Disparity studies are a tool for providing a factual basis to determine 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 2022 disparity study reviewed the City of Toledo’s procurement process, availability, and utilization of bids. The study also analyzed participation in contracts by all vendors, including minority and women-owned business enterprises, and studied whether race or gender has been a barrier to equal access to public contracts for all business owners.

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Review the Disparity Study

The study focuses on the availability and utilization of minority business enterprises (MBEs) and non-minority woman business enterprises (WBEs) and examines relevant evidence of race or gender-based disparities in the City’s contracting.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Study Process?

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 City of Toledo that will be necessary to determine the utilization of firms in the marketplace. Principal Investigator, Dr. Vince Eagan, and Legal Analyst, David Maher, Esq., will conduct policy reviews and interviews to understand the internal procurement processes and procedures. Our Data Analyst, Dr. Rom Haghighi will then analyze the data to determine the City of Toledo’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 City of Toledo. Our anecdotal evidence includes the following:

  • Survey of business owners across all work categories.
  • Firms throughout the City of Toledo 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 the City of Toledo and with the City of Toledo.
  • Email comments, informational meetings, and public hearings will all be open to the public.

Other relevant study processes include an analysis of the City of Toledo’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 City of Toledo 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 City of Toledo regarding the inclusion of minority and women-owned firms in its procurement process.

Who is Griffin & Strong P.C.?

The City of Toledo engaged Griffin & Strong, P.C. (GSPC) to conduct a disparity study. The study determined whether there is a disparity between the percentage of minority, women as well as disadvantaged-owned firms that are available to provide goods and services to the City and the City’s utilization of those firms.

Learn more about GSPC

What's Next?

October 2022

  • Final study published
  • Contract with Griffin and Strong to draft implementation plan

November to December 2022

  • Gather stakeholder feedback

November 2022 to February 2023

  • Monthly finance committee updates

March 2023

  • Finalize plan and begin implementation

Give us your feedback

What sort of services do you provide? (ex: Construction, Engineering, Cleaning, Legal Consulting, etc)

Tell us about your business:

The City of Toledo works to identify and contract with Minority-owned and Women-owned businesses. In order to be considered for MBE-WBE status, a business must be at least 51% owned and controlled, and day-to-day operations managed by a U.S. citizen(s) and a member(s) of one or more of the following minority groups: Latino, Hispanic, Black, Asian, Pacific Islander, American Indian, or Alaska Native.

Visit: toledo.oh.gov/mbewbe

Register for Planet Bids

For our bidding process, the City of Toledo uses Planet Bids™, a fully automated web-based vendor and bid management system. The system makes doing business with the City of Toledo easier by allowing you to maintain your own profile as a new or existing vendor. You will also receive automatic e-mail notifications for selected bid opportunities and up-to-date information regarding bid requests.

Planet Bids houses our current bid list, bid results, and allows you to maintain your own vendor profile. You can sign up for email notifications for specific bid opportunities and new bid request information.

Planet Bids

There are a number of recommendations that have come out of the Disparity Study. You can read all of them above. Some ideas are listed below.

Please choose the top 3 recommendations.