A-CC government embarks on disparity study

City Hall hires a consulting firm to look for evidence of disparity in purchasing and contracting by the Athens-Clarke County government. A virtual forum is scheduled for one week from today to focus on ways Athens-Clarke County can be more inclusive in awarding contracts.

From the Athens-Clarke Co government website…

The Athens-Clarke County Unified Government has selected MGT Consulting Group to perform a disparity study to evaluate and analyze its purchasing and contracting spends with minority- and women-owned businesses.

The results from this study will include recommendations related to the procurement and contracting program and will also include establishing overall aspirational goals. The study will also include qualitative data research to identify successes and barriers that impacts businesses’ ability to receive contracts or subcontracts.

As part of its community outreach plan, MGT will hold a virtual community engagement meeting for businesses on Thursday, April 14 from 10:00 AM – noon. Registration is available at www.accgov.com/disparitystudy.

Businesses are invited to attend the virtual session to learn more about the study and to provide accounts of their experiences with doing business or attempting to do business with ACCGov or its vendors.

“We are excited to hear from the community to help identify ways we may improve our existing procurement and purchasing-related policies and processes,” says Jessica Beri, ACCGov Purchasing Administrator.

Future updates regarding additional community meetings or progress on the disparity study can also be found at www.accgov.com/disparitystudy.

The Mayor and Commission selected MGT at their Regular Session on October 5, 2021 to conduct the disparity study. MGT is a national public sector management consulting and technology services firm that delivers diverse consulting services to a wide range of state, local and education clients across the U.S. and abroad. MGT is the largest solutions provider of disparity studies and has conducted more than 230 studies across the country.

Questions regarding the study should be directed to Vernetta Mitchell at athensclarkecountydisparity@mgtconsulting.com or 813-321-1400 ext. 2131.

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