Tag Archives: small business goaling program

Let’s Replace SBA Small Business Goaling Grades with Participation Trophies

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For Fiscal Year 2017, SBA’s small business goaling scorecard awarded 21 agencies grades of “A+” or “A” for their small business contracting and subcontracting.  Two agencies received a “B” and a single, lonely agency brought up the rear with a “C.”  Not one agency received a grade below “C,” even agencies that missed most of their small business goals.

It was a “record breaking” performance, to hear SBA tell it.  But these inflated grades do a disservice to the public and government alike.  So long as almost everyone is going to get a top grade anyway, I say we just replace next year’s SBA goaling grades with agency participation trophies.

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Small Business Goaling: Army Evaluation Offers Lesson For SBA

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Last month, I wrote that the SBA shouldn’t have awarded the government an “A” for its FY 2016 small business goaling achievement.  Even though the government exceeded the 23% small business goal, it missed the WOSB and HUBZone goals (the latter by a lot).

In a different context, a recent U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposal evaluation offers a grading lesson for the SBA.  In that case, the Corps assigned a large prime offeror a middling “Acceptable” score for small business participation where the offeror proposed to meet the contract’s overall small business subcontracting goal, but not the SDB, WOSB, HUBZone, VOSB and SDVOSB goals.

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Government Misses HUBZone, WOSB Goals–But Gets “A” Grade Anyway

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The government missed its Fiscal Year 2016 HUBZone goal by a country mile, and didn’t hit the 5% WOSB goal, either.  But according to the SBA, the government deserves an “A” for its FY 2016 small business achievements.

That’s some rather generous scoring, wouldn’t you say?

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2017 NDAA Requires GAO Report On DoD Minority And WOSB Contract Awards

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The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act will require the GAO to issue a report about the number and types of contracts the Department of Defense awarded to minority-owned and women-owned businesses during fiscal years 2010 to 2015.

If the 2017 NDAA is signed into law, the GAO would be required to submit its report within one year of the statute’s enactment.

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SmallGovCon Week In Review: September 26-30, 2016

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Fall is officially here, and that means that the leaves are turning color, it’s apple-picking season, and football is a big part of my typical weekend (both on TV, and chasing around my three-year-old son as he scores touchdown after touchdown in our living room).

But for those of us involved in federal government contracts, it’s hard to think of the fall without also thinking of the end of the government’s fiscal year, and all that it entails.  In this, the final SmallGovCon Week in Review of the 2016 Fiscal Year, we have stories on a large software vendor pulling out of the GSA schedule, Guy Timberlake’s unvarnished–and very important–commentary on a terrible change being proposed to small business goaling, and more.

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SmallGovCon Week In Review: September 12-16, 2016

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For many sports fans, it’s now football season, but I’m still focused on baseball, with my Chicago Cubs clinching the Central Division title last night.  There are still more regular season games to be played, but I’m looking forward to the start of the playoffs, where the Cubs will try to end a 108-year World Series drought.

Of course, baseball isn’t the only thing on my mind these days–especially this close to the end of the government’s fiscal year.  As always, I’ve been keeping a close eye on government contracting news.  This week, SmallGovCon Week In Review includes stories on the latest developments in the Alliant 2 procurement process, insightful commentary by Guy Timberlake on a terrible new proposal for small business goaling, a major bid protest filed by Delta Air Lines, and much more.

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SmallGovCon Week In Review: May 2-6, 2016

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We’d like to wish all of the mothers out there who read the SmallGovCon blog an early, but very happy, Mother’s Day.  Our early gift to you is this week’s SmallGovCon Week In Review.  (Don’t get too jealous, fathers–we’ll have a similar gift for you in June).

This week brings an announcement that small businesses received over 25% of federal contracting dollars–but those statistics are under fire in a new lawsuit.  Also, we take a look at why some lawmakers are worried about small businesses being negatively impacted by category management, a pair of whistleblowers cash in with nearly $3 million dollars to settle claims of fraud, and much more.

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