Small Business Administration
Preliminary Views on Increasing Collaboration with Department of Agriculture Rural Development Offices Gao ID: GAO-08-278T November 14, 2007The Small Business Administration (SBA) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development offices share a mission of attending to underserved markets, promoting economic development, and improving the quality of life in America through the promotion of entrepreneurship and community development. In the past, these agencies have had cooperative working relationships to help manage their respective rural loan and economic development programs. At this subcommittee's request, GAO has undertaken a review of potential opportunities for SBA to seek increased collaboration and cooperation with USDA Rural Development (Rural Development), particularly given Rural Development's large and recognizable presence in rural communities. In this testimony, GAO provides preliminary views on (1) mechanisms that SBA and USDA have used to facilitate collaboration with other federal agencies and with each other; (2) the organization of SBA and USDA Rural Development field offices; and (3) the planned approach for GAO's recently initiated evaluation on collaboration between SBA and Rural Development. GAO discussed the contents of this testimony with SBA and USDA officials.
While SBA and Rural Development are not currently involved in a collaborative working relationship, SBA and Rural Development have used a number of different mechanisms, both formal and informal, to collaborate with other agencies and each other. For example, both agencies have used the Economy Act--a general statutory provision that permits federal agencies, under certain circumstances, to enter into mutual agreements with other federal agencies to purchase goods or services and take advantage of specialized experience or expertise. SBA and USDA used the act to enter into an interagency agreement to create rural business investment companies to provide equity investments to rural small businesses. For this initiative, Congress also authorized USDA and SBA to administer the Rural Business Investment Program to create these investment companies. However, funding for this program was rescinded at the end of fiscal year 2006. SBA and Rural Development have also used other mechanisms to collaborate, including memorandums of understanding (MOU), contractual agreements, and other legal authorities. For instance, Rural Development has collaborated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in providing assistance to the victims of Hurricane Katrina using the disaster provisions under its multifamily and single-family rural housing programs. To collaborate with each other, in the past SBA and Rural Development have established MOUs to ensure coordination of programs and activities between the two agencies and improve effectiveness in promoting rural development. Both SBA and Rural Development have undergone restructuring that has resulted in downsizing and greater centralization of each agency's field operations. Currently, SBA's 68 field offices--many of them in urban centers--are still undergoing the transformation to a more centralized structure. Rural Development has largely completed the transformation and continues to have a large presence in rural areas through a network of hundreds of field offices. The program's recognized presence in rural areas and expertise in the issues and challenges facing rural lenders and small businesses may make these offices appropriate partners to help deliver SBA services. GAO has recently begun a review of the potential for increased collaboration between SBA and Rural Development. In general, the major objectives are to examine the differences and similarities between SBA loan programs and Rural Development business programs, any cooperation that is already taking place between SBA and Rural Development, and any opportunities for or barriers to collaboration.
GAO-08-278T, Small Business Administration: Preliminary Views on Increasing Collaboration with Department of Agriculture Rural Development Offices
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Testimony:
Before the Subcommittee on Rural and Urban Entrepreneurship, Committee
on Small Business, House of Representatives:
United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
For Release on Delivery Expected at 10:00 a.m. EST:
Wednesday, November 14, 2007:
Small Business Administration:
Preliminary Views on Increasing Collaboration with Department of
Agriculture Rural Development Offices:
Statement of William B. Shear, Director Financial Markets and Community
Investment:
GAO-08-278T:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-08-278T, a testimony before the Subcommittee on Rural
and Urban Entrepreneurship, Committee on Small Business, House of
Representatives.
Why GAO Did This Study:
The Small Business Administration (SBA) and Department of Agriculture
(USDA) Rural Development offices share a mission of attending to
underserved markets, promoting economic development, and improving the
quality of life in America through the promotion of entrepreneurship
and community development. In the past, these agencies have had
cooperative working relationships to help manage their respective rural
loan and economic development programs. At this subcommittee‘s request,
GAO has undertaken a review of potential opportunities for SBA to seek
increased collaboration and cooperation with USDA Rural Development
(Rural Development), particularly given Rural Development‘s large and
recognizable presence in rural communities.
In this testimony, GAO provides preliminary views on (1) mechanisms
that SBA and USDA have used to facilitate collaboration with other
federal agencies and with each other; (2) the organization of SBA and
USDA Rural Development field offices; and (3) the planned approach for
GAO‘s recently initiated evaluation on collaboration between SBA and
Rural Development. GAO discussed the contents of this testimony with
SBA and USDA officials.
