Review of Eligibility Criteria for the Small Business Administration's 8(a) Procurement Program

A review of the eligibility criteria for the Small Business Administration's (SBA) 8(a) procurement program was conducted to determine whether SBA offices were uniformly applying the eligibility criteria for determining an applicant's economic or social disadvantage for participation in the program. The review centered on analysis of the 28 applications in SBA Region IX for fiscal year 1977. The review led to the following conclusions: (1) eligibility criteria were vague and were not applied in a uniform and consistent manner; (2) Region IX was not complying with program procedures with regard to identification of the specific criteria used to approve eligibility and the documentation of the connection between the applicant's disadvantage and inability to successfully compete in the economic mainstream; and (3) different offices reached different decisions on eligibility.