Find the page for the disparity study generally at https://www.dgs.pa.gov/Small%20Diverse%20Business%20Program/Pages/Commonwealth-Disparity-Study-.aspx.
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