What GAO Found:
While SBA and Rural Development are not currently involved in a
collaborative working relationship, SBA and Rural Development have used
a number of different mechanisms, both formal and informal, to
collaborate with other agencies and each other. For example, both
agencies have used the Economy Act”a general statutory provision that
permits federal agencies, under certain circumstances, to enter into
mutual agreements with other federal agencies to purchase goods or
services and take advantage of specialized experience or expertise. SBA
and USDA used the act to enter into an interagency agreement to create
rural business investment companies to provide equity investments to
rural small businesses. For this initiative, Congress also authorized
USDA and SBA to administer the Rural Business Investment Program to
create these investment companies. However, funding for this program
was rescinded at the end of fiscal year 2006. SBA and Rural Development
have also used other mechanisms to collaborate, including memorandums
of understanding (MOU), contractual agreements, and other legal
authorities. For instance, Rural Development has collaborated with the
Federal Emergency Management Agency in providing assistance to the
victims of Hurricane Katrina using the disaster provisions under its
multifamily and single-family rural housing programs. To collaborate
with each other, in the past SBA and Rural Development have established
MOUs to ensure coordination of programs and activities between the two
agencies and improve effectiveness in promoting rural development.
Both SBA and Rural Development have undergone restructuring that has
resulted in downsizing and greater centralization of each agency‘s
field operations. Currently, SBA‘s 68 field offices”many of them in
urban centers”are still undergoing the transformation to a more
centralized structure. Rural Development has largely completed the
transformation and continues to have a large presence in rural areas
through a network of hundreds of field offices. The program‘s
recognized presence in rural areas and expertise in the issues and
challenges facing rural lenders and small businesses may make these
offices appropriate partners to help deliver SBA services.
GAO has recently begun a review of the potential for increased
collaboration between SBA and Rural Development. In general, the major
objectives are to examine the differences and similarities between SBA
loan programs and Rural Development business programs, any cooperation
that is already taking place between SBA and Rural Development, and any
opportunities for or barriers to collaboration.
To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on
[hyperlink, http://www.GAO-08-278T]. For more information, contact
William B. Shear at (202) 512-8678 or shearw@gao.gov
[End of section]
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Fortenberry, and Members of the
Subcommittee:
I am pleased to be here today to discuss our preliminary views on the
potential for increased collaboration between the Small Business
Administration (SBA) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural
Development offices. Given the downsizing that has occurred at SBA
district offices and related changes in roles and responsibilities,
this is an opportune time to examine the potential for collaboration
between SBA and USDA Rural Development (Rural Development).
Collaboration that cuts across more than one federal agency is one way
for agencies to deliver results more efficiently and in a way that is
consistent with multiple demands and limited resources.[Footnote 1]
Over 80 programs administered by several different federal agencies
target rural economic development.[Footnote 2] Of these, SBA and Rural
Development share a mission of attending to underserved markets,
fostering economic development, and improving the quality of life in
America through the promotion of entrepreneurship and community
development. Both agencies offer business loans and grant programs for
rural development and play a vital role in spurring economic growth in
rural areas. In the past, these agencies have developed cooperative
working relationships to help manage their respective rural loan and
economic development programs. Additionally, Congress created the Rural
Business Investment Program (RBIP) in 2002, which authorized USDA to
enter into a joint agreement with SBA to create investment companies
that would provide equity investments to rural small
businesses.[Footnote 3] At this subcommittee's request, we are
exploring possible opportunities for SBA to seek increased
collaboration and cooperation with USDA Rural Development, particularly
considering Rural Development's large and recognizable presence in
rural communities across the country.
In my testimony, I will provide preliminary views on (1) mechanisms
that SBA and USDA have used to facilitate collaboration with other
federal agencies and with each other; (2) the organization of SBA and
USDA Rural Development field offices; and (3) the planned approach for
our recently initiated evaluation on collaboration between SBA and USDA
Rural Development undertaken at your request, including how we plan to
apply the best practices for effective collaboration that we identified
in prior work.
In conducting this work to date, we met with SBA and USDA officials;
obtained information on SBA and Rural Development loan and business
programs; and reviewed information from previous GAO reports on the two
agencies as well as on practices that can help enhance collaboration
among federal agencies.
