Frequently Asked Questions

Disparity studies are a tool providing a factual basis, determining whether there are equal opportunities for all firms in the procurement process and support the need, if any, for race or gender conscious, corrective procurement programs. The Study will engage in a review of the City’s procurement process, and analyze participation in contracts by all vendors, including Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs), to analyze whether race or gender has been a barrier in equal access to public contracts for all business owners, but particularly, those who work in the Construction Sector or within Construction-Related Professional Services. The Study is a requirement of the Supreme Court for any local program or program changes based on race or ethnicity.

This Study will cover City spending from FY2019 through FY2023. If the actual usage (“Utilization”) of firms is less than what is expected based on the number of firms that are ready, willing, and able to perform in Bridgeport, CT contracts (“Availability”), then a “disparity” exists. The Study will also determine whether any disparity is statistically significant enough to suggest changes 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 economic analysis, legal and purchasing practices analysis, private sector analysis, anecdotal evidence analysis, and findings and recommendations. G&S is currently collecting data from the City of Bridgeport. Principal Investigator, Dr. Vince Eagan and Legal Analyst, Morgan Wilson, will conduct policy review and interviews to understand the internal procurement processes and procedures. Data Analyst, Tereva Wilson will then analyze the data to determine the City of Bridgeport’s availability and utilization of the study groups. Senior Economist, Dr. Gregory N. Price, will then work with available data to determine 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 City of Bridgeport. Our anecdotal evidence includes the following:

• Survey of business owners across all work categories. Firms throughout Bridgeport, CT’s marketplace 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 with the City of Bridgeport and in the City of Bridgeport area.
• Email comments, Informational meetings and public hearings which will all be open to the public.

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

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

Finally, G&S will compile a final report containing all the findings from the research above and will provide recommendations to the City of Bridgeport regarding the inclusion of MWBE Construction owned and Construction-related Professional Services owned firms.

G&S 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

It is G&S’s goal to gather the most representative anecdotal evidence as possible from all firms currently in business or desiring to do business with the City of Bridgeport. We desire to understand both the practical challenges and barriers, as well as the positive experiences faced by businesses within the marketplace. Your participation would provide further insight into the City’s practices and may shed new light on an area for improvement or substantiate those recounted by others. It is only with your assistance that we will be able to provide the City with substantive recommendations that can make a real impact on their policies, and your experiences, moving forward.

G&S will be conducting an informational meeting and public hearings that are open to the public as well as several focus groups by invitation. We invite business owners and other community members to attend and share their experiences. We will also be posting information about the Study and all related events on this website and on our LinkedIn. Feel free to share your experiences also through email at BridgeportStudy@gspclaw.com. You can also do the following:

• State your experiences at scheduled meetings
  • Attend informational meetings, public hearings and/or focus groups. We invite all, including non-business owners that are interested, to attend and share their experiences at public meetings.
• Tell us your story at your convenience
  • For those who may be generally uncomfortable providing their input in public arenas or who are unable to participate in any other way but would like to share their experiences doing business with the City of Bridgeport, G&S welcomes comments and questions regarding the Study via email.
• When can we read the Study?
  • The projected completion for the entire Study is set for Spring 2025. Publication of the Study results will be determined by the City and NOT by Griffin & Strong.

Your firm is included on a government outreach or certified list to make sure you are included in all relevant communications.

Recordings of the informational meeting presentations and the virtual public hearing sessions will be available.