City management and staff, and the MBC researched minority business initiatives implemented by the Commonwealth of Virginia and localities across the nation. The Commonwealth had conducted a disparity study that was completed in January, 2004, which showed that minorityowned businesses were significantly underutilized in state government contracting, and several Virginia localities were contemplating a disparity study as well. At the conclusion of this research, staff presented a Policy Report to City Council that included three alternatives to be considered to address the issue of minority participation in city contracting.

This case study was submitted to the Alliance for Innovation for consideration at the 2010 Transforming Local Government conference.