SBIR Phase I: OptDiverse: Innovative Technology to Enhance Workforce Diversity, Capabilities, and Performance

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to design an algorithmic approach and develop pilot software to support workforce diversity planning and management. The technology will examine the cause and effect relationships between diversity policies and programs and individual employees, allowing for accurate prediction of company diversity metrics in future years. The system will also allow human resource professionals to select the optimal set of policies and programs required to meet their diversity objectives while minimizing total program costs. Many organizations are seeking ways to increase workforce diversity. Additionally, these same organizations are keenly interested in predicting the diversity of their future workforce. OptTek's proposed system will address both of these critical needs. In a market where organizations invest billions of dollars to create and maintain diverse workforces, the technology is expected to support more effective and efficient decisions.