MAKING OUR BUSINESS

YOUR BUSINESS
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OFFICE OF SMALL BUSINESS AND CIVIL RIGHTS 

The Small Business Program

Mission of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The mission of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is to 

license and regulate the Nation’s civilian use of byproduct, source, 

and special nuclear materials in order to protect public health and 

safety, promote the common defense and security, and protect the 

environment. 

The NRC’s regulations are designed to protect the public and occupational workers from radiation hazards in those industries using 

radioactive materials.

The NRC’s scope of responsibility includes regulation of commercial 

nuclear power plants; research, test, and training reactors; nuclear 

fuel cycle facilities; medical, academic, and industrial uses of radioactive materials; and the transport, storage, and disposal of radioactive materials and wastes. 

In addition, the NRC licenses the import and export of radioactive materials and works to enhance nuclear safety and security 

throughout the world. 

Contracting With The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Making Our Business Your Business

The NRC supports small business public policies and is committed 

to increasing contracting opportunities for small businesses, including 

those small businesses owned by the:

» Disadvantaged (SDB)

» Woman-owned (WOSB)

» Veteran-owned

» Service-disabled Veteran (SDVOSB)

» Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) concerns 
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In fiscal year 2007, the NRC procured more than $150 million in 

products and services. Acquisitions ranged from basic office supplies 

and administrative support services to construction and engineering, 

to management and inspection to research and development, all 

in support of agency mission objectives. The NRC awarded nearly 

45% of those contract dollars to small businesses, 14% to SDBs, 9.2% 

to WOSBs, 1.6% to SDVOSBs, and 4.8% to HUBZone concerns.

The NRC awarded nearly 45% of those contract dollars to small bus

SDBs, 9.2% to WOSBs, 1.6% to SDVOSBs, and 4.8% to HUBZone conc

45%

Small

Businesses 14% SDBs

9.2% 

WOSBs

1.6% 

SDVOSBs

4.8% 

HUBZone
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What Does the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission Buy?

Examples Include:

» Administrative support 

» Auditing and financial management

» Construction, architecture, and engineering

» Courier and messenger services

» Custodial services

» Document processing

» Investigations

» Engineering and environmental support services

» Facilities support

» Health and fitness services and equipment

» Inspection support

» Information technology equipment, software, and other support 

services and solutions

» Management consulting 

» Nuclear engineering 

» Office supplies and equipment 

» Reliability studies 

» Research and development

» Technical assistance 

» Telecommunications equipment and services

» Training

How Does the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

Contract?

The NRC awards contracts and oversees the award of subcontracts 

in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) (48 CFR 

Chapter 1), the NRC supplemental agency Acquisition Regulation 

(48 CFR Chapter 20), and other agency management directives.
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Before contracting in the open market, NRC considers agency 

inventories and may conduct contract competitions for supply 

and service requirements by issuing task and delivery orders 

against other existing Federal agency contracts, through interagency Federal contracts, and under the General Services 

Administration (GSA) Schedule Program.

After considering these options, the NRC conducts simplified acquisitions and contracts in the open market. Federal small business programs are considered when developing acquisition strategies. In accordance with the FAR, contracts may be set aside exclusively for the 

various small business programs. Based on the estimated dollar value 

of the contract requirement and marketplace capabilities, contracting 

methods include the following types:

» Micropurchases: Purchases below the $3,500 threshold 

typically are awarded through use of a government purchase 

card. Although these purchases are not required to be set aside 

for small businesses or necessarily competed, opportunities 

abound for small businesses with the interest and the capability.

» Simplified Acquisitions: Purchases between $3,500 and 

$100,000 are reserved for small businesses through small 

business set-asides and are subject to streamlined procurement 

procedures. Federal agencies can further restrict competitions for 

HUBZone concerns and SDVOSB.

» Contracts: Contracts for supplies and services exceeding the 

simplified acquisition threshold are awarded through the invitation 

for bids or the request for proposal process. Contracts can be 

set-aside either sole source or competitively for small businesses, 

HUBZone concerns, and SDVOSBs, when market capability 

exists.

» Subcontracting Program: Nonprofit and educational institutions 

as well as large for-profit businesses that are awarded contracts 

exceeding the $550,000 threshold are required to establish 

subcontracting programs and subcontracting plans with specific 

goals to award subcontracts to all categories of small business. 
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The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Post Notices 

of Contracts, Opportunities, and Awards

At values greater than $25,000, the NRC publicizes proposed business opportunities and posts notices of contracts awarded, including 

those with potential subcontracting opportunities, on the Federal 

Government’s FedBizOpps Web site at www.fedbizopps.gov. 

Interested parties need to register once to receive notification of opportunities. The NRC also posts notices of open-market contract opportunities valued between $10,000 and $25,000 on the agency’s 

Web site under the Division of Contracts Web page, and the NRC 

posts the agency’s Forecast of Contract Opportunities on the Small 

Business Program Web page. In addition, the agency posts market 

research notices in FedBizOpps, exploring small business interest, 

capability, and capacity in the marketplace.

