SDVOSB 3% goal likely met for fiscal 2013, but will it slip again?

Data flux caused SDVOSBs to hit goal in FY2012, then dip

The Small Business Administration is expected to release its official Procurement Scorecard for fiscal 2013 within days--and it is likely to show that “SDVOSB” contract spending attained the government’s 3% goal.

But interpreting the annual small business goal achievement report may be more difficult this year.

That’s because, for the first time, the government’s new dynamic data flow displays recently made it evident that small business contracting goals may be met at a point in time, then later lost.

That is what happened with the fiscal 2012 goal achievement for contracting with SDVOSBs (service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses), according to Set-Aside Alert’s analysis of the SBA’s scorecard and the White House’s Small Business Dashboard on Data.gov. The dashboard is frequently updated with new data.

In July 2013, the SBA released its official scorecard showing that the SDVOSB percentage of federal contract spending for fiscal 2012 was 3.03%, exceeding the 3% goal for the first time.

Veterans groups and media outlets cheered, with one publication featuring a huge “3%!” on its cover with colorful confetti.

But the achievement began to slip as additional data came in, according to the dashboard. Within several months, SDVOSB achievement dipped below 3% on the dashboard.

As of July 8, the dashboard was reporting 2.93% goal achievement for SDVOSB contracting in fiscal 2012.

The episode potentially could repeat itself this year.

Set-Aside Alert reported in late February that the dashboard showed SDVOSBs exceeding the 3% goal for fiscal 2013.

As of July 7, the dashboard was reporting that SDVOSB contracting comprised 3.39% of eligible contracts in fiscal 2013.

As of July 7, the dashboard was reporting that SDVOSB contracting comprised 3.39% of eligible contracts in fiscal 2013.

However, considering what happened last year, when additional data apparently resulted in SDVOSB achievement dropping below the goal at a later date, the enthusiasm about goal attainment may be tempered this year.

The experience of SDVOSBs in first attaining the goal, and then dropping back below it, has affected some expectations for this year’s SBA scorecard, Scott Dennison, executive director of the National Veterans Small Business Coalition, told Set-Aside Alert.

“The SDVOSBs will be happy, but it won’t be fireworks,” Denniston said.

In addition to the uncertainty about whether the achievement will hold up over time, there also is ongoing discouragement about the federal agencies that have not met the SDVOSB goal, he said.

“There is frustration that it is taking so long to get to 3%,” Denniston said. “It’s been years since that goal was set.”

“There’s been no real change in the status quo,” Joseph Whitcomb, contracting attorney and a service-disabled veteran. “The problem is there is no real penalty for not hitting the goal.”

SBA officials said the fiscal 2012 scorecard was based on data collected from the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) as of March 15, 2013. There are no plans to revise the fiscal 2012 scorecard to reflect the change in SDVOSB data since that time, Tiffani Clements, SBA spokeswoman, told Set-Aside Alert.

Meanwhile, the dashboard is updated frequently with new FPDS data. Agencies also may change historical information “if the details of a contract have changed,” the dashboard states.

The data flow issues most likely have existed for years, but until recently would not have been easily recognized because there was no publicly-available display of the dynamic data. The Obama administration created Data.gov and the small business online dashboard in the last four years.

Previously, a data analyst would have had to download and analyze the data to observe that goals might be hit but later rolled back.

In theory, with dynamic data, a goal could be met for the annual scorecard, then later lost, and then possibly regained. Or, the government may fall short, then attain the goal later.

Either way, the meaning of the annual scorecard may alter if new spending data continues to flow in, raising or lowering achievement many months after the fiscal year closes. And goal achievement may diminish in impact if it is seen as fluctuating over time.

The data inflow issues potentially also could affect achievement of the government’s overall 23% goal for small business contracting.

That goal also is expected to be met for fiscal 2013. As of July 7, the dashboard was reporting achievement of 23.43%.

Set-Aside Alert will be tracking whether that level of achievement will hold up over time.

More information: SBA Procurement Scorecards: http://www.sba.gov/content/small-business-procurement-scorecards-0
Small Business Dashboard http://smallbusiness.data.gov/

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