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Jackie Robinson-Burnette: How to improve SBA’s 8(a) programFormer top career exec for SBA’s govcon offers ideasThere’s probably no executive as closely associated with the 8(a) Business Development Program in recent years as Jackie Robinson-Burnette. She was the Small Business Administration’s top federal career executive directly in charge of its 8(a) program for two years, coming in with more than 30 years experience in federal acquisition roles. She also was promoted to be SBA’s top career executive overseeing management of all small business federal contracting--a $100 billion annual industry--as well as small business development programs, including 8(a). Now running her own consulting firm, called SES2, the former SBA Deputy Associate Administrator for Government Contracting and Business Development recently presented her ideas for strengthening the 8(a) program at a congressional hearing. “I am still very much an advocate because I believe in the SBA and its programs,” Robinson-Burnette told Set-Aside Alert in an interview about her testimony. At SBA from 2014 to mid-2017, Robinson-Burnette led a team that digitized and streamlined 8(a) applications, which she said reduced the processing time to as little as 10 days and resulted in more than 900 firms entering the 8(a) program in one year. Here are her ideas for improving the 8(a) program and other small business contracting programs, as presented to the House Small Business Committee on March 3, with additional comments: Better Managing 8(a) BOS Workforce The SBA’s Business Development program has great disparities in the caseloads of the dozens of 8(a) Business Opportunity Specialists (BOS) throughout the country, with some specialists advising more than 70 8(a) firms, and others with 10 or fewer such clients. As SBA has struggled with the caseload disparities for years, Robinson-Burnette recommends bringing in, temporarily, a high-level federal career service human resources professional from another agency to assess the situation and develop a plan with SBA for appropriate staffing practices. Priority for Graduated 8(a) Mentors With large firm mentors, the contact assigned by the mentor to an 8(a) firm protege often is a low-level executive with no experience running a company. The 8(a)s would benefit by having mentors who are successful, graduated former 8(a) owners, with a direct “CEO to CEO” contact. SBA can encourage this by prioritizing such mentor-protege teams. Including a Full-Time Small Business Advisor within OFPP When the White House’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) developed initial Category Management policies in 2014 and 2015, there were acquisition executives from many federal agencies involved but no advocate for small business interests, according to Robinson-Burnette. An SBA official was present but “without a voice,” she added. If small business had been better represented, the Category Management initiative could have been shaped to mitigate the negative impacts to small firms, she said in her testimony. She recommends that OFPP hire a full-time small business advisor to shape future policy. Hire more 7(j) technical assistance Robinson-Burnette said she gets many inquiries from small business CEOs asking for help with business development and proposal writing. Many have hired expensive consultants but have been disappointed with the results. Increasing 7(j) business development support would be a great benefit to 8(a) firms, especially in the first two years in 8(a), she told the panel. Raise Cap on 8(a) Sole-Source Awards Robinson-Burnette advises allowing individually-owned 8(a)s to receive sole-source awards valued up to $8 million, up from $4.5 million currently. For manufacturing, the ceiling should be raised to $10 million. These changes should apply to all socioeconomic small business categories to help them compete in an environment of consolidating, larger contracts. “Why are we looking at large businesses for something that costs $300,000?” she commented to Set-Aside Alert. Raise SAT to $1 Million Raising the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) to $1 million, up from $250,000 currently, would help small businesses compete in an environment of ever-larger contracts. Contracts under the SAT are supposed to be offered to small firms if there are two or more capable firms that will compete for it at a good value for the government. “With the impacts of Category Management and contract consolidation, raising the SAT is a quick way to realign small business suitable projects back to small businesses,” she told the House small business committee, while also acknowledging that the committee does not have jurisdiction over the SAT. Reduce Administrative Burdens for 8(a) Applicants Having overseen the 8(a) program for several years, Robinson-Burnette said she has heard from a number of applicants who are rejected for reasons that appear to be irrelevant. In one case she cited in her testimony, a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel who already had a large contract with the Defense Dept. for highly-specialized services was rejected from the 8(a) program by a low-level SBA reviewer. One of the reasons given? That the company was too dependent on the DOD contract. “What’s frustrating is when the applicant has to go back and forth with SBA for reasons that are irrelevant to eligibility for the program,” Robinson-Burnette told Set-Aside Alert.
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