Set-Aside Alert exclusive analysis:

Set-aside award percentages plunged dramatically in 2018-19

Set-aside awards dropped by nearly half in comparison to all small business awards in the two-year period

      Total small business set-aside awards shrank dramatically during the fiscal 2018-2019, even as total small business awards rose during the same time period, according to Set-Aside Alert’s latest exclusive research.

      The value of all small business set-asides, including those for disadvantaged, HUBZone, women and disabled veteran owners, reached a high of $70.6 billion in fiscal 2017.

      That was 67% of the $105.7 billion for all small business awards that year. That was the highest percentage of the last 10 years.

      Just a year later, the situation had changed drastically. Set-asides totaled $42.6 billion in fiscal 2018, representing only 35% of the $120.8 billion in total small business awards that year.

      The same pattern continued in fiscal 2019, with set-asides totaling $45 billion, accounting for only 34% of the $132.9 billion in total small business awards. That was the lowest percentage of the last 12 years.

      The trend of reduced set-asides occurred as the value of all small business procurement was rising, following the trend of huge increases in federal contract spending in those years. The government reported it had met the 23% small business goal in both 2018 and 2019. The 2020 data is not available yet.

      Set-Aside Alert examined data from USASpending.gov and from the Small Business Administration’s annual Small Business Procurement Scorecards for this analysis. All years are fiscal years.

Set-aside value 2008-2021

      USASpending.gov showed these figures as the total value of set-aside awards, including all small business and small business socio-economic set-asides, for traditional contracts and indefinite-delivery contracts.

Total set-aside award values:

Total small business awards

      The SBA released these values for all small business federal contract awards.

Total small business awards:

Set-asides as a percentage

      These figures show set-aside awards, including all small business and small business socio-economic set-asides), from USASpending.gov as a percentage of total small business awards (from SBA scorecards).

Set-aside percentages:

More information:
GSA dashboard: https://bit.ly/3c5H5yZ
Polaris Interact: https://bit.ly/3cnrk6L

(URLs in Set-Aside Alert have been shortened by the bit.ly URL shortener)

Details on PPP, EIDL, small biz items in American Rescue law

Section 3610 extended to Sept. 30

Guzman sworn in to head SBA

Set-aside award percentages plunged dramatically in 2018-19

Vendor self-assessments

Rescissions of Trump era DOL rules

EIDL audit finds billions in fraud, errors

Column: Pay equity changes are coming

Washington Insider:

Coronavirus Update