This week, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report highly critical of DOT’s administration of its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program. OIG found that the department does not provide effective program management for the DBE program. Specifically, DOT has not issued comprehensive, standardized DBE guidance; provided sufficient training to the recipients responsible for implementing the program; or have a single line of accountability for the program.
Some of the report’s findings include:
State DOTs are focused on certifying firms for the program rather than on how successful these firms are once they've entered the program.
- DOT has limited success in achieving its program objective to develop DBEs to succeed in the marketplace.
- Due to the competitive advantages a successful DBE gains from the program, there is little incentive for firms to grow beyond the DBE program.
- Nearly half of those DBEs randomly selected by OIG have been in the program over 10 years.
- DOT has had limited success in achieving its program objective to develop DBE firms to succeed in the marketplace, as OIG found that in the six sample states OIG found that less than 20 percent of certified DBEs actually participate on federally assisted contracts.