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A recent disparity study into contracting by the City of Cambridge has been released, showing significant disparities in City utilization of minority- and woman-owned businesses (MWBEs) relative to their availability in the area. The study examined the City's procurement spending during the period of fiscal years 2017 through 2021.
The disparity study was the first of its kind to be conducted by the City, and revealed significant underutilization of MWBEs relative to their availability in the area, with almost all types of MWBEs surveyed experiencing underutilization in the fields of Professional Services, Other Services, and Supplies. The total utilization of MWBEs during the study period represented 1.18 percent of the total spending on prime contracting during that period, relative to MWBEs having an availability of 6.33 percent, 7.52 percent, and 3.09 percent in the fields of Professional Services, Other Services, and Supplies, respectively.
Recommendations made by the study which the City plans on adopting include, but are not limited to: increasing vendor outreach training programs, building up its slate of networking and contracting opportunity events, making efforts to keep City departments aware of the means available to them to increase MWBE utilization, and creating a Supplier Diversity Working Group to track implementation of the study's recommendations.
"City departments have already begun to enact several key reforms [which] will enhance equity and accountability," Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang said in a statement.
Read the press release from the City at https://www.cambridgema.gov/news/detail?path=%2Fsitecore%2Fcontent%2Fhome%2FCDD%2FNews%2F2023%2F12%2Fcityofcambridgeannouncescompletionofitsdisparitystudy.
Find the City's page for the disparity study, with links to both the executive summary and the full report, at https://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/Projects/EconDev/cambridgedisparitystudy.
