When it comes to SBA’s many small business socioeconomic certification programs, the 8(a) Business Development Program is often considered SBA’s “golden child”–as its potential benefits are nearly endless. But it certainly wouldn’t be a “golden child” at all if just anyone could get into it. The 8(a) Program has some of the most extensive and strict requirements out there. In this post, we’ll dig into the basic components of one of those requirements: economic disadvantage. But don’t fret, this post is worth a read for our experienced 8(a)-ers and those just learning about the program. For the former, the information below can serve as a refresher on the basics of economic disadvantage–but also, a source for SBA’s most recent economic disadvantage thresholds (as of 2024, as these are updated periodically for inflation). For the latter, we suggest reviewing these basics of economic disadvantage along with our other Back to Basics blogs on the 8(a) Program (this one discussing the program, generally, and this one discussing all the rules for eligibility).
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Somewhat Appealing: Which SBA Certifications Can You Appeal From?
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) runs four socioeconomic programs aimed at providing equal opportunity to participate in federal contracting. And one would think that all of them have similar options if a contractor is denied certification. One would be wrong. SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) recently dismissed an appeal for lack of jurisdiction, showcasing the different options in the various programs. The contractor was decertified from the Women Owned Small Business Program (WOSB). Its owners ran afoul of an important distinction in OHA’s appeals jurisdiction, particularly the substantial difference between appealing a competitor’s protest of a contractor’s SBA certification and the government’s initial denial of a program certification. This provides an excellent opportunity to assess the regulatory differences in appellate jurisdiction between the four programs, with an eye toward successfully navigating future encounters with the OHA.
Editor’s Note: Special thanks to our law clerk Will Orlowski for his immense help in drafting this post.
Continue readingSBA’s 2023 Update: Demonstrating 8(a) Social Disadvantage
SBA recently issued new guidance on how to demonstrate social disadvantage–one of the elements an individual must meet to be eligible for SBA’s illustrious 8(a) Business Development Program. The guidance implements a streamlined social disadvantage narrative format–limiting the number of social disadvantage instances to two and asking only for direct answers to six questions for each instance. The “new” format really just hones in on the elements SBA has always asked for 8(a) social disadvantage narratives to demonstrate, substantively, not changing a thing. Nevertheless, SBA has been quite firm in requiring this new, short and sweet, structured format–so let’s dig into it a bit.
Continue readingSBA OIG Report Shows Improvements in 8(a) and Woman-Owned Small Business Programs
The Small Business Administration Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently released its report discussing the top management and performance challenges facing the SBA in 2024. The report highlights a number of issues currently plaguing the SBA and its various programs, including abuse of economic relief programs, disaster assistance programs, and loan programs, cyber security shortcomings within the agency, and oversight of grant management. The report also notes concerns with the HUBZone and small disadvantaged business programs. However, today I want to focus on the issues identified in two programs that we at Koprince McCall Pottroff work with day in and day out: the Woman-Owned Small Business Program and the 8(a) Business Development Program.
Continue readingFAR Updates: Size Protests for Orders, Rules for 8(a) Follow-On Contracts
The FAR Council has released updates that will impact a couple aspects of small business contracting. One is that contractors can now file size and socioeconomic status protests for certain types of orders, under strict timelines. Second is that agencies must notify SBA when they seek to remove certain contracts from the 8(a) Program. While these rules were present in some form in SBA rules, they are now firmly ensconced in the Federal Acquisition Regulation as well. Below, I discuss the highlights of these rules as well as any differences from the SBA rules.
Continue readingSBA and Industry Leaders Reaffirm Support for 8(a) Program in Light of Recent Judicial Attacks
This week, the SBA published a press release affirming its continued support of its 8(a) Business Development Program in response to recent 8(a) Program attacks in the courts. In the press release, business industry leaders across the nation joined SBA Administrator, Isabella Casillas Guzman, in praising the 8(a) Program, its successful history, and its driving policy and spirit.
Continue readingUPDATE: SBA Opens Certify Portal for Social Disadvantage Narrative Uploads by Current 8(a) Participants Not Pending 8(a) Award
As we have previously written about in several recent 8(a) articles and updates, which can all be found on our 8(a) landing page here, SBA had previously told all 8(a) participants not pending an 8(a) award to “sit tight” and wait for the go-ahead to submit their social disadvantage narratives. Well, according to SBA’s just-released Certify Help Desk Guidance, it appears that go-ahead was just given to all the (justifiably) anxious 8(a) participants out there hoping to confirm their continued 8(a) Program eligibility as soon as possible.
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