Market Analysis - Twin Cities Construction - Diversity Inclusion Pain Points

1. Market Analysis:
Diversity on Local Construction Projects
Pain points concerning diversity on local construction projects
Through research, surveys, and direct contact with those in the industry, MASCA found that there are many
concerns/issues that arise related to Diversity Construction Contractors (DCCs) participating on residential and
commercial, public- and private-sector construction projects. We call these concerns/issues pain points. These
pain points are different for the DCCs, General Contractors (GCs), and Owners.
MASCA, a for-profit entity was created to address those pain points via market-based solutions. The following
is a rundown of the different pain points for each group.
 DCCs:
o Lack of basic business acumen
o Inability to identify appropriate projects to bid, consistently
o Inability to produce timely, accurate, reasonable bids
o Difficulty obtaining sufficient affordable insurance and bonding
o Difficulty raising sufficient working capital
o Inability to field manage a larger-size construction project
o Inability to field manage multiple projects
o Inability to manage required project paperwork
o Difficulty obtaining required equipment
 GCs:
o Inability to meet Owner’s participation requirements
o Difficulty satisfying Owners “Good Faith Effort” requirements
o Increased Project Cost:
 Ongoing effort to locate DCCs to participate on projects
 Considerably higher cost for work that has been allocated to subcontractors
 Project delays
o Increased Risk:
 DCC failure mid-project
 Bonding the work performed by DCCs
 Providing DCCs working capital
 Owners:
o Increased pressure from funders to meet participation goals
o The inability to provide development opportunities that are deemed to be fair, open and obtainable
o The inability to reduce the disparity in their minority spends
o Inability to get projects completed in a timely manner
The goal is twofold:
 To formalize the DCCs into a cohesive, high-quality, high-performance consortium of
construction service providers that can successfully compete and gain work on construction
projects, without adversely affecting project outcomes.
 To help GCs and Owners meet participation goals.