DoD Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP)
DAU GLOSSARY DEFINITION
A program that includes the Mentor-Protégé Program, Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), Indian Incentive Programs, Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/SBTT) Programs, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program, Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions Technical Assistance Program (HBCU/MI), Comprehensive Subcontracting Plan (CSP) Test Program, and Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Program.
The DoD Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) advises the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)) and the Secretary of Defense on all matters related to small business to maximize the contributions of small business in DoD acquisitions. It provides leadership and governance to the Military Departments and Defense Agencies to meet the needs of the nation's warfighters by creating opportunities for small businesses, while ensuring tax dollars are spent responsibly. It provides policy guidance to DoD Components as well as small business contractors and subcontractors on all small business issues and small business programs, including: small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, historically underutilized business zone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business.
Per DoD Industrial Base Policy, DoD OSBP’s mission is to “maximize opportunities for small businesses to contribute to national security by providing combat power for our troops and economic power for our nation” and the vision is to be a “network of small business professionals with common values, shared knowledge and regular communication who partner with acquisition professionals seeking small businesses to fulfill DoD procurement requirements and give our Service Members the competitive advantage.”
Each year the federal government spends billions of dollars to purchase goods and services. To foster an equitable federal procurement policy, government-wide small business goals are established for federal agencies to ensure that small businesses have the maximum practicable opportunity to compete for contracts with the federal government. SBA generally negotiates the goals annually with each agency on an individual basis. DoD small business goals for FY2023 are as follows:
| DoD Small Business Program Goals | Prime Contracting Goals | Subcontracting Goals | ||
| FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | |
| Small Business | 22.43% | 22.43 % | 30.00% | 28.00% |
| HUBZone Small Business | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.0% |
| Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business | 3.0% | 3.0% | 5.0% | 5.0% |
| Small Disadvantaged Business | 10.57%*# | 11.55%*# | 5.0% | 5.0% |
| Women-Owned Small Business | 5.0% | 5.0% | 5.0% | 5.0% |
* Small disadvantaged business awards include 8(a) awards.
#Office of Management and Budget memo M-22-03 “Advancing Equity in Federal Procurement” of December 2, 2021 raised the SDB goal to 15% by FY2025 incrementally beginning in FY2022.
To augment the efforts of the DoD OSBP, most DoD Agencies have small business professionals (formerly known as small business specialists) at their procurement and contract management offices to assist both government personnel and small businesses in the DoD acquisition process. These small business professionals provide information and guidance on defense procurement programs, policy and regulation, and identification of prime contract and subcontracting opportunities.