In summary:
* While SBA and Rural Development are not currently involved in a
collaborative working relationship, SBA and Rural Development have used
a number of different mechanisms, both formal and informal, to
collaborate with other agencies and each other. For example, both
agencies have used the Economy Act--a general statutory provision that
permits federal agencies, under certain circumstances, to enter into
mutual agreements with other federal agencies to purchase goods or
services and take advantage of specialized experience or
expertise.[Footnote 4] SBA and USDA used the act to enter into an
interagency agreement to create rural business investment companies to
provide equity investments to rural small businesses. For this
initiative, Congress also authorized USDA and SBA to administer the
RBIP to create these investment companies. However, funding for this
program was rescinded at the end of fiscal year 2006. SBA and Rural
Development have also used other mechanisms to collaborate, including
memorandums of understanding (MOU), contractual agreements, and other
legal authorities. For instance, Rural Development has collaborated
with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in providing assistance to
the victims of Hurricane Katrina using the disaster provisions under
its multifamily and single-family rural housing programs. To
collaborate with each other, in the past SBA and Rural Development have
established MOUs to ensure coordination of programs and activities
between the two agencies and improve effectiveness in promoting rural
development.
* Both SBA and Rural Development have undergone restructuring that has
resulted in the downsizing and greater centralization of each agency's
field operations. Currently, SBA's 68 field offices--many of them in
urban centers--are still undergoing the transformation to a more
centralized structure. Rural Development has largely completed the
transformation but continues to have a large presence in rural areas
through a network of hundreds of field offices. The program's
recognized presence in rural areas and expertise in the issues and
challenges facing rural lenders and small businesses may make these
offices appropriate partners to help deliver SBA services.
* We have recently begun a review of the potential for increased
collaboration between SBA and Rural Development. In general, the major
objectives are to examine the differences and similarities between SBA
loan programs and Rural Development business programs, any cooperation
that is already taking place between SBA and Rural Development, and any
opportunities for or barriers to collaboration. Among other things, we
plan to review relevant laws, regulations, and policies to determine
what opportunities or barriers exist to cooperation and collaboration
between SBA and Rural Development; evaluate each agency's field
structure to determine what opportunities, if any, exist for increased
collaboration; contact SBA and Rural Development staff in headquarters
and visit selected field offices to determine what cooperation is
already taking place between SBA and Rural Development; and interview
select lenders that participate in SBA loan programs and Rural
Development business programs to obtain their perspectives on SBA loan
programs and Rural Development business programs.
We are continuing to design the scope and methodology for our work, and
we expect to complete this design phase by February 2008. We discussed
the contents of this testimony with SBA and USDA officials.
Background:
USDA is, by law, charged with leading and coordinating federal rural
development assistance.[Footnote 5] USDA Rural Development administers
the greatest number of development programs for rural communities and
directs the highest average amount of federal program funds to these
communities. Most of Rural Development's programs and activities
provide assistance in the form of loans, loan guarantees, and grants.
Three offices are primarily responsible for carrying out this mission:
the Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS), Rural Housing Service
(RHS), and Rural Utilities Service (RUS).[Footnote 6] RBS administers
programs that provide financial, business planning, and technical
assistance to rural businesses and cooperatives that receive Rural
Development financial assistance. It also helps fund projects that
create or preserve jobs in rural areas. RHS administers community
facilities and housing programs that help finance new or improved
housing for moderate-, low-, and very low-income families. RUS
administers electric, telecommunications, and water programs that help
finance the infrastructure necessary to improve the quality of life and
promote economic development in rural areas.
Since its beginning in 1953, SBA has steadily increased the amount of
total assistance it provides to small businesses, including those in
rural areas, and expanded its array of programs for these businesses.
SBA's programs now include business and disaster relief loans, loan
guarantees, investment capital, contract procurement and management
assistance, and specialized outreach. SBA's loan programs include its
7(a) loan guarantee program, which guarantees loans made by commercial
lenders to small businesses for working capital and other general
business purposes, and its 504 loan program, which provides long-term,
fixed-rate financing for major fixed assets, such as land and
buildings. These loans are generally provided through participating
lenders, up to a maximum loan amount of $2 million. SBA also
administers the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program--a
program that provides long-term loans and venture capital to small
firms.
In September 2007, SBA announced a new loan initiative designed to
stimulate economic growth in rural areas. The Rural Lender Advantage
program, a part of SBA's 7 (a) loan program, is aimed at encouraging
rural lenders to finance small businesses. It is part of a broader
initiative to boost economies in regions that face unique challenges
due to factors such as declining population or high unemployment.
