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NERA Senior Vice President Dr. Jon Wainwright, who specializes in analyzing the effects of discrimination, participated in a symposium hosted by the Federal Highway Administration in Birmingham, Alabama on 18-20 August 2009. Dr. Wainwright discussed a project entitled "The National Model Disparity and Availability Study Project -- Designing an Effective Disparity Study," which NERA conducted for the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Wainwright discussed the scope of this project along with results from their research. The project includes a comprehensive review of existing disparity studies and annual Disadvantaged Business Enterprise goal-setting methods currently in effect at all 50 state Departments of Transportation. It also outlines a model approach for conducting legally defensible disparity studies and a model scope of work for inclusion in agencies' Requests for Proposals.