DBE Programs—New Model

Abstract

The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program is a federally funded program designed to provide opportunities for minority contractors to perform highway construction projects. The DBE program is six years old. A survey of DBE and prime contractors was conducted to determine the status of the program. The results of the survey are used to identify several serious fundamental problems with the current DBE program. The primary problem is in the nature of set‐aside programs, which does not contribute toward the development of independent minority contractors. Set‐aside programs feed money into a system without really considering if the desired product will be achieved. Financial and bonding assistance are required to augment the DBE system, and DBEs need to perform mainstream highway work. These problems provide a framework from which a model DBE program is developed. The model DBE program is based on an input of education and assistance, as opposed to set‐asides, to provide for the development of inexperienced minority contractors into independent qualified firms. The objective of the model DBE program is to provide a look at an alternative to the current way of providing DBE assistance.