Howard County government should undertake a disparity study in order to analyze its contracting practices and determine if minority-owned, woman-owned and other disadvantaged businesses have equal access to its contracting opportunities.

Benefit: verify compliance with existing contracting laws, verify equity and transparency of outcomes

This study will look back over a discrete period of years and examine the bids and contracts processes of the county government and its entities. Both quantitative data and qualitative data, collected through focus groups with local MWDBE business owner/operators, will contribute to the final report, which will include both findings of disparities (if any) and recommendations for changes to the county’s procurement practices.

in partnership with Howard Progressive Project

https://howardprogressiveproject.org