California Department of Transportation & BBC Research & Consulting
Availability and Disparity Study
Project Name
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), BBC Research & Consulting – Availability and Disparity Study
Project Description
Caltrans required Availability and Disparity Studies to assist in the continued administration of their federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program.
Project Role
GCAP, as a subcontractor to BBC Research and Consulting, assisted in conducting three separate studies, which required an examination of the transportation construction and engineering industry in California and related contracts awarded with FHWA funds. GCAP assisted with the following tasks:
- Reviewing more than 10,000 total construction and engineering contracts and subcontracts
- Examining relative availability of minority and women-owned firms and attempting telephone interviews with approximately 50,000 business establishments in California
- Conducting in-depth interviews with nearly 100 firm owners and trade association representatives and analyzing testimony from public hearings held across the state
- Reviewed Caltrans’ contracting procedures and DBE Program
- Estimated the level of DBE utilization expected on different types of Caltrans transportation construction and engineering work
- Specified utilization for each race/ethnic/gender group for each general type of Caltrans transportation construction contracting by size of work and by region of the state
- Produced a master list to develop a sampling plan for Caltrans contracts
- Confirmed the relevant geographic market area for Caltrans contracting, estimated dollar volume of contracting by sub-industry, and reported MBE/WBE utilization
