On March 2, 2016, SBA announced that the federal government met the 5% spending goal for WOSBs in FY15. 5.05% or $17.8 billion of all federal small business eligible contracting dollars were awarded to WOSBs – the first time this specific benchmark has ever been reached.
Maria Contreras-Sweet, Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and a member of President Obama’s Cabinet, said “Meeting this goal means five percent is no longer our ceiling but our foundation upon which to build. A recent SBA-commissioned study revealed women-owned businesses already employ eight million American workers, but when it comes to receiving contracts and capital, women are still under-represented. That’s why the SBA has added 36 new industry categories where women can now compete for set-aside contracts and sole-source awards. This will dramatically expand contracting opportunities for women-owned businesses, paving the way for new jobs and industries to be created.”
Other contracting accomplishments announced include:
• The federal government surpassed its 23 percent small business procurement goal for the third year in a row, awarding an all-time high of 25.75 percent, or $90.7 billion, in federal contracts to small businesses. These contracting funds support more than 537,000 jobs and have a significant impact on job creation, innovation, and growth in communities throughout the country.
• Federal contract dollars awarded to Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs) and Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB) also reached historic highs. For the 4th consecutive year, the federal government exceeded the goal for SDVOSBs, achieving 3.93 percent or $13.8 billion of all federal small business eligible contracting dollars. SDBs received 10.06 percent or $35.4 billion of all eligible small business contracting dollars, the highest percentage in history.
Then on March 3, 2016, SBA published the updated NAICS codes list for EDWOSB and WOSB set-aside and sole source contracts, which include even more NAICS codes! These additional NAICS codes represent over 100 additional NAICS codes, including 237310, Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction, 237990, Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction, and 562910, Remediation Services. Now with even more industries available for WOSB and EDWOSB set-aside and sole source contracts, it is likely that the WOSB Program will exceed the 5% spending goal in 2016 as well.
So glad to hear that the federal government is finally achieving its small business goals on a consistent basis! I hope this trend continues. I also hope that federal agencies keep an eye on when small businesses they have dealt with in the past no longer qualify as small businesses. The award of large contracts to small businesses often results in the company exceeding the average size standards for their industry, making them ineligible to receive awards under small business set asides on some NAICS codes. Don’t assume that a small business you’ve “always dealt with” is still actually “small!”
It is awesome news!