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                    Most Recent Reports**1 - 20 of 639 Reports**
	
	

	
	  **Released on   Mar 29, 2024**
          Small Business Research Programs: Increased Performance Standards Likely Affect Few Businesses Receiving Multiple Awards
    GAO-24-106398
      Published:   Mar 29, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Mar 29, 2024
.
    Small businesses are important drivers of economic growth, but they can face challenges accessing capital to fund research and development. To help, federal agencies award funding to small businesses. These awards are competitive, yet some businesses have received multiple awards. This has raised concerns about crowding out new businesses. In 2022, Congress increased standards for small businesses that receive the highest numbers of awards—like requiring...
      **Released on   Mar 6, 2024**
          Small Business Administration: Progress and Work Remaining to Implement Key Management Improvements
    GAO-24-107395
      Published:   Mar 6, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Mar 6, 2024
.
    The Small Business Administration set up programs to help with the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Paycheck Protection Program. We testified about 23 recommendations we've made to improve this and other SBA programs. SBA has addressed 10 of our recommendations. For example, we recommended that it conduct a formal fraud risk assessment and develop a strategy to manage risks, and SBA has done so. However, SBA...
      **Released on   Feb 22, 2024**
          Small Business Administration: Targeted Outreach about Disaster Assistance Could Benefit Rural Communities
    GAO-24-106755
      Published:   Feb 22, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Feb 22, 2024
.
    This Q&A report explores the Small Business Administration's Disaster Loan Program, which helps businesses, homeowners, renters, and nonprofits in urban and rural communities recover after a disaster. But some rural communities may not know about the assistance or how to get it due to specific challenges in those areas, such as intermittent cellular or internet service. SBA has new outreach efforts—such as portable centers that...
      **Released on   Feb 13, 2024**
          Small Business Innovation Research: Better Data and Clarity on Eligibility of Venture Capital-Owned Businesses Are Needed
    GAO-24-107004
      Published:   Feb 13, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Feb 13, 2024
.
    Agencies make Small Business Innovation Research awards to help small businesses bring their technologies to market. In this Q&A report, we review agencies' awards to businesses owned by venture capital firms, hedge funds, or private equity firms. These awards increased substantially in FYs 2021-2023—largely due to awards from DOD. But DOD found reliability issues with its data on such firms, so the extent of the...
      **Released on   Dec 21, 2023**
          Small Business Administration: Procedures for Reporting on Veteran-Owned Businesses Need Improvement
    GAO-24-106071
      Published:   Dec 21, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Dec 21, 2023
.
    Many veterans face challenges with raising capital to start small businesses—such as establishing credit and developing business relationships if they move to a new area after military service. The Small Business Administration must give special consideration to veterans for its lending programs. But the agency hasn't developed policies and procedures to do so. For example, SBA committed to processing applications for veteran-owned businesses promptly. However...
      **Released on   Dec 14, 2023**
          Small Business Contracting: SBA Could Improve Oversight of Individual Waiver Requests to the Nonmanufacturer Rule
    GAO-24-106196
      Published:   Dec 14, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Dec 14, 2023
.
    The federal government aims to award 23% of its contracts to small businesses, including manufacturers. If no small manufacturer exists for a product, agencies can request a waiver from the Small Business Administration to allow any sized manufacturer to supply the product instead. Recent SBA data indicated that agencies submitted about 670 waiver requests, roughly 80% of which SBA approved. But its waiver data is...
      **Released on   Nov 30, 2023**
          Disaster Loan Program: SBA Should Include Key Issues in Its Review of How the Program Affects Underserved Communities
    GAO-24-106682
      Published:   Nov 30, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Nov 30, 2023
.
    The Small Business Administration's Disaster Loan Program helps homeowners, renters, and businesses recover from disasters that can cause billions of dollars in damage each year. SBA has identified lending criteria—such as credit history—as one barrier to loan access in underserved communities, like those with high poverty rates. For 13 hurricanes in fiscal years 2018-2022, we found that SBA approved applicants from some underserved communities less...
      **Released on   Nov 28, 2023**
          Small Business Research Programs: Information Regarding Subaward Use and Data Quality
    GAO-24-106399
      Published:   Nov 28, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Nov 28, 2023
.
    Agencies that participate in the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs have helped small businesses bring new technologies to market—such as a low-cost, energy-efficient alternative to fluorescent lights. Small businesses that receive these awards are allowed to use subcontractors and consultants (such as other companies, academic institutions, and nonprofits) to assist with these projects. We estimated that about 70% of award...
      **Released on   Nov 16, 2023**
          Small Business Research Programs: Agencies Are Implementing Programs to Manage Foreign Risks and Plan Further Refinement
    GAO-24-106400
      Published:   Nov 16, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Nov 16, 2023
.
    Federal agencies award research and development funds to small businesses through small business research programs. However, foreign governments sometimes try to steal such U.S.-funded research and technology. The Small Business Administration issued best practices in 2023 to guide agencies' efforts to manage foreign risks—e.g., ensuring that agencies conduct due diligence regarding foreign affiliations when awarding funds. We found that the 11 agencies participating in these...
      **Released on   Jul 11, 2023**
          Small Business Administration: Exploring Potential Use of Blockchain
