Overview 

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is responsible for the management and oversight of the small business procurement process across the Federal Government. SBA negotiates with Federal departments concerning their prime contracting goals and achievement with small businesses to ensure that small businesses have the maximum practicable opportunity to provide goods and services to the Federal government.

Further, the negotiation ensures that the Federal government will achieve not less than 23 percent to small businesses, not less than 5 percent to woman-owned small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, and not less than 3 percent to service disabled veteran-owned small businesses and certified HUBZone small businesses. The Small Business Goaling Report documents the achievement by each department.

Small Business Procurement Scorecards provide an assessment of federal achievement in prime contracting to small businesses by the twenty-four Chief Financial Officers Act agencies. Further, it measures progress that departments are making to ensure small business opportunities remain an integral part of their acquisition of goods and services to meet mission objectives. The scorecard was designed as an internal control and monitoring device to ensure that (1) Federal agencies reach their small business and socio-economic goals, (2) accurate and transparent contracting data is used and (3) agency-specific progress is maintained. SBA is issuing the Small Business Procurement Scorecards for the first time in alliance with the President’s Management Agenda.

Changes in SBA’s Goaling Strategy

Pre-FY2006 Goaling Strategy

SBA negotiated annual procurement preference goals with each Federal agency. Each agency submitted a proposed goal to SBA. The SBA adjusted the goals accordingly to reach the minimum 23% statutory government-wide goal. Scorecards were not used to grade performance.

FY 2006/FY2007 Goaling Strategy

FY2006/FY2007 goals were released on February 6, 2006 with a few changes in philosophy on the SBA’s part. For the Small Business, 8(a), and SDB goals, SBA did not accept a goal lower than the previous year's goal (absent a compelling reason). For Women, HUBZone, and Service-Disabled Vets, SBA did not accept a goal that was lower than the statutory level. Therefore, any changes made by SBA were to increase the goals either to the FY 2005 level, or to the statutory level. The first scorecard was issued in August 2007.

FY2008/FY2009 Goaling Strategy

SBA’s goaling strategy for FY 2008 and FY 2009 is based on trend analysis, prior year goal achievement, and ultimate impact on the national average. Goaling options and scenarios were prepared by SBA and presented to the Small Business Procurement Advisory Council’s (SBPAC) Goaling Executive Committee, an interdepartmental working group that includes the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Procurement Advisory Committee members and Chief Acquisition Officers for review and recommendation. Through this consultative process, SBA concluded that the best approach for the majority of the 86 goaled agencies would be to compare each agency’s FY 2006 goal achievement with its 3-year average achievement, using the greater number to formulate the agency’s small business goal. However, in the case of agencies in which small business goals historically have been set significantly below the government-wide goal of 23%, SBA concluded it appropriate to add a ½ percent to the greater of the 3-year average achievement or FY 2006 achievement. A bi-annual scorecard will be used to better measure plans and progress in meeting goal performance.