Frequently Asked Questions

Disparity studies are a means of providing a factual basis for determining whether there are equal opportunities for all firms in the procurement process and support the need, if any, for race or gender conscious, remedial procurement programs. The Study will engage in a review of the Town of Carrboro’s procurement process, availability and utilization in contracts by all vendors, including minority- and woman -owned business enterprises to analyze whether race or gender has been a barrier in equal access to public contracts for all business owners.

This Study will cover Town spending from FY2018- FY2022. If the actual utilization of firms is less than what is expected based on firms that are ready, willing, and able to perform on Town contracts (“Availability”), then a “disparity” exists. The Study will also determine whether the disparity is statistically significant enough to suggest whether any action should be taken and whether factors other than race or gender are likely to have caused the disparity.

A disparity study process is broken out into several major parts, including statistical and econometric analysis, legal and purchasing practices analysis, private sector analysis, anecdotal evidence analysis, and findings and recommendations. GSPC is currently collecting data from the Town that will be necessary to determine utilization of firms in the marketplace. Principal Investigator, Dr. Vince Eagan and Legal Analyst, David Maher, Esq., will conduct policy review and interviews to understand the internal procurement processes and procedures. Our Data Analytics Coordinator, Thomas Tran, will then analyze the data to determine the Town’s availability and utilization of the study groups. Senior Economist, Dr. Gregory N. Price, will then work with available data to determine, through econometric analyses and an analysis of the private sector, whether identified disparities can be attributed to the race and/or gender status of firm owners.

Anecdotal evidence is also crucial to any recommendations we may make to the Town of Carrboro. Our anecdotal evidence includes the following:

• Survey of business owners across all work categories. Firms throughout the Town will be contacted; inviting them to complete the survey.
• In-depth anecdotal interviews with businesses in the area, selected randomly from a list of available vendors.
• Focus groups of randomly selected business owners to share their experiences in doing business in and with the Town.
• Email comments, Informational meetings and public hearings which will all be open to the public.

Check the website Events tab for times and locations of scheduled events.

Other relevant study processes include an analysis of the Town’s legal environment, both locally and federally and a purchasing practices analysis to better understand the procurement process. The Study team will conduct interviews with the Town of Carrboro’s procurement staff regarding their procurement process and the current procurement policies to review whether any barriers to participation exist in the procurement process.

Finally, GSPC will compile a final report containing all the findings from the research above and will provide recommendations to the Town regarding the inclusion of minority, women, and disadvantaged-owned firm in its procurement process.

GSPC is a law and public policy consulting firm based in Atlanta, GA, with extensive experience in disparity research, program development and supplier diversity consulting. For more information, see: Who We Are or visit us at gspclaw.com.