Analyzing Information on Women-Owned Small Businesses in Federal Contracting (2005) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
6 Conclusion and Recommendations
6 Conclusion and Recommendations
Pages 79-91
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 79... ...
CONCLUSION The committee concludes that the disparity ratio estimates from the SBA Office of Federal Contract Assistance for Women Business Owners preliminary study (completed in late 2002) are not adequate to identify industries in which women-owned small businesses are underrepresented (or substantially underrepresented)
|
From page 80... ...
RECOMMENDATION 1- REVISE THE CAWBO PRELIMINARY ESTIMATES The committee recommends that, instead of using the CAWBO preliminary estimates of representation of women-owned small businesses in federal contracting by industry, the Small Business Administration should estimate disparity ratios with more recent data and revised, fully documented methods. New data have become available since the CAWBO preliminary study was completed, and revisions to the basic approach are needed.
|
From page 81... ...
records for nonwomen-owned small businesses with FPDS records for initial competitive contract awards to determine a threshold dollar value above which small businesses never or hardly ever are successful bidders. Some or all of the contracts over that threshold value might then be excluded from the FPDS for calculating utilization shares.
|
From page 82... ...
CAWBO should evaluate both sources on data quality to the extent feasible, refine each source as appropriate for comparison with a utilization measure that is based on contract awards over $25,000, and examine the distribution of eligible contractors and businesses by size and the likely effects on availability estimates of extreme values. The CCR, as of October 1, 2003, is supposed to contain governmentwide information about all current vendors and prospective bidders on federal prime contracts and grants, including small businesses certified by the SBA as eligible for various preferential contracting programs.
|
From page 83... ...
We understand that SBA must respond in a timely fashion to the congressional mandate for estimates of disparity ratios for women-owned small businesses in federal contracting by industry. Thus, we do not anticipate that CAWBO would undertake the kinds of extensive and intensive analyses that would be appropriate for a longer term research agenda on disparities and discrimination in federal contracting (see Recommendation 4)
|
From page 84... ...
We recommend that CAWBO calculate consistent disparity ratios of two main types. First, CAWBO should calculate monetary ratios as the women-owned small business share of federal prime contract dollars awarded for contracts over $25,000 divided by their share of total business receipts.
|
From page 85... ...
Examination of the distribution of contract awards by size could inform the specification of additional categories as seems appropriate. 1-4 Industry Classification The CAWBO preliminary study used 2-digit SIC categories for estimating industry-specific disparity ratios.
|
From page 86... ...
1-6 Clear Cases of Underrepresentation Because almost any data source and measure of disparity will be subject to errors and because stakeholder views of appropriate disparity measures may differ according to their views on the usefulness and appropriateness of preferential contracting programs, it is unlikely that a single disparity measure will go unchallenged. We recommend that CAWBO identify industry groups for which more than one disparity measure finds underrepresentation using a disparity ratio of 0.80 or less.
|
From page 87... ...
monetary and (4) numeric ratios calculated for categories defined by size of initial contract award, using fiscal year 2004 FPDS contracting data for utilization and 2004 CCR data for availability.
|
From page 88... ...
It annually publishes goals for the use of various types of small businesses in federal contracting, but it does not regularly publish tabulations or analyses related to contracting even though federal contracts are an important source of business for many small firms. We recommend that the SBA work with the General Services Administration, other relevant agencies, and interested stakeholders to design and implement informative, regularly produced tables and analyses from the Federal Procurement Data System and the Central Contractor Registration on trends in federal contracting.
|
From page 89... ...
Yet, in time, an investment in an appropriate administrative records system on subcontracting could have a large payoff in terms of improved understanding of the sizeable fraction of federal contracting dollars that accrue to subcontractors. RECOMMENDATION 4- DEVELOP A RESEARCH AGENDA ON WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONTRACTING The steering committee found that almost all of the work to date on use of women-owned and other types of small businesses in federal contracting has been in response to court decisions or legislation about preferential contracting programs.
|
From page 90... ...
Such measures, together with contracting officials' perceptions about performance, could enter into analyses of the use of women-owned small businesses in federal contracting. · Conduct of case studies of the contracting experience of womenowned small businesses in specific industries and contracting agencies, using field interviews of businesses, contracting agencies, and relevant trade associations augmented by survey and administrative records data.
|
From page 91... ...
A contracting process that discriminates against women-owned small businesses may discriminate against any business. Moreover, a contracting process that discriminates against certain bidders prevents the government from contracting at the lowest price and obtaining the best product because better qualified or lower priced firms are passed over in order to award contracts to the preferred firms.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.