Small Business Administration (SBA)

The Small Business Administration is the leading advocate for insuring that small businesses can fairly and equitably participate in the Federal procurement process. Where applicable, in determining whether a firm qualifies for certification, the SBA will consider the totality of the circumstances experienced by the individual who owns and controls the firm, such as education, employment and business history. The Small Business Administration will also consider the extent to which a disadvantaged individual’s ability to compete in the free enterprise system has been impaired due to diminished capital and credit opportunities. Every firm is required to meet all quality and performance standards and must be determined to be a responsible contractor in order to be selected for any contract award. The Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) is one of several programs implemented to reform affirmative action; the goals and objectives of which the SBA intends to judiciously implement.

The SBA establishes the categories and definitions as follows:

• Small — Must be independently owned and operated and not dominant in its field
• Small Disadvantaged — Must be 51% owned by a socially or economically disadvantaged individual
• Women-Owned — Must be 51% owned by a woman
• Veteran-Owned — Must be 51% owned by one or more veterans
• HUBZone — Must be located in a historically underutilized business zone

Eligibility

To be eligible for consideration under Rensselaer’s Supplier Diversity program an individual or business:

• Must be U.S. citizen
• Must be a qualified Small Disadvantaged Business that meets the following criteria:
  
  
  • qualifies as small under Chapter 13, Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Part 121 for the size standard corresponding to the applicable four digit Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code;
    
    
  • is at least 51% unconditionally owned by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individual(s) as defined by CFR 124.105 For tribes and Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs), Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHOs), and Community Development Corporations (CDCs), see 124.109, 124.110, and 124.111, respectively;
    
    
  • whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individual(s). For tribes and ANCs, NHOs, and CDCs see 124.109, 124.110, and 124.111 respectively; and
    
    
  • which for procurement preferences relating to Department of Defense, National Aeronautics & Space Administration and the Coast Guard only, has the majority of its earnings accruing directly to the socially and economically disadvantaged individual(s).

Additional eligibility information:

To be eligible for a price evaluation adjustment, an offeror must submit a certification, obtained within the past three years, that the business is owned and controlled by one or more socially disadvantaged persons. Members of designated minority groups seeking to participate in SDB programs fall within the statutorily mandated presumption of social and economic disadvantage established in Section 8(d) of the Small Business Act. Businesses owned by individuals who are not members of the statutorily presumed groups can qualify as SDBs by submitting evidence demonstrating that the individuals are socially and economically disadvantaged.

Any business owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals is eligible to participate in the program. Although the statute enacted by Congress presumes certain racial and ethnic minorities to be disadvantaged, the regulations permit others to be included as well. In order for a non-minority firm to establish its eligibility, the new regulations permit the individual owners to establish that they are socially and economically disadvantaged under a lower standard of proof — a preponderance of the evidence test rather than a clear and convincing test.