Knoxville City Council considers MWBE, VOBE disparity study

TN News - Published Nov 22, 2023

Knoxville City Council is currently considering the results of a recently released disparity study. The study examined the experiences of businesses owned by minorities, women, and veterans (MWBEs and VOBEs) in competing for City contract work, and whether there were disparities in the availability of those firms versus their utilization by the City.

The study was the first one the City of Knoxville had conducted in 25 years, and covered the period of fiscal years 2017 through 2021. The findings of the study included that while MWBEs and VOBEs made up a total of 22.84 percent of the available firms in the field of construction, MWBEs were utilized at a rate of below 2.5 percent in the construction field and VOBEs were also used at comparably low rates.

The recommendations made by the study for remedying these disparities include setting race- and gender-conscious utilization goals, making organizational changes within City departments to ensure mission-based committment to MWBE utilization, developing superior data tracking capacity, and performing more outreach to underutilized firms.

"Bolstered with current data, national expertise and extensive business community input, I am prepared to take steps to make it easier for DBEs to attain a bigger share of City contracts," said Mayor Indya Kincannon in a statement.

Read the City's press release at https://www.knoxvilletn.gov/news/2023/comprehensive_disparity_study_completed.

Find the page for the disparity study at https://www.knoxvilletn.gov/government/city_departments_offices/purchasing/disparity_study.