Small Business Contracting in the United States and Europe: A Comparative Assessment

On Jul 27, 2009 the European Commission (EC) issued its annual report, United States Barriers to Trade and Investment Report for 2008, where it once again republished its complaint that "small business setaside schemes, exemplified by the Small Business Act of 1953," are discriminatory measures that "limit bidding opportunities for EU (or European Union) contractors" in the US procurement market. As this Article demonstrates, small business has long held a special place in the Western public procurement systems both in Europe and in the US. Public authorities on both sides of the Atlantic use the demand created by government contracts to stimulate competitive private entrepreneurship and greater economic development within their borders. In 2003, both the US and the combined European economies had gross domestic products roughly equal to $11 trillion. With admission of twelve new members since 2003, the EU now includes twenty-seven countries

Increasing the U.S. Department of the Navy

Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research Progra

U.S. and E.U. SME Subcontracting Policy and Practice Trends: Towards a Transatlantic Accountability Consensus

U.S. and E.U. public and defense procurement rules require large prime contractors to promote subcontracts to small businesses, a.k.a. small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Under the U.S. Small Business Act, large firms encourage subcontracting through publicity, subcontracting plans, and “good faith” efforts to achieve subcontracting goals. However, process-oriented measures failed to guarantee definitive results. In contrast, E.U. and member governments can hold large firms accountable to stricter subcontracting standards (often sweetened by incentives). With the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, the U.S. is trying accountability measures now. Therefore, large contractors must plan for definitive subcontracting commitments in both markets.George Washington University, U.S.A.U.S. GovernmentGeorge Washington University, U.S.A.U.S. Governmen

Increasing the Department of the Navy’s Opportunities for Small Business and Non-Traditional Suppliers through Simplified Acquisitions Contracting and NAICS Targeting

This is a revised version.The Department of the Navy’s (DON’s) total acquisition workforce, including the 1105 Purchasing Agent series and the 1102 Contract Specialist series, is directed to maximize contract awards to small and nontraditional suppliers by the terms of the Small Business Act and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), as well as Presidential, Department of Defense (DOD), and DON initiatives such as Better Buying Power (BBP). This direction is particularly strong with regards to low-dollar awards. The Federal Acquisitions Regulation (FAR) Part 13 Simplified Acquisitions Procedures (SAP) was designed to be a highly effective tool that can overcome contracting barriers for non-traditional and small business suppliers. Through the Small Business Reservation (SBR), Congress directed agencies to automatically attempt small business set-asides of contract awards below the Simplified Acquisitions Threshold (SAT) of $150,000.00. The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 recently authorized discretionary set-asides on task and delivery orders under FAR Subparts 8.4 and 16.5. However, there are concerns that SAT contracts are often benefitting large firms across various North American Industrial Category System (NAICS) categories. The DOD’s preferred MAXPRAC model is unsuitable for solving this apparent problem. This Report examines barriers, tools, structure, and best practices of small business SAT contracting based on a test case study of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) SAT level contracting authority and a survey of relevant regional agencies. The Report develops three alternative NAICS Access Visualization (NAV) models with emphasis on targeting requirements and industries for award to small and non-traditional suppliers: NAVUSA (Understanding Subsector Availability), NAVBID (Barriers Intelligence Dashboards), and NAVBOSS (Business Opportunities Solutions Sequence). The Report recommends these models for further testing at NPS and their eventual adoption DON-wide.Director, Small Business Programs, Office of the Secretary of the Navy.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

An open door and a leg up: increasing service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) participation in defense, Navy, and Marine Corps contracting through simplified acquisitions

Contracting with service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) is widely promoted as an important benefit for veterans, particularly at the Department of Defense (DOD) and its component the Department of the Navy (DOD). In FY2014, DOD finally met its three (3) percent SDVOSB statutory contact spending goal, while DON made significant strides towards meeting it. This real progress came despite five (5) academic assessments which persistently suggested that the SDVOSB Procurement Program’s design contain inherent conceptual flaws that sow confusion among disabled veterans and Contracting Officers about scope of discretion to assist SDVOSBs, generate widespread disillusionment among veterans, promote entrenchment by a few already successful firms instead of helping veterans at large to obtain self-employment, and thereby impede goal achievement. This study tests the academic criticisms by examining the SDVOSB Program design and operation trends through the prism of the generally accepted Cohen-Eimicke Contract Management Performance Model. Finally, this study proposes veteran-centric performance management realignments of the SDVOSB Program at DOD and DON through the use of targeted set-asides and Simplified Acquisition Procedures (SAP) in order to match the Program with its original intent of broad-based SDVOSB business development.Director, Small Business Programs, Office of the Secretary of the Navy, 720 Kennon Street, SE, Bldg. 36, Room 207, Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5079Director, Secretary of the Navy’s Office of Small Business Programs (SECNAV OSBP).Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Increasing the U.S. Department of the Navy's Opportunities for Small Business and Non-Traditional Suppliers through Simplified Acquisitions Contracting and NAIC Targeting

A Symposium PresentationFocus: The challenge of small and nontraditional business participation in small-dollar “simplified” contracts awarded by the U.S. Department of the Navy (DON)Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research Progra

Implementation of the Department of Defense Small Business Innovation Research Commercialization Pilot Program: Recent Experience and International Lessons

Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research Progra

Diversity Governance by Convenience? Federal Contracting for Minority-Owned Small Businesses

Public procurement serves as the means by which public goods and services are acquired through contracts with private firms, as well as a means by which governments promote policies such as socioeconomic diversity. In the U.S., diversity goals are pursued through preferences for contract awards by public agencies to businesses owned by members of disadvantaged groups, such as Native Americans, women, and disabled veterans. In this paper we argue that the extent to which these policies are realized depends substantially on implementation--specifically, on agency contracting capacity. Given current deficiencies in federal agency contracting capacity, diversity governance is largely missing. Rather, agencies use minority-based preferences in order to reduce their workload, thereby awarding contracts for convenience rather than to redress disadvantage and discrimination. We demonstrate that, when agencies use these expedient measures to sidestep the intent of public policy, they risk diverting contracts from deserving to undeserving firms. Unless agencies increase their contacting capacity, diversity governance in this important area of public administration will remain impoverished

US and European Public Procurement Policies for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME): A Comparative Perspective

The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.2202/1469-3569.1367This paper provides a comparative perspective of public procurement policies for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in the United States and Europe. Public procurement is increasingly recognized as a strategic function of public administration because of the huge amount of resources it consumes, as well as the important policy objectives it seeks to promote, including remains elusive on both sides of the Atlantic. Policy makers and administrators have little comparative research upon which to draw regarding the effectiveness of various policy approaches, a shortcoming the paper seeks to address. An institutional perspective is adopted which helps explain similarities and differences in U.S. and European SME policies

Once more, with Feeling: Federal Small Business Contracting Policy in the Obama Administration

No politician, it seems, is against small business. President Barack Obama declares that small businesses "drive America's economic growth". U.S. Senate majority Leader Harry Reid touts them as "the heart of the economy" and "the engine of economic growth". The U.S. House Republican Conference calls small businesses "the real jobs creators in the country"