    GAO-23-106051
      Published:   Jul 11, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jul 11, 2023
.
    Data and recorded transactions can be stored in a shared, tamper-resistant, decentralized digital ledger known as "blockchain." This Q&A looks at whether blockchain could help the Small Business Administration work more efficiently. For example, SBA's annual reports to Congress are often up to 16 months late. Blockchain could speed up the reporting process by eliminating the need to manually verify data and fix errors or...
      **Released on   May 22, 2023**
          Priority Open Recommendations: Small Business Administration
    GAO-23-106377
      Published:   May 15, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   May 22, 2023
.
    Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help the federal government save money, address issues on our High Risk List , and significantly improve government operations. This letter to the Small Business Administration outlines 13 open recommendations that it should prioritize. For example, SBA provided billions of dollars to businesses during the pandemic, but didn't fully assess the potential for fraud. Doing so...
      **Released on   May 18, 2023**
          COVID Relief: Fraud Schemes and Indicators in SBA Pandemic Programs
    GAO-23-105331
      Published:   May 18, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   May 18, 2023
.
    The Small Business Administration provided $1 trillion to help small businesses during the pandemic. But in some instances funds went to fraudsters—the Department of Justice charged hundreds of individuals and is investigating many more. We flagged 3.7 million recipients of SBA funds as having warning signs consistent with potential fraud. Such "indicators" aren’t proof of fraud, which is why we referred them for further review...
      **Released on   Oct 12, 2022**
          Small Business Research Programs: Reporting on Award Timeliness Could Be Enhanced
    GAO-23-105591
      Published:   Oct 12, 2022
. 
        Publicly Released:   Oct 12, 2022
.
    Agencies that participate in the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs have helped small businesses bring new technologies to market—such as a low-cost, energy-efficient alternative to fluorescent lights. However, agencies do not always make these awards on time. This can be a problem for small businesses because they rely on timely issuance of these awards to plan their work. We recommended...
      **Released on   Oct 11, 2022**
          COVID Relief: SBA Could Improve Communications and Fraud Risk Monitoring for Its Arts and Entertainment Venues Grant Program
    GAO-23-105199
      Published:   Oct 11, 2022
. 
        Publicly Released:   Oct 11, 2022
.
    The Small Business Administration created a grant program to help businesses in the arts and entertainment industries, which were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic . We found that: SBA approved awards for 73% of businesses that applied Over 90% of the awards went to businesses with 50 or fewer employees But, many applicants noted program problems—from frequently changing guidance to hard-to-access customer service. In...
      **Released on   Oct 4, 2022**
          Tracking the Funds: Specific Fiscal Year 2022 Provisions for Small Business Administration
    GAO-23-105907
      Published:   Oct 4, 2022
. 
        Publicly Released:   Oct 4, 2022
.
    As part of FY22 appropriations, Members of Congress could request to designate a certain amount of federal funding for specific projects in their communities. While agencies often have discretion over how they award funds, Congress has directed them to distribute these funds to designated recipients. We're tracking the funds to help ensure transparency. The Small Business Administration's FY22 appropriations included $83 million for 128 of...
      **Released on   Sep 29, 2022**
          Small Business Administration: Recent Changes to the 8(a) Program's Financial Thresholds Need Evaluation
    GAO-22-104512
      Published:   Aug 30, 2022
. 
        Publicly Released:   Sep 29, 2022
.
    We looked at SBA's 8(a) Business Development Program, which helps socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses. We found: SBA didn't submit any of its required annual 8(a) program reports to Congress on time in 2016—2021. For example, it submitted reports for 2016 and 2017 in 2020. SBA also hasn't developed a plan to address delays for future reporting. In July 2020, SBA began allowing businesses...
      **Released on   Sep 22, 2022**
          Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges
    GAO-22-105065
      Published:   Sep 22, 2022
. 
        Publicly Released:   Sep 22, 2022
.
    Federal agencies that collect personally identifiable information—such as birthplaces and Social Security numbers—are required to establish programs to protect it. The 24 agencies we examined had designated a senior agency official for privacy, as required. However, these officials may have numerous other duties and may not bring a needed focus on privacy. They generally delegated many aspects of privacy programs to less-senior officials. We recommended...
      **Released on   Aug 30, 2022**
          Tribal Economic Development: Action is Needed to Better Understand the Extent of Federal Support
    GAO-22-105215
      Published:   Aug 30, 2022
. 
        Publicly Released:   Aug 30, 2022
.
    Historically, tribal communities have had higher rates of unemployment and poverty than other communities. The federal government administers multiple programs that can support economic development in these communities. We identified 22 programs at 7 agencies that provide economic development assistance—e.g., grants or loans—to tribal governments and businesses. But these programs might be hard to identify or access, leaving tribal entities to miss out on valuable...
      **Released on   Jul 14, 2022**
          Restaurant Revitalization Fund: Opportunities Exist to Improve Oversight
    GAO-22-105442
      Published:   Jul 14, 2022
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jul 14, 2022
.
    In March 2021, Congress appropriated $28.6 billion to the Small Business Administration to help the food service industry weather the COVID-19 pandemic . About 40% of eligible applicants received awards from the resulting Restaurant Revitalization Fund before it was depleted. SBA took steps to detect fraudulent or ineligible applications. For instance, it prevented over 30,000 suspicious applications from receiving awards. But it flagged 4,000 award...
    
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