SBA and USDA Rural Development Have Used a Variety of Mechanisms to
Collaborate with Other Federal Agencies and with Each Other:
Generally speaking, collaboration involves any joint activity that is
intended to produce more public value than could be produced when the
agencies act alone.[Footnote 7] Collaboration efforts are often aimed
at establishing approaches to working together; clarifying priorities,
roles and responsibilities; and aligning resources to accomplish common
outcomes. On the federal level, collaboration efforts tend to occur
through interagency agreements, partnerships with state and local
governments and communities, and informal methods (e.g. networking
activities, meetings, conferences, or other discussions on specific
projects or initiatives). Agencies use a number of different mechanisms
to collaborate with each other, including MOUs, procurement and other
contractual agreements, and various legal authorities.
Both SBA and USDA have used the authority provided by the Economy Act
to facilitate collaboration. The Economy Act is a general statutory
provision that permits federal agencies to enter into mutual agreements
with other federal agencies to purchase goods or services and take
advantage of specialized experience or expertise. It is the most
commonly used authority for interagency agreements, allowing agencies
to work together to obtain items or services from each other that
cannot be obtained as conveniently or economically from a private
source.
SBA has also used contractual work agreements to collaborate with other
federal agencies. For example, SBA has an agreement with the Farm
Credit Administration (FCA) to examine SBA's Small Business Lending
Companies (SBLC). SBA oversees SBLCs, which are nondepository lending
institutions that it licenses and that play a significant role in SBA's
7(a) Loan Guaranty Program. However, SBLCs are not generally regulated
or examined by financial institution regulators. SBA entered into a
contractual agreement with the FCA in 1999 that tasked FCA with
conducting safety and soundness examinations of SBA's SBLCs.[Footnote
8] Under the agreement, FCA examined 14 SBLCs during a 1-year period.
The exams were conducted on a full cost recovery basis and gave both
agencies the option to terminate or extend the agreement after a year.
The agreement allowed SBA to take advantage of FCA's expertise in
examining specialized financial institutions and offered FCA the
opportunity to broaden its experience through exposure to a different
lending environment.
Additionally, using the disaster provisions under its traditional
multifamily and single-family rural housing programs, Rural Development
collaborated with FEMA in providing assistance to hurricane victims.
Through this collaborative effort, Rural Development assisted victims
of Katrina by (1) making multifamily rental units available nationwide;
(2) providing grants and loans for home repair and replacement; and (3)
providing mortgage relief through a foreclosure moratorium and mortgage
payment forbearance. Rural Development also shared information with
FEMA on USDA-owned homes for lease, developed an Internet presence to
inform victims of available housing, and made resources available at
Rural Development state offices to assist in these efforts.
While SBA and Rural Development are not currently involved in a
collaborative working relationship, both agencies have some experience
collaborating with each other on issues involving rural development.
Specifically, on February 22, 1977, SBA and Rural Development
established an MOU for the purpose of coordinating and cooperating in
the use of their respective loan-making authorities. Under the general
guidelines of the agreement, appropriate SBA and Rural Development
officials were to establish a liaison and periodically coordinate their
activities to (1) define areas of cooperation, (2) assure that intended
recipients received assistance, (3) enable both agencies to provide
expeditious service, and (4) provide maximum utilization of resources.
Again on March 30, 1988, SBA and Rural Development agreed to enter into
a cooperative relationship designed to encourage and maximize
effectiveness in promoting rural development. The MOU outlined each
agency's responsibilities to (1) coordinate program delivery services
and (2) cooperate with other private sector and federal, state, and
local agencies to ensure that all available resources worked together
to promote rural development. SBA and Rural Development officials told
us that the 1977 and 1988 agreements had elapsed and had not been
renewed.
Finally, in creating the RBIP in 2002, Congress authorized Rural
Development and SBA to enter into an interagency agreement to create
rural business investment companies. Under the program, the investment
companies would leverage capital raised from private investors,
including rural residents, into investments in rural small businesses.
The legislation recommended that Rural Development manage the RBIP with
the assistance of SBA because of SBA's investment expertise and
experience and because the program was modeled after SBA's SBIC
program. The legislation provided funding to cover SBA's costs of
providing such assistance. A total of $10 million was available for the
RBIP in fiscal years 2005 and 2006.
Rural Development and SBA conditionally elected to fund three rural
business investment companies. However, according to SBA officials only
one of these companies has been formed because of challenges in finding
investment companies that can undertake such investments. Section 1403
of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 rescinded funding for the program
at the end of fiscal year 2006. In March 2007, Rural Development began
the process of exploring ways to continue the RBIP, despite the
rescission.
