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Federal Market Intelligence for Small Business |
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Will SBA abandon its $27M Certify.sba.gov site? Possibly.In House hearing, lawmakers air concerns about SBA management; IG notes progress in HR, disaster loansThe problems with the Small Business Administration’s certify.sba.gov online system are so serious that the SBA is considering terminating it, despite having just spent $27 million developing it, according to the agency’s inspector general. “SBA has basically notified us that they are indeed looking to abandon the platform,” Hannibal “Mike” Ware, SBA IG, testified at a House Small Business Committee hearing on Oct. 16. “It has not been able to deliver like they thought it would.” The ineffective website was just one of the SBA management issues highlighted in the hearing, following a recent IG report on the subject. Lawmakers also raised concerns about gaps in leadership and a high level of vacancies at the SBA and about SBA’s lack of responsiveness to committee requests (see story below). There also were positive comments about improved management in human resources and disaster loans. Certify.sba.gov issues Certify.sba.gov was launched by SBA to modernize and streamline applications for SBA certification programs. However, it currently has very limited functionality, Ware testified. Currently the only function of the online platform is to serve as a repository of documents uploaded to it, Ware said. “You can upload your documents. That’s the limited functions (sic). For $27 million,” Ware said. Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-NY, chair of the committee, asked why certify.sba.gov has failed to deliver. “That’s the million-dollar question,” Ware replied. “There is no real evidence that they (SBA officials) have put forth other than at every turn, it has not worked.” The website initially was launched in mid-2016 to be the main portal for certification applications for the SBA’s Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program, but later was expanded to modernize and streamline applications for the 8(a) Business Development Program, as well as the HUBZone program and the All Small Mentor-Protege program. According to Ware, Velazquez and others, it also was supposed to deliver comprehensive services to 8(a) participants and other users and to allow SBA officials to monitor compliance and progress in the 8(a) program and other programs. “Unfortunately, SBA has failed to implement this platform effectively,” Velazquez said at the hearing. She suggested that the lack of an SBA administrator for more than six months may be contributing to disarray and uncertainty about the future of certify.sba.gov. After Administrator Linda McMahon resigned in April, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Jovita Carranza, U.S. Treasurer, but it is unclear if the nomination has been forwarded to the Senate for confirmation. “Proper leadership is essential for implementing a program of this kind,” Ware said at the hearing. While the SBA’s chief information officer has made significant improvements in agency IT and is “looking into” certify.sba.gov’s problems, Ware emphasized that “proper leadership needs to be in place.” SBA staffing and human capital There was some positive news about SBA in the hearing. Ware praised SBA officials for “significant strides” in improving the agency’s IT, human resources and disaster lending in the last three years. For example, SBA in the last three years has created or refreshed 11 Standard Operating Procedures for its human resources programs, he said. In disaster lending, he said, the SBA is “more prepared now than it has ever been” and was able to handle lending following three major hurricanes. However, Rep. Judy Chu, D-CA, said staffing at the SBA may be inadequate. “This committee has received reports of numerous vacancies within the SBA, and it seems particularly problematic in the Office of Field Operations, where there are potentially 100 vacancies, and there are vacancies in the Office of Investment and Innovation.” After Ware said the OIG did not closely review SBA vacancies, Chu added: “It seems that 100 vacancies is very, very problematic and requires so much more intervention.” More information: House Small Business Committee hearing notice: https://bit.ly/2okp0ID
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