The Biden administration has taken steps to make major government contracts more accessible for small businesses.
These actions include the introduction of new guidance from the Office of Management and Budget and a Small Business Administration effort to enhance a technical assistance program, the White House said Thursday.
OMB’s guidance is intended to push federal agencies to embrace strategies that would help small businesses to take part in multiple-award contracts, which account for almost 20 percent, or $160 billion, of government contract funds.
The office suggests three ways agencies can open up small business opportunities, which include engaging and planning for multiple-award contracts earlier; expanding the consideration of “on-ramps” to enable the admittance of new companies during a contract’s performance period; and leveraging small business set aside orders.
To diversify technical assistance opportunities for these organizations, the SBA will optimize its Empower to Grow, or E2G, program, which is open to small disadvantaged businesses in low income or high unemployment areas.
Upgrades will include a customizable one-on-one training offering that will lead small businesses through the contract bidding process and host networking and matchmaking events between government organizations and prime contractors.
Last fiscal year, the E2G program supported 6,000 small businesses and assisted 2,000 small businesses that sought to cultivate their presence in federal contracting. On average, small businesses that participated in the program saw their annual revenue grow by 45 percent.
These steps forward follow multiple small business-focused actions taken by the Biden administration in 2023, including the expansion of the SBA’s Small Business Lending Company program and the Department of the Treasury’s State Small Business Initiative, among other efforts.
