Santa Clara County begins business engagement for disparity study

CA News - Published Jul 25, 2022

Santa Clara County is beginning a business engagement initiative as part of the ongoing disparity study it is conducting. The study is examining the availability of small and diverse businesses in the area to determine whether or not there are statistically significant disparities in how those businesses are utilized in County procurement, and to make recommendations for the further inclusion of such businesses if such disparities are found.

Currently, the County plans on hosting five virtual business engagement sessions during August and September of 2022, with the first to take place on Thursday, August 11th. Feedback gathered at the studies will be anonymized before being delivered directly to the County, and the data gathered will form part of the basis on which the study's conclusions rest. Minority-, women-, LGBTQ-, and disabled veteran-owned local businesses are encouraged to attend and share their experiences in doing business, or attempting to do business, with the County.

"Whether they participate in one of the business forums or fill out a vendor survey, this is an opportunity for vendors to tell us how the County can help them," said Gene Clark, the County of Santa Clara Chief Procurement Officer, in a statement.

Read the press release from the County at https://news.sccgov.org/news-release/county-opens-business-engagement-phase-vendor-disparity-study. Find the website for the study, which will contain means of registering for the virtual engagement sessions, at https://countyofsantaclaradisparitystudy.com/.