The Office of Small Business and Civil Rights is the 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Advocate for Small 

Business and Home for the Agency’s Small Business 

Program

The NRC’s Small Business Program (SBP) serves as the advocate for 

all categories of small businesses to ensure maximum practicable 

prime and subcontract opportunities. Specifically, the NRC’s Small 

Business Program within the SBCR:

» Advocates small business interests at the agency and advocates 

the use of small businesses as primes and subcontractors to 

support mission goals and objectives, and to meet the agency’s 

Federal socioeconomic contracting goals.

» Negotiates with the Small Business Administration goals for 

contract and subcontract awards to all categories of small 

businesses.

» Trains and counsels the business community and agency 

program and contracting officials to reach out to the business 

community.
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» Conducts varied outreach and educational activities and 

participates in Congressional, Federal, State, and local 

government procurement conferences, fairs, and other events.

» Maintains a Web site of agency contracting and other business 

development information.

» Maintains business capability information.

» Monitors small business legislation and agency data reporting.

» Reviews contract requirements over the simplified 

acquisition threshold for potential small business set-aside 

recommendations.

The NRC Small Business Program hosts and participates in a variety of outreach events and other procurement conferences and 

fairs sponsored by Congress; Federal, State, and local governments; 

private industry; and various trade organizations to reach out to the 

business community.

The NRC Small Business Program sponsors a small business “Meet 

& Greet” seminar at NRC Headquarters usually the first Thursday of 

each month. The orientation introduces the NRC’s mission, its acquisition and small business programs, and the agency’s prime and 

subcontract opportunities. To register for the “Meet & Greet,” e-mail 

SmallBusiness@nrc.gov.

Both the NRC Small Business Program and Division of Contracts 

maintain capability information about businesses that market to the 

agency. In addition, the offices actively use the Central Contractor 

Registration (CCR) database, the GSA schedules, libraries, and other 

catalogue listings, as well as other Web tools to locate small business sources of supply and service. 
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For Additional Information about the Small Business 

Program, Please Contact: 

Office of Small Business and Civil Rights 

Small Business Program

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

One White Flint North

11555 Rockville Pike, Mail Stop 03H8

Rockville, MD 20852-2738

SmallBusiness@nrc.gov

(301) 415-7381 or (800) 903-SBCR

Mailing Address:

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Washington, DC 20555-0001
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Web Resources

The NRC Web site

www.nrc.gov

NRC’s extensive electronic, paper, and microfiche collections

www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/pdr.html

NRC history

www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/history.html

NRC organization charts and functional descriptions

www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/nrcorg.pdf

Glossary of nuclear terms

www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/glossary.html

NRC administrative services functions

www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/admfuncdesc.html

NRC Division of Contracts Web site

www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/contracting.html

NRC Forecast of Contracting Opportunities

www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/contracting/forecast.html

The U.S. Small Business Administration Web site

www.sba.gov

Gateway to federal contracting opportunities and online resource for 

downloading business opportunities

www.fedbizopps.gov

Federal Government Central Contractor Registration system serving as 

the primary business database for the U.S. Federal Government

www.ccr.gov
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Acquisition Central, includes the Federal Acquisition Regulation, Central 

Contractor Registration, gateway to GSA, and other Federal contracting resources

www.arnet.gov

The Federal System that establishes thresholds to differentiate small and 

large business by annual revenue and/or number of employees

www.census.gov/naics

Federal Procurement Data Center (FPDC) maintains the Federal 

Procurement Data System (FPDS), a central repository of statistical information of Federal Contracting

www.fpdc.gov

Offices of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) 

are found in each Federal agency as required by Public Law 95-507; 

OSDBUs serve as champions of small business and provide guidance 

and marketing assistance

www.osdbu.gov

Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) provides technical and 

business development assistance to small business

www.score.org

Small Business Development Centers (SBDDC) provide management, 

finance, and planning support to small business

www.sba.gov.sbdc/sbdcnear.html

Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) promotes contracting 

activity between the government and industry

www.sellingthegovernment.net

The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) provides access 

to markets, capital assistance, training, and commerce

www.mbda.gov
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Center for Veterans Enterprise provides Federal buyers access to a 

veteran and service disabled veteran database and provides business 

development support to veteran entrepreneurs

www.vetbiz.gov

Subcontracting Opportunities (SUB-NET), includes Federal subcontracting opportunities under Federal prime contracts

web.sba.gov/subnet

Electronic Subcontract Reporting System (ESRS) serves as the primary 

Federal database for the U.S. Federal government large prime contracts reporting on subcontract award to small business

www.esrs.gov

Past Performance Information Retrieval System serves as the primary 

Federal contractor performance database for the U.S. Federal government

www.ppirs.gov

General Services Administration is the Federal agency that serves 

Federal contractors and Federal contracting officials by providing information on the GSA Schedules Program, the Vendor SUpport Center 

and the Schedules e-Library

www.fss.gsa.gov

www.ebuy.gsa.gov

www.fss.gsa.gov/vgc

www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov
NUREG/BR-0277, Rev. 2

July 2008