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.
Econometrics helps governments break down statistics into useful data.
The law firm Griffin & Strong P.C. is currently collecting data from the State of Connecticut that is necessary to determine utilization of firms in the marketplace. Principal investigator, Vince Eagan, J.D., Ph.D. and legal analyst, David Maher, J.D., will conduct policy review and interviews to understand the internal procurement processes and procedures. Data analyst, Rom Haghighi, Ph.D., will then analyze the data to determine the State of CT’s availability and utilization of the study groups. Senior economist, Gregory N. Price, Ph.D., 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 important for future recommendations. Anecdotal evidence includes the following:
- Survey of business owners across all work categories; firms throughout the State and the State’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 in and with the State of Connecticut
- Email comments, informational meetings, and public hearings which will all be open to the public
Other relevant processes will include an analysis of State of Connecticut’s local and federal legal environment and a purchasing practices analysis to better understand the selection process. The study team will conduct interviews with procurement staff regarding their process and current policies to review whether any barriers to participation exist.
Finally, GSPC will compile a complete report containing all the findings from the research above and will provide recommendations to the State of CT regarding the inclusion of small, women, minority, and disabled-owned firms in its procurement process.