As many of you know, agencies have found it difficult over time to meet their Small- business contracting goals. For example, $6.4 billion fewer contracting dollars were awarded to small businesses in fiscal 2011 versus what had been awarded in 2010. The decrease meant that 21.65 percent of Federal contracting dollars went to small businesses, while in 2010 the percentage was 22.7 percent - just under the Federal contracting goal of 23 percent overall. The concerns have been great, especially during these increasingly budget conscious times. Fortunately, it appears the Woman Owned Small Business (WOSBs) will gain greater access to Federal contracts due to the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The act removes caps limiting the size of a contract award that can be made to small businesses owned by woman. Previously, WOSBs could not bid on contracts whose value was in excess of “$6.5 million for manufacturing contracts and $4 million for all other contracts.” WOSBs make up 30 percent of all small businesses today. Moreover, during fiscal 2011 agencies awarded $16.8 billion to WOSBs, or 3.98 percent – well under their 5 percent goal. Now WOSBs will be able to compete more freely for Federal work. Coupled with the Small Business Administration’s Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program, agencies are hoping their small-business contracting goals will be more attainable.
For more information on the SBA’s Woman Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.