The 2025 SWaMDV Disparity Study released by Prince William County in Virginia outlines an in-depth review of the participation of Small, Women, and Minority-owned Businesses (SWaMBs) and Disabled Veteran-Owned Firms in contracting programs. 

Through this study, county officials have identified roadblocks to business participation as they look to create avenues to increase access and transparency in public procurement.

The county evaluates contracting data, vendor participation, and general economic conditions within each industry to identify possible disparities between qualified vendor pools and vendors receiving public contracts. The county is  providing recommendations on policy changes that can help increase outreach, assist vendors, and enhance the program's effectiveness in future procurement cycles.

Local business organization representatives have been watching the release of this study closely since there are a number of ways in which they believe that disparity analysis can be used to inform policy decisions, increase access to economic opportunities for underdeveloped firms within both the service and construction sectors, and determine how the county will establish future participation goals or contracts.

The County has worked toward conducting this study for multiple years now to achieve its goal of increasing participation by disadvantaged, minority-owned, women-owned, and veteran-owned businesses in projects within Prince William County.

County officials believe the study will help develop future procurement strategies and ensure that businesses that qualify for contracting can participate fairly in county contracting as infrastructure and development activity throughout the county increases in the years to come.