Fragmentation refers to circumstances in which more than one federal agency (or more than one organization within an agency) is involved in the same broad area of national interest. Overlap involves programs that have similar goals, devise similar strategies and activities to achieve those goals, or target similar users. Duplication occurs when two or more agencies or programs are engaged in the same activities or provide the same assistance to the same beneficiaries. In some instances, it may be appropriate for multiple agencies or entities to be involved in the same programmatic or policy area due to the nature or magnitude of the federal effort. However, we have previously identified instances where multiple government programs or activities have led to inefficiencies, and we determined that greater efficiencies or effectiveness might be achievable. In September 2000, we reported that there is no commonly accepted definition for economic development. Absent a common definition, we subsequently developed a list of nine activities most often associated with economic development. In general, we focused on economic activities that directly affected the overall development of an area, such as job creation, rather than on activities that improved individuals’ quality of life, such as housing and education. The nine economic activities are supporting business incubators and accelerators, constructing and renovating commercial buildings, constructing and renovating industrial parks and buildings, strategic planning and research, marketing and access to new markets for products and industries, supporting telecommunications and broadband infrastructure, supporting physical infrastructure, and supporting tourism. Appendix II provides illustrative examples of each of these economic activities. Appendix III provides more information on the 52 economic development programs we focused on for this report. Appendix IV includes a list of additional programs that are administered by federal agencies we identified that can fund at least one of these activities. In January 2011, Congress updated the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) with the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA). GPRAMA establishes a new framework aimed at taking a more crosscutting and integrated approach to focusing on results and improving government performance. Effective implementation of GPRAMA could play an important role in clarifying desired outcomes; addressing program performance spanning multiple organizations; and facilitating future actions to reduce unnecessary duplication, overlap, and fragmentation. Among other things, GPRAMA requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to coordinate with agencies to establish outcome-oriented federal government priority goals covering a limited number of policy areas, as well as goals to improve management across the federal government. It also requires OMB—in conjunction with the agencies—to develop a federal government performance plan that outlines how they will make progress toward achieving goals, including federal government priority goals. The President’s 2013 budget submission includes the first interim federal government priority goals, including one to increase federal services to entrepreneurs and small businesses with an emphasis on start-ups and growing firms and underserved markets. The identified economic development programs that support entrepreneurs overlap based on both the type of assistance they provide and the characteristics of the beneficiaries they target. This overlap among fragmented programs can make it difficult for entrepreneurs to navigate the services available to them. In addition, while agencies have taken steps to collaborate more in administering these programs, they have not implemented a number of good collaborative practices we have previously identified, and some entrepreneurs struggle to find the support they need. Federal efforts to support entrepreneurs are fragmented, which occurs when more than one agency or program is involved in the same broad area of national interest. Commerce (8), HUD (12), SBA (19), and USDA (13) administered 52 programs that could support entrepreneurial efforts in fiscal year 2011. Several types of overlap—which occurs when programs have similar goals, engage in similar activities or strategies to achieve them, or target similar beneficiaries—exist among these programs, based on the type of assistance the programs offer and characteristics of the programs’ targeted beneficiaries. Many of the programs provide entrepreneurs with similar types of assistance. The programs generally can be grouped according to at least one of three types of assistance that address different entrepreneurial needs: help obtaining (1) technical assistance, (2) financial assistance, and (3) government contracts. Many of the programs can provide more than one type of assistance, and most focus on technical assistance, financial assistance, or both: Technical assistance: Thirty-five programs distributed across the four agencies can provide technical assistance, including business training, counseling and research, and development support. Financial assistance: Thirty programs distributed across the four agencies can support entrepreneurs through financial assistance in the form of grants and loans. Government contracting assistance: Five programs, all of which are administered by SBA, can support entrepreneurs by helping them qualify for federal procurement