The Small Business Administration (SBA) just released its annual report card on how federal agencies are doing in giving contracts to small businesses. These agencies exceeded their FY23 goal of 23%, awarding 28.4% of federal contract dollars to small businesses.
The SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman announced the results of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 federal procurement “Scorecard.” This scorecard evaluates how well federal agencies meet their small business contracting goals each year.
This achievement represents a $178.6 billion investment in the small business sector, a $15.7 billion increase from last year. The contracts support over a million jobs in industries like manufacturing, construction, and technology.
Ten federal agencies received top grades of A+ for their performance, with an additional 12 agencies earning an A. The overall federal government received an A on this year’s scorecard. Agencies that stood out include the SBA, the Departments of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Homeland Security, and others like the National Science Foundation and General Services Administration.
The SBA sets contracting goals and works closely with government buyers to prioritize small businesses in the procurement process. Detailed agency scorecards and explanations of the scoring methodology can be found on the SBA’s website.
Some highlights from the report include:
- Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) spending surpassed its 12% goal for the third year, reaching a record $76.2 billion.
- Service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses exceeded their 3% goal, achieving 5%, or $31.9 billion in contracts, a $3.8 billion increase from last year.
- Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) firms received a record $17.5 billion in contracts.
- Women-owned Small Businesses received the highest-ever amount of $30.9 billion, nearly 5% of total eligible contracting dollars.
The SBA says it has prioritized making federal contracts more accessible under Administrator Guzman’s leadership. Efforts include new guidance to increase participation of new and recent entrants in federal contracting and expanding access to multiple-award contracts, which make up over 20% of government contracts.
Enhanced training programs like “Empower to Grow” help Small Disadvantaged Businesses improve their contract readiness, the SBA says. Reforms in small business contracting also focus on tracking performance, reforming contract consolidation practices, and revising size standards to include more small businesses in SBA programs.
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