Frederick County officials released the county’s first Procurement Disparity Study on Apr. 2, analyzing how the local government awards contracts and whether barriers exist for businesses seeking public contracting opportunities.
The study is important as it evaluates fairness, access, and participation in county procurement. This issue has gained attention among local governments working to ensure equitable opportunities for all businesses.
The analysis used five years of procurement data to assess how contracts are awarded, the availability of Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs), their actual use in county spending, broader market conditions, and business experiences. Researchers also interviewed local businesses to better understand potential barriers. The findings showed that MWBEs make up about 17.47% of available businesses but received only around 4.23% of county spending during the studied period. The report also found limited participation from small businesses overall and insufficient subcontractor data to support certain policy approaches. Barriers reported by businesses included challenges such as access to capital, complex requirements, and limited familiarity with county processes.
Despite these gaps in participation, most interviewed businesses did not share direct experiences of discrimination according to the report.
Due to limitations in available data, Frederick County did not meet legal requirements needed for race- or gender-conscious contracting programs at this time. As a result, officials plan to focus on race- and gender-neutral strategies like improving data collection from the outset; expanding small business support through new programs that reduce entry barriers; simplifying procurement processes; and increasing outreach efforts.
Disparity studies like Frederick’s have become more common among local governments looking to evaluate procurement practices fairly while supporting small or emerging firms and building a legally sound basis for future policy changes.
Next steps include hosting community engagement sessions and forming a task force dedicated to guiding implementation of recommendations made by the study.
