FAQs

A disparity study examines whether there are differences between:

• The percentage of dollars minority- and woman-owned businesses (including disadvantaged business enterprise, or DBEs) received on an agency’s prime contracts and subcontracts during a particular time period (utilization); and
• The percentage of dollars those businesses would be expected to receive based on their availability to perform on the agency’s prime contracts and subcontracts (availability).

The comparison between the participation of minority- and woman-owned businesses in an agency’s contracting and the availability of those businesses to perform that work is referred to as a disparity analysis. In addition to utilization, availability, and disparity analyses, disparity studies typically examine other quantitative and qualitative information about:

• Legal considerations surrounding the implementation of minority- and woman-owned business programs;
• Conditions in the local marketplace for minorities, women, and minority- and woman-owned businesses;
• Contracting practices and business assistance programs the agency currently has in place; and
• Potential program measures for consideration as part of the agency’s implementation of minority and woman-owned business programs.

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County (LFUCG) wanted to assess its efforts to encourage the participation of underrepresented businesses in its contracting. In addition, LFUCG wanted to establish a benchmark for the participation of DBEs and minority- and woman-owned businesses and determine what, if any, improvements are needed to optimize LFUCG’s contracting processes.

Information the project team collected as a part of the disparity study will help the agency refine its implementation of the MBE Program. Among other information, the study provided:

• An independent, objective review of outcomes for DBEs and minority- and woman-owned businesses in LFUCG prime contracts and subcontracts. That information will be valuable to both LFUCG leadership and external groups that help assess the agency’s efforts to encourage underrepresented businesses to bid on its contracts.
• Information that is useful for setting a benchmark for the participation of DBEs and minority- and woman-owned businesses; and
• Insights about how LFUCG might improve contracting opportunities for underrepresented businesses and how it could better encourage the participation of DBEs and minority- and woman-owned businesses in the future.

As a result of information from the disparity study, LFUCG passed Resolution 272-2024 on May 16, 2024, to establish a 17 percent minority- and woman-owned business aspirational participation goal, with separate goals for the participation of minority-owned businesses (five percent) and woman-owned businesses (12 percent).

Yes, the results of the disparity study were made public at the end of the process.

Read the full report