In May, the Pennsylvania Department of General Services issued a $900,000 contract to BBC Research & Consulting (Browne, Bortz & Coddington) of Denver, Colo., to conduct a state-wide disparity study to determine the extent to which small diverse businesses face discrimination in the state contracting process.
Last week, the department announced the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will also be included in the study—potentially creating a greater opportunity for small and minority-owned firms to garner a greater portion of the $2.4 billion in infrastructure and highway construction contracts it issues annually.
PennDOT Secretary Leslie Richards, who was in Pittsburgh Oct. 23 for a women’s leadership event at Carnegie Mellon University, told the New Pittsburgh Courier that she welcomes being included in the study.
“We want to increase our minority contracting, and we’re working hard on that. Tomorrow is our third of three diversity meetings we’ve had with minority-owned firms throughout the state and with contractors,” she said. “We think the disparity study will give us information where we can increase those numbers. It’s a priority of mine and of the governor.”
Richards said the meetings—held at Cheney University, the state Farm Show in Harrisburg, and at Indiana University of Pennsylvania—were not only arranged to bring small and diverse businesses together with prime contractors, but were also focused on linking them directly with PennDOT.
“We can walk them though how to become a business partner, how to get linked into our (Engineering and Construction Management System) where contracts are awarded, how you can bid on things,” she said. “We’re connecting with minority-owned firms and helping them navigate the business procurement process at PennDOT.”
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