Small Business: HUBZone Program Suffers From Reporting and Implementation Difficulties

On June 24, 2002, OFPP issued guidance to federal agencies on reporting HUBZone contracts to the FPDS. This guidance was issued to help agencies identify which contract actions to report to the FPDS that meet the HUBZone criteria. The instruction for completing the form can be found in the FPDS Reporting Manual, which is updated regularly. According to Ms. Julie Basile, Procurement Policy Analyst from OFPP, on October 1, 2003, a new generation system became operational for data entry that addresses the majority of data accuracy and reliability errors experienced in FPDS. Agencies started entering data in the new system on October 1, 2003.

On June 24, 2002, the Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement Policy, in conjunction with the Small Business Administration, issued guidance to Federal Senior Procurement Executives that specifically identified contract actions that should be reported to the Federal Procurement Data System as HUBZone Program achievements. The procurement executives were requested to implement the guidance immediately.

Effective October 1, 2003, the Federal Procurement Data System new generation (FPDS-NG) system became operational. On August 25, 2004, OMB issued instructions to the agencies requesting their plans and schedule for ensuring the timely and accurate reporting of procurement data to FPDS-NG. This next generation system employs technology that allows the departments and agencies to electronically submit procurement information. This is a significant change to the previous reporting process and will ensure the availability of timely procurement information. The instructions specifically required a description of the program for training data entry personnel as well as documentation of a quality assurance process. The GSA program management office has received certification from the 24 Chief Financial Officer agencies as to the completeness of its data in 2004, 2005, and it is in the process of certifying the data accuracy for 2006. Reports are being generated in text, XML, and can be downloaded into any spreadsheet. GAO reviewed the instructions and concluded that the actions taken by the agency are appropriate for meeting this recommendation. Therefore, this recommendation should be closed.

The Small Business Administration now notifies small businesses when they are approved for participation in the HUBZone Program of the importance of providing timely and complete information about their firm to the PRO-Net database of small businesses. Also, SBA has developed an automated system that notifies all firms listed in PRO-Net of the need to periodically update the information in the PRO-Net database.