SBA Still Awaiting Study on Women’s Set-Aside The set-aside program for woman-owned businesses is still months away from implementation, SBA Administrator Steven Preston said. Preston told reporters Feb. 1 that he expects to get results this month from a Rand Corp. study that is designed to determine eligibility for the set-aside program passed by Congress more than six years ago. He said the agency must analyze the results before issuing a proposed rule. “I’m going to give every bit of energy I have to get this thing completed,” he said, but he declined to provide a timetable or target date. The U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce sued SBA in 2004 over the long delay in implementing the program. A federal judge has required the agency to make periodic reports on its progress. The Rand study, commissioned by SBA last spring, is examining federal procurement records to determine the industries in which woman-owned firms are underrepresented in contracting. In industries where women are found to be underrepresented, firms owned by socially or economically disadvantaged women will be eligible for set-aside contracts. In industries where women are “substantially underrepresented,” all woman-owned firms will qualify for set-asides. Several industry groups have urged SBA to release the study results so companies and agencies can prepare to participate in the set-aside program. Preston would say only that he is considering that. SBA is also preparing a final rule on certification. In June it proposed a rule forbidding self-certification of woman-owned firms, over the objections of industry groups. Although Congress authorized the agency to allow self-certification, it is not required to do so. SBA said self-certification might not stand up to a legal challenge under Supreme Court decisions limiting affirmative action. The agency estimated it could certify about 2,000 companies a year. There are 75,000 woman-owned businesses registered in the government’s Central Contractor Registration.