Central Washington University Board of Trustees October 18, 2019 Executive Summary – WA State Disparity Study
The State of Washington conducted a Disparity Study to assess the use by state agencies, including higher education institutions, of minority-, women- and veteran-owned business enterprises. The research project was designed to evaluate whether such businesses have equal access to contracting opportunities on State prime contracts and associated subcontracts. The study also evaluated barriers to State contracting and recommended strategies to ensure all firms in the Washington community can participate in State opportunities. CWU participated in this study and contributed data on awarded contracts. There are five certified vendors in Kittitas County and 16 in Yakima County. The scarcity of MWBE- certified business is not sufficient to enable significant participation locally. CWU is broadening the field of prospective providers through a Supplier Diversity Inclusion Plan, which will help CWU to provide the greatest inclusion of diverse businesses. In the Supplier Diversity Inclusion Plan, CWU has taken a strategic, pro-active approach to soliciting diverse businesses and promoting participation in procurement activities. Strategies include: • Participating in vendor outreach programs, such as the annual training provided by the Department of Enterprise Services or events relating to Supplier Diversity. • Accepting vendor self-certification, due to the limited availability of certified firms near the Ellensburg campus. • Un-bundling purchases when practicable to participation by maximize small minority-, women- and veteran-owned firms. • Requiring capital projects to include subcontracting plans, when appropriate, to increase opportunities to diverse subcontractors. RCW 28B.10.029 allows institutions of higher education to exercise independently those powers to purchase from alternative contracts to increase opportunities for certified small minority-, women- and veteran-owned vendors. CWU actively seeks out and communicates such sources, when available, for goods and services to the campus purchasers. CWU also provides training to university employees with the responsibility for procurement and contracting regarding the appropriate implementation measures for each applicable outreach strategy. Finally, CWU collects historical data by type of procurements and determine realistic annual goals based on baseline results. The Disparity Study identified other initiatives that may help CWU diversify the supplier base. CWU is committed to maximizing opportunities for both certified minority- and women-owned businesses to contract with the University for the procurement of goods and services. CWU is dedicated to ensuring the diverse businesses are given maximum practicable opportunity to directly and meaningfully participate and that access to procurement opportunities is fair and equitable.
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