Hampton receives availability study; staff recommends new SWAM committee and procurement changes

A consultant team and city staff outlined findings and policy recommendations Tuesday after Griffin & Strong delivered an availability study intended to measure the ready, willing and able pool of small, minority‑ and women‑owned (SWAM) firms that do business with the City of Hampton and Hampton City Schools.

“we contracted with Griffin and Strong to conduct an availability study for the City of Hampton,” said Leonard Sledge, Chief Officer for Community and Economic Development, introducing the consultant presentation. The study covered fiscal years 2018–2022 (July 1, 2017–June 30, 2022) and examined procurement categories including construction, architecture & engineering, professional services, other services and goods.

The study used a list‑based approach that combined city and school vendor and bidders lists, formal payment records and additional local government lists in the Hampton Roads metropolitan statistical area (MSA). Griffin & Strong reported availability findings by race, gender and firm size. Among figures presented, MWBE availability within the construction category was 8.21% and the A&E category 8.17%; small‑business availability was highest in A&E at about 17.18% and construction at about 14.27%. The consultants cautioned that procurement categories are industry‑wide (for example,…