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and how many we actually use creates the disparity analysis ratio, and that is what really lays the foundation for any program. She continued, The Disparity Study matters because it provides litigation defense. If there is a challenge to a City,they aren't challenging the study,they're challenging the program.That means it is really important for us to move forward and establish one (1). We're doing the things that we say we are doing on paper and that we are equitable across the board. There are no special under- the-table considerations for anyone and we're following the laws and regulations. Boardmember Dr. Janet Evelyn asked, What would be an example of someone who would challenge a program? Ms. Brooks replied, The most obvious example would be the Supreme Court case in Richmond. In that case, there was a contractor who was deemed non-responsive because of lack of good faith efforts, and he challenged the program itself, calling it reverse discrimination. When they really looked into the program, they had used information that was population-wide to establish discrimination and it wasn't narrowly tailored to the specific contractor procurement, and that is why the program was struck down,because it wasn't narrowly tailored. Boardmember Jas Alexander asked,When will the final results be ready? Ms. Brooks replied, I should have it in the next week or so and you should be able to access the full thing. That is really up to how many questions come out of our internal Administration and how long it is going to take to answer those questions and clarify the language. She continued, We want to do a better job monitoring and collecting information, especially as it impacts people right here in this community. Boardmember Takesha McClane asked, Will you be pulling the contracts from the IDOA's website that they post yearly? Ms. Brooks replied, That is part of the narrowly tailored language. If you have a program that is based on State goals, that is not necessarily the City of South Bend because it is based on our geographic marketplace. It could be different from the State. We will have a City-wide goal, but the best recommendation is to set goals contract by contract so we know exactly what the available pool of contractors looks like for that particular project. It is much more nuanced. She continued,The program that is created has to reflect the evidence that we have collected. Any of the programs that result from inadequate legal or economic analysis are the ones that end up going to the court level. Properly supported and narrowly tailored programs based on expert testimony will survive. She went on, The findings were broken up into different categories. There were one hundred ten (110) individual stakeholders that were interviewed. Minority and women owners continue to encounter discriminatory attitudes, stereotypes and negative perceptions. They were in unanimous agreement that race and gender-neutral measures are not enough and that we need to do something more to actually level the playing field. Access to information and networks is particularly challenging as they felt excluded from those networks. The contracting process and requirements