Socioeconomic Goals
Small Business Procurement Preference Goals
It is the policy of the United States, as stated in the Small Business Act, that all small businesses have the maximum practicable opportunity to participate in providing goods and services to the government.
To ensure that small businesses get their fair share, the Small Business Administration (SBA) negotiates annual procurement preference goals with each federal agency and reviews each agency's results. The SBA is responsible for ensuring that the statutory governmentwide goals are met in the aggregate. The statutory goals are as follows:
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23 percent of prime contracts for small businesses;
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5 percent of prime and subcontracts for small disadvantaged businesses*;
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5 percent of prime and subcontracts for women-owned small businesses;
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3 percent of prime and subcontracts for HUBZone businesses;
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3 percent of prime and subcontracts for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.
The selection of an 8(a) STARS company earns 8(a) socioeconomic credit, but also credit for all the other socioeconomic attributes a firm has. This means, for instance, if the firm is also a service-disabled veteran-owned small business, that credit will be available through FPDS-NG reporting.
8(a) socioeconomic credit can be earned under 8(a) STARS because it was a competed 8(a) multiple-award contract. 8(a) credit is only available for contracts that were reserved for, and competed amongst, 8(a) certified firms.
Utilization of the 8(a) STARS contract for IT services and IT services-based solutions will continue to help those agencies that have met their 8(a) procurement goals and similarly help those agencies that have an accomplishment gap to attain theirs. The annual SBA scorecard provides a view of agency reported goal attainment.
More information may be viewed at the SBA Governmentwide Procurement Preference Goaling Program website, including individual agency goals and previous fiscal year goal accomplishments. In addition, the Small Business Goal Accomplishment Reports are available from the Federal Procurement Data System.
Additional Information
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- DoD Small Business Specialists - The Army, Navy, Air Force, and Defense Logistics Agency maintain the names of Small Business Specialists associated with their organizations. Links to these websites are below:
*As a matter of policy, SBA negotiates an 8(a) goal with each agency. Agencies can take credit towards their 8(a) goal for any award made pursuant to Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act. The SBA recommends that the total SDB goal be split 50/50 between 8(a) SDB and non-8(a) SDBs.
Last Reviewed 4/2/2009