Latino Businesses in Oregon & MWBE Certifications: Understanding the Barriers Faced by Latino Business Owners in Applying for and Obtaining the MWBE Certification
| dc.contributor.author | Bernstein, Joanna | |
| dc.contributor.author | Sandoval, Gerardo Francisco | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2021-01-26T21:59:26Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2021-01-26T21:59:26Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2020 | |
| dc.description | 17 pages | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | This report focuses on the state of Latino businesses and the Minority and Women Business Enterprise Certification (MWBE), which is issued to qualifying businesses in the private, for-profit sector in the state of Oregon. Oregon's Latino population has been growing rapidly since the early 1990s, with Latinos now comprising 12.5% of the total state population (U.S. Census Bureau 2016). There has also been a rapid increase in the number of Latino businesses in Oregon, with the number of Latino-owned businesses increasing by 144% between 2002 and 2012 (U.S. Census Bureau 2006, 2015). Despite the growth in Oregon's Latino population and business community, a relatively small number of Latino owned small businesses have the MWBE certification. Currently, only 1.2% of all for-profit businesses owned by Latinos in the state of Oregon have the MBE certification. This report’s goal is to understand the specific barriers encountered by Latino business owners in Oregon when applying for the MBE certification. To do this, we spoke with government and non-government organizations that help business owners with the application process. We asked them where difficulties in the application process most frequently arise. We also conducted preliminary qualitative interviews with a select few Latino business owners that had already earned their MBE certification to help us document their experience with the application process. The report identifies five key areas of opportunity surrounding the MWBE certification process that could be tailored to meeting the needs of Latino business owners: ● Centralizing and simplifying the application process ● Making accessing application assistance more immediate and equitable ● Increasing targeted outreach to the Latino business community in regard to the certification ● Collaborating with government contractors to make the RFP and budget proposal processes for the certified MWBE firms that compete for government contracts less time consuming and more accessible. ● Increasing opportunities for language access and bilingual/bicultural services in English/Spanish at all levels and phases of the MWBE outreach, application, and certification process This report's also aims to create a foundation for further research on this important topic and investigate and develop potential state strategies for overcoming the barriers that Latino business owners face in obtaining their MBE certifications. With the ultimate goal of increasing their accessibility to resources that make the application process less daunting and navigable for more Latino businesses to earn the MBE certification. Further research will include conducting more qualitative interviews with Latino business owners from various sectors who have their MWBE certifications and solicit input on specific ways to improve and simplify the application process. We will also speak to staff at COBID Oregon and solicit suggestions for improving and simplifying the application process. Finally, we will speak with other state departments such as ODOT and the Department of Education to understand their experiences with issuing contracts to MWBEs and get feedback on ways to improve and streamline RFPs and budget requests received from competing for MWBE-certified firms. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1794/25988 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Institute for Policy Research and Engagement, University of Oregon | en_US |
| dc.rights | Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0-US | en_US |
| dc.subject | Oregon | en_US |
| dc.title | Latino Businesses in Oregon & MWBE Certifications: Understanding the Barriers Faced by Latino Business Owners in Applying for and Obtaining the MWBE Certification | en_US |
| dc.type | Working Paper | en_US |