Pursuing Greater Diversity in Public Procurement

Public entities spend billions of dollars every year on goods and services necessary for their functionality and growth. There is clear evidence across the board that minority- and women-owned business enterprises (commonly known as MBEs and WBEs) are not accessing the same level of opportunity for public procurement. Whether a local government or public university, there is huge potential to improve long-term economic outcomes for the communities in which these entities are embedded in, while also addressing historical discriminatory behavior. This report seeks to gain insight into strategies for addressing barriers to diversification, especially for MBEs, and illuminate recommendations for the State of North Carolina moving forward. Various literature were examined in this report, including a comprehensive review of 100 disparity studies from a variety of government entities published in 2016 by the Minority Business Development Authority. In addition, four other state-level disparity studies completed since the start of the global pandemic were explored – Colorado, Virginia, Indiana, and Rhode Island.Master of City and Regional Plannin