opportunities. We reviewed the statutes and regulations for each program and found that overlap tends to be concentrated among programs that provide a broad range of technical and financial assistance. Within the technical assistance category, 24 of the 35 programs are authorized to provide or fund a broad range of technical assistance both to entrepreneurs with existing businesses and to nascent entrepreneurs—that is, entrepreneurs attempting to start a business—in any industry. This broad range of support can include any form of training or counseling, including start-up assistance, access to capital, and accounting. Examples of programs in this category include Commerce’s Minority Business Centers, five of HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs, SBA’s Small Business Development Centers, and USDA’s Rural Business Opportunity Grants. Eight additional programs can support limited types of technical assistance or industries. For example, Commerce’s Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms only supports existing businesses negatively affected by imports, and USDA’s Small Socially- Disadvantaged Producer Grants only serves agricultural businesses. Similarly, 16 of the 30 financial assistance programs can provide or guarantee loans that can be used for a broad range of purposes to existing businesses and nascent entrepreneurs in any industry. Examples of programs in this category include Commerce’s Economic Adjustment Assistance programs, six of HUD’s CDBG programs, SBA’s 7(a) Loan Program, and USDA’s Business and Industry Loans. Five other programs can support loans for a more narrow range of purposes or industries, while the other nine programs can only support other types of financial assistance, such as grants, equity investments, and surety guarantees. In addition, a number of programs overlap based on the characteristics of the targeted beneficiary. Most programs either target or exclusively serve one of four types of businesses: businesses in rural areas, businesses in economically distressed areas, disadvantaged businesses, and small businesses. support to entrepreneurs are focused on serving beneficiaries in economically distressed areas or target benefits at low- to moderate- income individuals. SBA’s 19 programs are all limited to serving small businesses, with several programs that either target or exclusively serve disadvantaged businesses and microenterprises. Eight of USDA’s 13 programs are limited to rural service areas, and four of these programs are limited to small businesses or microenterprises. Among Commerce’s eight programs, six are limited to serving beneficiaries in economically distressed areas, while two exclusively serve disadvantaged businesses. The definition of rural varies among these programs, but according to USDA—the agency that administers many of the economic development programs that serve rural areas—the term rural typically covers areas with population limits ranging from less than 2,500 to 50,000. Based on statutory language, we characterize economically distressed areas as communities with high concentrations of low- and moderate-income families or high rates of unemployment and/or underemployment. See, e.g., 42 U.S.C. § 3141; 42 U.S.C. § 5301. Likewise, based on statutory language, we characterize disadvantaged businesses as those owned by women, minority groups, and veterans, among other factors. See, e.g., 15 U.S.C. § 637(a); 15 U.S.C. § 656. The definition of small business varies among these programs, but according to SBA—the agency that administers many of the economic development programs that serve small businesses—the term small business refers to businesses that have annual receipts or total employee numbers under an agency-defined value for their specific industry. Entrepreneurs may fall into more than one beneficiary category—for example, an entrepreneur may be in an area that is both rural and economically distressed. Therefore, these entrepreneurs would be eligible, based on program authority, for more than one subset of program. For example, a small business in a rural, economically distressed area, such as Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, could, in terms of program authority, receive a broad range of technical assistance through at least nine programs at all four of the agencies, including: Commerce’s Economic Adjustment Assistance; HUD’s CDBG/States, Rural Innovation Fund, and Section 4 Capacity SBA’s SCORE and Small Business Development Centers; USDA’s1890 Land Grant Institutions, Rural Business Enterprise Grants, and Rural Business Opportunity Grants. Similarly, a small business that is both minority- and women-owned in an urban, noneconomically distressed area, such as Seattle, Washington, could in terms of program authority, receive a broad range of technical assistance through at least seven programs at three of the four agencies, including: Commerce’s Minority Business Centers; HUD’s CDBG/Entitlement and Section 4 Capacity Building; and SBA’s Program for Investment in Micro-entrepreneurs (PRIME), SCORE, Small Business Development Centers, and Women’s Business Centers. HUD’s Rural Innovation Fund program did not receive funding in fiscal year 2011 but is still active. USDA’s1890 Land Grant Institutions received an unspecified amount of funding through USDA’s Salaries and Expense account rather than program appropriations. Entrepreneurs may also be eligible for multiple subsets of financial assistance programs based on their specific characteristics.