SBA and Rural Development Both Have a Field Office Network, but Rural
Development Appears to Have a More Recognized Presence in Rural Areas:
Both SBA and Rural Development have field offices in locations across
the United States. However, Rural Development has more state and local
field offices and is a more recognized presence in rural areas than
SBA. Prior to its 1994 reorganization, which resulted in a more
centralized structure, USDA had field staff in almost every rural
county.[Footnote 9] Consistent with its reorganization, and as we
reported in September 2000, USDA closed or consolidated about 1,500
county offices into USDA service centers and transferred over 600 Rural
Development field positions to the St. Louis Centralized Servicing
Center.[Footnote 10] What resulted was a Rural Development field office
structure that consisted of about 50 state offices, 145 area offices,
and 670 local offices. As part of the reorganization, state Rural
Development offices were given the authority to develop their own
program delivery systems. Some states did not change, believing that
they needed to maintain a county-based structure with a fixed local
presence to deliver one-on-one services to rural areas. Other states
consolidated their local offices to form district offices. For example,
when we performed our audit work in 2000 we found that Mississippi,
which maintains a county-based field structure, had more staff and
field offices than any other state. Today, Mississippi still maintains
that structure and has a large number of field offices, including 2
area offices, 24 local offices and 3 sub-area offices. The Maine Rural
Development office changed its operational structure, moving from 28
offices before the reorganization to 15 afterward. In 2000, it operated
out of 3 district offices and currently has 4 area offices.[Footnote
11]
SBA currently has 68 district offices, many of which are not located in
rural communities or are not readily accessible to rural small
businesses. For several years, SBA has been centralizing some of the
functions of its district offices to improve efficiency and consistency
in approving, servicing, and liquidating loans. Concurrently, SBA has
also been moving more toward partnering with outside entities such as
private sector lenders to provide services. SBA's district offices were
initially created to be the local delivery system for SBA's programs,
but as SBA has centralized functions and placed more responsibilities
on its lending partners, the district offices' responsibilities have
changed. For example, the processing and servicing of a majority of
SBA's loans--work once handled largely by district office staff--have
been moved from district offices to service centers. Moreover, as we
reported in October 2001, there has been confusion over the mission of
the district offices, with SBA headquarters officials believing the
district office's key customers are small businesses and district
office staff believing that their key customers are the lenders who
make the loans.[Footnote 12] Currently, SBA is continuing its workforce
transformation efforts to, among other things, better define the
district office role to focus on marketing and outreach to small
businesses.[Footnote 13]
We plan to evaluate the extent to which Rural Development offices may
be able to help market SBA programs and services by making information
available through their district offices. It appears that Rural
Development has an extensive physical infrastructure in rural areas and
expertise in working with rural lenders and small businesses. Our
ongoing work will explore these issues in more depth, including looking
at any incentives that exist for Rural Development and SBA to
collaborate with each other.
Our Ongoing Work Will Study the Potential for Increased Collaboration
between SBA and Rural Development:
You requested that we conduct a review of the potential for increased
collaboration between SBA and Rural Development, and we have recently
begun this work. In general, the major objectives of our review are to
determine:
1. The differences and similarities between SBA loan programs and Rural
Development business programs,
2. The kind of cooperation that is already taking place between SBA and
Rural Development offices, and:
3. Any opportunities or barriers that may exist to cooperation and
collaboration between SBA and Rural Development.
To assess the differences and similarities between SBA loan programs
and Rural Development business programs, we will review relevant SBA
and Rural Development documents describing their loan and business
programs. We will examine relevant laws, regulations, policies, and
program rules, including eligibility requirements and types of
assistance, funding levels, and eligible use of program funds. We will
obtain data on both agencies' loan processes and procedures, including
any agency goals for awarding loans, documentation requirements, and
loan processing times.
To determine what cooperation has taken place between SBA and Rural
Development, we will examine previous collaboration efforts and
cooperation between the agencies in providing programs and services. We
will also review documents such as MOUs, informal interagency
agreements, and other documentation and will conduct interviews with
SBA and Rural Development staff at headquarters and field offices to
obtain a fuller understanding of these initiatives.
To determine what opportunities or barriers exist to cooperation and
collaboration between SBA and Rural Development, we will review
relevant laws, regulations, and policies. We will review data from SBA
and Rural Development on each agency's field structure, including
office space and personnel, and interview relevant parties on the
advantages and disadvantages to co-locating offices. We plan to
interview headquarters and field office staff at each agency about past
collaboration efforts and any plans to work collaboratively in the
future. We also plan to obtain the perspectives of select lenders that
participate in SBA loan programs and Rural Development business
programs.
