Procurement Services

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Disparity Study Overview

Prince William County (County) is focused on providing excellent customer service to its vendors and business community by providing contractual services that best meet the community's needs. One of the critical components of the public procurement process is maintaining equitable policies, so all interested suppliers and vendors have access to Prince William County contracting opportunities.

To help meet this goal, the Office of Procurement Services is excited to announce the County’s first Disparity Study. The County has contracted with MGT Consulting of America, LLC (MGT) to conduct a comprehensive disparity study to identify gaps and barriers potential vendors may face doing business with the County.

The overarching question the County’s disparity study seeks to answer is, “Does a disparity exist with businesses in the County’s procurement process?” This study will assess the procurement activities of public sector entities and analyze spending as it pertains to women-owned, minority-owned/nonminority businesses (commonly referred to as SWaM) and, when data is available, veteran-owned and veteran service-disabled businesses. It will determine the effects of race, ethnicity, and gender on the ability to do business in the County’s marketplace (by both public and private sectors), acquire capital or bonding, and win contracts or subcontracts in the County. MGT will interview business owners concerning their experiences contracting or attempting to contract with Prince William County.

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Business Engagement

The Office of Procurement Services encourages ALL business owners to participate and provide information about their experiences, particularly concerning discrimination while doing business or attempting to do business with the County and other public or private entities in the County’s market area. We hope that all firms, not just minority-owned, woman-owned, and service-disabled veteran owned businesses will participate. Please visit the Prince William County Disparity Study website for additional information, including the registration links for the business engagement meeting, focus groups, and other options for businesses to participate in the study.

Upcoming Dates

• Virtual Business Engagement Meeting: Thursday, October 24, 2024 at 5pm EST
   
• Industry-Specific Focus Groups
  • A&E, Professional, and other services: Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 9am EST
  • Construction Subcontractors: Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 5pm EST
  • Goods and Supplies: Thursday, January 16, 2025 at 10am EST
  • Construction Primes: Thursday, January 16, 2025 at 2pm EST

Please note: Registration is required for all business engagement sessions and focus groups. Visit the PWC Disparity Study website to register.