What is the DBE Advisory Committee?
In September 2020, the Oregon Department of Transportation's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) received funding for Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Supportive Services as part of federal funding allocated by the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC). ODOT acknowledges that there are various barriers that impact DBEs in Oregon and their success in competing for and winning work. This funding will be used to identify and address these barriers.
To center DBE perspectives in this process, ODOT established an advisory committee made up of DBE firms, large prime companies, and industry partner representatives. This group will meet as a cohort starting in September 2022 through July 2023 to build on previous work that identifies barriers DBE firms face when contracting with ODOT and develop recommendations to address those barriers. Future cohorts will continue this work, while also monitoring ODOT's progress toward implementing recommendations from prior cohorts and other similar efforts.
Our Goals
The goal of the DBE Advisory Committee is to prioritize challenges and barriers faced by DBE certified firms when contracting with ODOT and to share with ODOT recommendations to address these barriers.
- To determine availability and capacity of DBE firms in ODOT's relevant market area.
- To determine challenges and barriers for DBE firms in ODOT's solicitation and contracting process.
- To identify other possible contracting disparities between the availability and the utilization of ready, willing and able firms to participate in contracts for goods and services related to the operations, maintenance and construction of highways, bridges and other related transportation facilities in the state of Oregon.
- To review work of the prior cohort, including revisiting the list of barriers faced by DBE firms and assessing progress made toward reducing those barriers.
- To present a prioritized list of recommendations to ODOT to evaluate for implementation.
- To develop DBE specific supportive services to address identified barriers.
- To establish a long-term legacy for future cohorts so the DBE Advisory Committee may serve as an on-going resource for ODOT and the Oregon DBE community.