Turn the Curve Action Plan

Advance Racial Equity in Your Community With Our New Reducing Disparities Implementation Packages

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How do you engage partners in a set of processes that deliver equitable outcomes for communities of color? This is precisely what our new Reducing Disparities Implementation Packages are designed to help you accomplish.

Submission Details

Presenting Organization: City of Durham
Submission Title: Turning the Curve on Construction Equity in Durham, NC

Submission Overview: Durham, NC is the 4th largest city in North Carolina (population 283,506), according to the 2020 US Census. It is also a majority minority City with a population that is 37.5% Black, 40.7% white, 13.1% LatinX, 5.1% Asian and 3.7% American Indian/Alaskan Native (according to the 2019 American Community Survey).

A number of global biotech and pharmaceutical companies have a presence in Durham, including Merck, Biogen, Novo Nordisk, GlaxoSmithKline, IQVIA, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and a host of others. Durham has also become a major hub for Google, Amazon and soon Apple. An additional highlight for Durham is the presence of Duke University and North Carolina Central University (a historically Black College/University – HBCU).

All of the aforementioned have contributed to a major (and sustained) construction boom in the City of Durham. However there is a significant lack of equity (access and opportunity) for minority owned businesses, when it comes to doing business with the City of Durham. This plan is focused on understanding why and the steps that can be undertaken to increase contracting equity in the City of Durham, by ‘turning the curve’.