Illinois Institute of Technology, Center for Research and Service

The Illinois Institute of Technology’s Center for Research and Service (the IIT Center) is a university-based policy research and consulting service, and a professional training center for graduate students. In cooperation with Paul King, founder and CEO of a large minority-owned construction contracting firm in Illinois, the IIT Center will undertake research on the performance of minority, and primarily African American-owned, construction contracting firms. Its goal is to understand the barriers to greater participation in publicly-funded infrastructure and building projects faced by these firms. The outcome of the research is expected to inform future efforts to develop technical assistance capacities to strengthen minority contractor access to and performance in the construction industry, while also working to strengthen compliance monitoring.