State Of Oregon's Disparity Study Seeks Feedback About Contracting With The State Through Community Engagement Sessions - 04/18/23
Salem, OR- The Department of Administrative Services alongside BBC Research & Consulting (BBC), will be hosting three community engagement sessions in late April in addition to the six sessions held in early December 2022.
These sessions are critical to providing information about Oregon’s disparity study and to seek feedback and be available for questions directly from community members across the state. These meetings will provide information about the project team, the purpose of the study, the project approach and how business owners and interested parties can participate directly in the study. The project team will also answer any questions attendees have regarding the study. In addition, attendees will have an opportunity to share any comments or insights about working with the state. This feedback will be integrated into the analysis and report.
What is the disparity study?
The study will seek information about businesses that are owned by people of color, women and service-disabled veterans. The project team will assess whether there are disparities between contracts and procurements awarded and the availability of those types of businesses for the work requested. The study will also assess marketplace conditions for businesses owned by people of color, women and service-disabled veterans throughout Oregon to determine whether any barriers make it more difficult for those businesses to compete for or perform state work.
“The disparity study is such an important step for state government to understand how we can better provide opportunities to operationalize equity in our contracting and procurement processes,” said Berri Leslie, director of Department of Administrative Services. “The first step is understanding where gaps or challenges may exist, and to do that, we would need to hear from the community.”
Video: An Interview with the Disparity Study Team
Sessions
There will be three engagement sessions that will take place toward the end of April. Public participation and feedback are crucial to a successful study. Anyone who has worked with state government or has an interest in working with state government, please join any of the following sessions:
| Date | Time | Session Link |
| April 25 | 11:30 a.m. PDT | https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84477838719?pwd=bXp3ZmxDcEQybjhGZVlhTDA3dG9qQT09 |
| April 26 | 5:30 p.m. PDT | https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85141027362?pwd=Y0t3N2dNOHVDRVBqdHF4RnFwTWxmdz09 |
| April 27 | 11:30 a.m. PDT | https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89589371566?pwd=b0dCNnBkMDFrTmxrbFE0YnNaZ3U2dz09 |
The disparity study began in October 2022, and the project team expects to submit a final report to the state in October 2023. Anyone can participate in the disparity study anonymously by providing your experiences regarding contracting with state government, your recommendations and your critiques by emailing oregondisparity@bbcresearch.com.
For more information about the upcoming engagement sessions or to request translation services, please visit the study webpage: https://oregon.gov/das/pages/disparity-study.aspx or e-mail oregondisparity@bbcresearch.com.
Hyperlinks in this message:
- Video: An Interview with the Disparity Study Team https://youtu.be/Fgf2GlAdsfk.
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