Pittsburgh Regional Disparity Study

The Pittsburgh Regional Disparity Study Consortium (“Study Consortium”), comprised of the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP), Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Parking Authority, Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA), and the Stadium Authority, desire to undertake all necessary and reasonable steps to ensure that minority-owned and woman-owned businesses (“M/WBEs”) are afforded equitable opportunities to participate in local government and other contracts within the relevant marketplace from which Study Consortium members routinely purchase significant quantities of goods and services. Study Consortium members are keenly interested in ensuring that their public contracting and purchasing funds are not spent in a manner that in any way contributes to or perpetuates the effects of marketplace discrimination. The Study Consortium is therefore seeking a consultant to conduct various work elements in a business disparity causation analysis study that: Determines from the most accurate available data sources the relative availability of minority-owned and women-owned businesses that are ready, willing and able to do business with the Study Consortium members within the relevant market area(s); Identifies the nature of, and determines the extent to which, any barriers may have resulted in disparities in the utilization of available M/WBEs in public and private sector contracts; Analyzes the contracting and procurement data of each Study Consortium member to determine its respective M/WBE utilization, as well as the Study Consortium’s collective utilization as a whole, of minority-owned and women-owned business enterprises; Determines the extent to which any identified disparities in the utilization of available minority and women owned businesses by any member of the Study Consortium, and by the Study Consortium as a whole, might be impacted by discrimination; Identifies and summarizes related findings from previous disparity studies and research encompassing the relevant marketplace from which Study Consortium members routinely purchase goods and services; Analyzes the effectiveness of various race- and gender-neutral remedies and practices previously undertaken in the relevant marketplace; and Recommends programs, policies, and practices that are narrowly tailored to remedy the effects of any identified discrimination and to reduce or eliminate any other marketplace barriers that adversely affect the utilization of such minority and women owned businesses by Study Consortium members.