Certify “fully functioning”

      The Small Business Administration’s Certify.sba.gov Web platform has been criticized for several years for failing to meet its objective as a single portal for SBA’s certification programs. In 2020, the agency’s inspector general said the system was ineffective despite its $30 million development cost.

      While recognizing the concerns, the SBA is continuing to improve Certify and related systems and to rely on them while it works toward a future goal of a single platform with broader functionality, Bibi Hidalgo, associate administrator for government contracting and business development, testified at a recent House committee hearing.

      “We are very pleased that the systems are fully functioning,” Hidalgo said. As a result, “we gain small wins along the way rather than doing an outright overhaul, and make it much more user friendly for the customer.”

      Asked whether Certify would be replaced, Hidalgo said SBA is “working toward one contracting platform but in the meantime want to make sure it was fully functional--what we have--so that applicants are not unduly burdened during the process,” Hidalgo added.

System review and improvements

      Starting in 2021 under the Biden Administration, the SBA assessed that the certification systems needed to be reviewed and improved, Hidalgo said.

      She and her team worked to update and improve Certify.sba.gov, the beta Certify and the HUBZone Certification Tracking System (HCTS).

      There were client-facing improvements, with a customer-centric approach, such as streamlining application processes and improving webpage performance.

      There also were staff-facing improvements that have cut processing times.

Impact of the changes

      The changes are having a positive effect, Hidalgo said.

• For the 8(a) Business Development program, she said SBA is processing certification applications over 20% faster than the law requires. In fiscal 2019 and 2020, average processing time for an 8(a) application was 137 days. Since January 2021, processing has averaged 94 days;
• In the past year, the HUBZone program reduced application processing time by 40%, resulting in a three-week turn-around time;
• In the past few months, process improvements in the Women-Owned Small Business program have led to a 35% increase in the number of applications that move forward from initial review to be considered for certification.

      The SBA also has applied usability best practices to reduce the number of questions in applications by 10%, and has applied federal plain language standards to 80% of the applications to make it easier for applicants to use.

More Information:
Hidalgo testimony: https://bit.ly/3u7RCUe
Hearing video: https://bit.ly/3A7gq2b

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