The Government Accountability Office (GAO) advises the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop an implementation plan, policy and a formal monitoring process for the DOD Small Business Strategy.
Congress, in 2019, tasked DOD to create a strategy that will guide how the department handles small business programs, GAO said Thursday.
The accountability office found that DOD witnessed boosted obligation values, but also reductions in the number of small business contractors between 2011 and 2020. DOD awarded over $80 billion to small businesses in FY 2020.
GAO discovered that DOD lacked the mechanisms necessary to improve the coordination of small business programs. DOD has agreed with the government watchdog's recommendations to address this gap.