City hires Denver firm for $320K minority business study

​BBC Research & Consulting to study race and gender disparity in Asheville contracts

ASHEVILLE - The city has turned to a Denver firm for a $320,000 yearlong business disparity study. BBC Research and Consulting should begin work in June to assess the state of city contracting with minority- and white women-owned businesses, said Brenda Mills, an economic development specialist for the city of Asheville.

The firm will analyze five years of data and organize surveys, focus groups and community meetings to understand the city's contracting and purchasing patterns. Municipalities wanting to legally justify a race-based minority business program must undertake an independent study, she said.
The city last did this research in the 1990s, shortly after its program was formed.

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