Mission

Connect Jackson to the world, and the world to Jackson

Vision

Be the Airports of Choice

Core Values

Customer Focus:

Provide best-in-class customer experience.

Continuous Improvement:

Set high goals, measure performance, and advance.

Communication:

Encourage productive dialogue and generate information.

Collaboration:

Work together to build the strength of the team including strategic partners.

Commitment:

Exhibit a sense of ownership and pride in the Authority.

The Jackson Municipal Airport Authority (JMAA) implements the Federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program to enhance procurement opportunities for disadvantaged businesses in contracts at Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport and Hawkins Field Airport that are funded in whole or in part by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT). JMAA has commissioned BBC Research & Consulting (BBC) and Exstare Federal Services Group (Exstare) to conduct an independent disparity study to assess whether minority- and woman-owned businesses face any barriers as part of JMAA’s contracting processes. Information from the study will help JMAA assess its efforts to encourage minority- and woman-owned businesses to bid on JMAA contracts and help inform what, if any, improvements are needed to optimize JMAA’s contracting processes and its implementation of the Federal DBE Program.

Study analyses. The crux of the disparity study will be to examine whether there are any disparities between:

• The percentage of contract dollars that JMAA spent with minority- and woman-owned businesses during the study period (utilization); and
• The percentage of contract dollars that minority- and woman-owned businesses might be expected to receive based on their availability to perform specific types and sizes of JMAA contracts (availability).

The study will examine contracts and procurements that JMAA awarded from October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2019, Federal Fiscal Years (FFYs) 2015-2019 (the study period). The study will also examine other qualitative and quantitative information related to:

• Legal considerations surrounding JMAA’s implementation of the DBE Program;
• Marketplace conditions for minorities and women, and minority- and woman-owned businesses;
• Contracting practices and business assistance programs that JMAA currently has in place; and
• Potential program measures for JMAA to consider implementing to further encourage small business and minority- and woman-owned business participation in its contract opportunities.

Study schedule. BBC and Exstare initiated the disparity study in August 2019 and will complete the study at the end of October 2020. For details about the study schedule, click here.

Key contacts. If you have any questions or comments regarding the 2019 Jackson Municipal Airport Authority Disparity Study, please contact:

Jackson Municipal Airport Authority
(t) 601-939-5631
(e) jmaa.info@jmaa.com

Alternatively, you can contact the project team directly at:

Iris McClish                                           
Director
BBC Research & Consulting                                              
(t) 303-321-2547                                                  
(e) imcclish@bbcresearch.com

Study progress. JMAA will provide regular updates about the project team’s progress on the disparity study throughout its course. Please check back periodically for those updates.

Project initiation. JMAA and the disparity study project team initiated the 2019 Jackson Municipal Airport Authority Disparity Study in August 2019 with an in-person meeting with various JMAA departments and representatives. Key members of the study team met with JMAA to introduce the study, answer questions, and begin the process of understanding contracting and vendor data that JMAA maintains. For the presentation that the project team used for that meeting, click here.

Data collection and analysis. BBC and Exstare have been working with JMAA to collect data on contracts that JMAA awarded during the study period (October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2019) as well as information about the vendors that participated in those contracts. BBC also began assessing the subindustries that account for the majority of JMAA contracting and the geographical area that is most relevant to JMAA contracting.

Community meetings. The project team conducted two community meetings in the Jackson, MS area on Thursday, October 17, 2019, one at Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport and one at Hawkins Field Airport. During the community meetings, BBC presented information about the disparity study, answered questions, and collected verbal and written testimony that participants wished to share regarding their experiences working in the local marketplace. Thank you to all who attended! The project team is continuing to collect written testimony about business’ experiences working, or attempting to work, in the local marketplace. If you would like to submit information about your experiences, please email the project team directly at JMAAdisparitystudy@bbcresearch.com. Please share your experiences related to:

• Starting or expanding your business;
• Working, or attempting to work with, JMAA;
• Working as a prime or subcontractor;
• Payment issues;
• General marketplace conditions; or
• Other topics you would like considered as part of the disparity study.

Please submit your written testimony to the project team by July 31, 2020.

Next steps. The disparity study project team will engage in the following disparity study tasks in the coming months:

• Data collection. The project team will continue to work with JMAA to collect data on contracts that it awarded during the study period and the vendors that participated in those contracts.
• Data analysis. The project team will continue analyzing data that it collects from JMAA. BBC will continue assessing the subindustries that account for the majority of JMAA contracting, the geographical area that is most relevant to JMAA contracting, and the percentage of total contract dollars that minority- and woman-owned businesses received on JMAA prime contracts and subcontracts during the study period.
• Utilization and Availability surveys. The project team will begin conducting utilization and availability telephone surveys with businesses in the relevant geographic market area that are potentially available for JMAA work as well as businesses that participated in JMAA contracts during the study period. As part of those surveys, we will collect information about business characteristics that will allow BBC and Exstare to accurately measure the participation and availability of minority‐ and woman‐owned businesses for JMAA prime contracts and subcontracts. The telephone surveys are expected to begin in February 2020 and continue through the summer of 2020. Customer Research International (CRI) will conduct those surveys on behalf of the project team. If we contact your business, please participate in the survey process to help ensure an accurate and comprehensive survey process!

In-depth interviews. The project team will conduct 40 in‐depth interviews with business owners throughout the relevant geographic market area to discuss their experiences working in the local marketplace and trying to obtain work with government organizations like JMAA. The project team will interview a mix of businesses that have participated in JMAA contracting in the past and businesses potentially available for JMAA contracts that may not have been successful in obtaining that work. The interviews will be conducted with minority‐ and woman‐owned businesses as well as with businesses owned by non‐Hispanic white men. If we contact your business for an interview, please participate to help ensure an accurate and comprehensive interview process!