The Prince William County Office of Procurement Services has completed its 2025 Disparity Study to evaluate procurement practices and identify ways to improve access, transparency, and participation for minority-owned businesses. The study was conducted by MGT and focused on determining if disparities exist in the county’s contracting process and where improvements could be made.
The research involved collecting comprehensive data and gathering feedback from business owners about their experiences with county contracting. The study found that while minority-owned businesses reported challenges in the private sector, they did not encounter resistance from the county or its staff. Instead, obstacles were linked to primary contractors working with the county.
Some smaller minority-owned firms said that as subcontractors, they were sometimes included in projects only to meet expectations but did not receive a meaningful share of the work.
“Previously, we were not tracking our contract spend amongst different business classifications or drilling down to analyze subcontractor activities,” said Shana Terry, director of the Office of Procurement Services. “Improving our data collection will allow us to analyze the effectiveness of our procurement program.”
Other barriers identified by the study included limited feedback or communication on bids, difficulty navigating procedures and requirements, and challenges accessing informal industry networks that rely on established relationships. Financial hurdles such as lack of access to capital and meeting insurance or bonding requirements also affected minority-owned businesses’ ability to compete for larger contracts.
Terry stated that the office plans to improve opportunities for minority-owned businesses through targeted outreach programs designed to help these firms understand and navigate procurement processes.
“Implementing a vendor onboarding process to ensure vendors know where to start and how to access our vendor resources will hopefully address some of the issues,” Terry said. “We frequently attend various business engagement events to provide information on doing business with the county. The Office of Procurement Services will also begin hosting vendor trainings and workshops on various topics of interest to firms that are interested in doing business with the county.”
In recent years, procurement staff have attended more than 30 vendor outreach events aimed at connecting with businesses about contracting opportunities.
Recommendations from the Disparity Study will inform a new Strategic Supplier Diversity Program. Planned initiatives include improving procurement data collection for better reporting; establishing a business inclusion program supporting women-, minority-, and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses; setting a seven-year sunset clause for programs with reevaluation after five years; adopting annual aspirational goals across all industry categories; creating a business inclusion office; and publicizing a procurement forecast covering six to twelve months.
The office also plans to launch a newsletter sharing updates on contracting opportunities and resources for vendors.
Additionally, it will host its third annual Procurement Expo at Hylton Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, March 4. More than 200 vendors attended last year’s event.
According to officials, these recommendations support strategic plan goals around transparency, accessibility of services, community-oriented growth, diversity, and economic sustainability.
“This study gives us a clearer picture of how our procurement process is working and where it can work better,” said County Executive Chris Shorter. “Our responsibility is to use that insight to remove barriers, improve transparency and make sure businesses that want to work with the county understand how to compete and succeed. That’s how we strengthen both our procurement process and our local economy.”
More information about Prince William County’s Office of Procurement Services can be found at pwcva.gov/procurement-services.
