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Regional One disparity, capacity and procurement updates: interviews, surveys and RFQ timeline explained
Summary
Consultants reported completed anecdotal and business interviews for the disparity study and a capacity study draft nearing delivery; project managers said an RFQ for architectural services will be released next month after extensive outreach events that connected national firms with local firms.
Regional One Health’s consultants told the Regional One Health Black Economic Inclusion Task Force that the disparity study has completed its anecdotal evidence collection and that a capacity study draft is under review, while the project management team described an active outreach and upcoming RFQ/RFP timeline for design and construction services.
A consultant identified as presenting the disparity study updates said the team completed 30 anecdotal interviews, 6 business interviews, 3 organizational interviews, two community meetings with nine participants, and two focus groups totaling 14 people. An online business survey was also fielded and closed in late March. The consultant said those results will be synthesized into an anecdotal chapter and a policy chapter that is already in revision; the team is working with Regional One on a “prime data summary” of payment data to allow utilization, availability and disparity‑index analyses.
“Once we complete that prime data summary and have official approval by Regional One Health, we'll be able to move into the data analysis phase,” the presenter said, outlining next steps for utilization and availability analyses.
On the capacity side, a consultant’s statement circulated by Regional One said a draft capacity study was under internal review and expected to be delivered to Regional One by the end of March 2025. The capacity statement noted that the study’s survey drew 175 responses (the report said the target was 150). The capacity work will include a marketplace and capacity analysis and provide a race‑neutral complement to the disparity study, task force members were told.
Separately, Chris Acuff of All World Project Management (presenting as the owner’s representative) outlined programming progress and procurement planning for the Regional One rebuild. He said a public outreach event in February brought approximately 50 attendees representing nearly 80 firms (architectural, engineering and construction firms), intended to pair national firms with local firms to encourage teaming. Acuff said more than 220 individual outreach contacts had been made and that the first RFQ—targeting architectural services—was expected to be released the following month, with subsequent RFP steps and construction manager selection planned to be completed by September so design could begin.
Task force members pressed for a clear separation between “inclusive economic development” (contracting, prime/sub relationships) and “inclusive workforce development” (hiring, apprenticeships and training). Janice Banks and Ansley Clark emphasized the need for early inclusion of local minority professional services in the planning and programming phases so they can compete for prime or subcontracting roles during design, not just during construction.
Members also discussed the capacity study’s role in informing package sizes and bid strategies; Shep Wilburn said understanding firms’ current capacity helps the project team decide how to break work into packages that smaller local firms can perform.
Regional One staff and the consultants said written materials and the draft reports will be circulated to task force members; task force members asked for hard copies of timelines and participant counts and requested a dedicated review session for the capacity study team to answer technical questions.
