WASHINGTON – Recently, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) received a grade of “A+” on the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Small Business Procurement Scorecard. This is the thirteenth consecutive year DHS has earned a grade of “A” and the sixth consecutive year DHS has earned a grade of “A+,” the highest score possible.
The annual Scorecard is an assessment tool that measures how well federal agencies reach their small business and socioeconomic prime contracting and subcontracting goals and reports agency-specific progress. DHS is the largest federal agency to achieve such a high-scoring record since the SBA implemented the letter grade format in FY 2009.
“Ensuring meaningful opportunities for the small business community to support the DHS mission remains our priority. This achievement demonstrates what is possible when the procurement community and the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization work hand-in-hand in support of this goal.” said Paul Courtney, DHS Chief Procurement Officer.
Last fiscal year, DHS awarded 38.25% of total eligible contracting dollars to small businesses, which greatly exceeded the government-wide goal of 23% and the DHS goal of 33.25%. Additionally, for 10 FY in a row, DHS exceeded its Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) goal, achieving 5.50% compared to the government-wide goal of 3%. These outstanding records further solidify the Department’s standing as a leader in federal procurement and small business contracting.
“Through outreach, education, small business advocacy, and agency collaboration, $8 billion of our eligible spend was awarded to American small businesses in FY21,” said E. Darlene Bullock, Executive Director of DHS’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. “The Department’s ability to exceed all our small business prime goals during challenging times is a testament to our commitment of partnering with small businesses and building America’s economy.”
For more information about the Department’s small business program, visit www.dhs.gov/small-business-assistance.