We reported previously in March 2007 and October 2005 that effective
collaboration can occur between agencies if they take a more systematic
approach to agreeing on roles and responsibilities and establishing
compatible goals, policies, and procedures on how to use available
resources as efficiently as possible.[Footnote 14] In doing so, we
identified certain key practices that agencies such as SBA and USDA
could use to help enhance and sustain their efforts to work
collaboratively.[Footnote 15] These practices include (1) defining and
articulating a common outcome; (2) establishing mutually reinforcing or
joint strategies; (3) identifying and addressing needs by leveraging
resources; (4) agreeing on roles and responsibilities; (5) establishing
compatible policies, procedures, and other means of operating across
agency boundaries; (6) developing mechanisms to monitor, evaluate, and
report on results; (7) reinforcing agency accountability for
collaborative efforts; and (8) reinforcing individual accountability
for collaborative efforts. As part of our ongoing work, we plan to
review the extent to which the eight key practices relate to possible
opportunities for SBA to increase collaboration with Rural Development.
For example, we plan to explore the extent to which these practices are
necessary elements for SBA to have a collaborative relationship with
Rural Development.
We are continuing to design the scope and methodology for our work, and
we expect to complete this design phase by February 2008. At that time,
we will provide details of our approach as well as a committed issuance
date for our final report.
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Fortenberry, and Members of the
Subcommittee, this concludes my prepared statement. I would be happy to
respond to any questions that you may have.
Contact and Acknowledgments:
For additional information about this testimony, please contact William
B. Shear at (202) 512-8678 or shearw@gao.gov. Contact points for our
Offices of Congressional Affairs and Public Affairs may be found on the
last page of this statement. Individuals making key contributions to
this testimony included Paul Schmidt, Assistant Director; Michelle
Bowsky; Tania Calhoun; Emily Chalmers; and Ronald Ito.
[End of section]
Footnotes:
[1] Collaboration can be broadly defined as any joint activity that is
intended to produce more public value than can be produced when the
agencies act alone. It can include interagency activities that others
have previously defined as cooperation, coordination, integration, or
networking.
[2] See GAO, Rural Economic Development: More Assurance Is Needed That
Grant Funding Information Is Accurately Reported, GAO-06-294
(Washington, D.C.: Feb. 24, 2006).
[3] Section 6029 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002,
Pub. L. No. 107-171, 116 Stat. 134, 387 (2002), codified at 7 U.S.C. §§
2009cc et seq., amended the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act
by requiring the Secretary of USDA to establish the Rural Business
Investment Program (RBIP).
[4] 31 U.S.C. §§ 1535, 1536.
[5] The Rural Development Policy Act of 1980 designated USDA as the
lead federal agency for rural development.
[6] The Office of Community Development (OCD) is also part of USDA's
rural development mission area. OCD implements a range of special rural
development initiatives and provides support for rural development
activities through the field offices.
[7] See E. Bardach, Getting Agencies to Work Together: The Practice and
Theory of Managerial Craftsmanship (Washington, D.C.: Brookings
Institution, 1998).
[8] FCA is the regulator of the Farm Credit System.
[9] Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture
Reorganization Act of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-354, 108 Stat. 3178 (1994).
[10] See GAO, Rural Housing: Options for Optimizing the Federal Role in
Rural Housing Development, GAO/RCED-00-241 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 15,
2000).
[11] Rural Development field offices are responsible for ensuring
adherence to program plans approved for the state and for providing
staffing support to state offices.
[12] GAO, Small Business Administration: Current Structure Presents
Challenges for Service Delivery, GAO-02-17 (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 26,
2001).
[13] GAO, Small Business Administration: Progress Made, but
Transformation Could Benefit from Practices Emphasizing Transparency
and Communication, GAO-04-76 (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 31, 2003). SBA's
resource partners include organizations such as Small Business
Development Centers and Women's Business Centers, which provide
management and technical assistance, and the Service Corps of Retired
Executives (SCORE) chapters, which provide volunteer business
executives to counsel small businesses and potential entrepreneurs.
[14] GAO, Financial Market Regulation: Agencies Engaged in Consolidated
Supervision Can Strengthen Performance Measurement and Collaboration,
GAO-07-154 (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 15, 2007)
[15] GAO, Results-Oriented Government: Practices That Can Help Enhance
and Sustain Collaboration among Federal Agencies, GAO-06-15
(Washington, D.C.: Oct. 21, 2005).
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