| July 18, 2023 RELEASE 23-077 NASA Maintains âAâ for Investing in Small Businesses
53055186165_c54afc1ae3_o.jpg Isabella Casillas Guzman, Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), left, answers a question after unveiling the 2022 Small Business Federal Procurement Scorecard, at an event hosted by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, right, and NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Tuesday, July 18, 2023 in the Earth Information Center at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. For the sixth year in a row NASA has received an âAâ rating from SBA for its work with small businesses. Credits: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani |
During an Investing in America event Tuesday with NASA leadership, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the space agency earned an âAâ for the sixth consecutive year for its work with small businesses, exceeding its goals by 18%. In total, NASA has directly invested $3.6 billion in over 1,700 small businesses across the country, creating good-paying jobs and opportunities for Americans in all 50 states. Hosted by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman unveiled the Fiscal Year 2022 Small Business Federal Procurement Scorecard at NASA Headquarters in Wa
shington. The scorecard looks at how federal agencies rank on meeting their small business goals. âWeâre excited to receive yet another âAâ in this yearâs Small Business Administrationâs scorecard. NASA is investing in America by partnering with small businesses around the country and in every single state,â said Nelson. âSmall businesses are integral to everything we do from finding first galaxies to investigating Mars and the universe to sending a new generation of explorers to the Moon through Artemis. Together, every advancement and achievement we make is for humanity.â SBAâs scorecard is an assessment tool that measures how well federal agencies reach their small business and socio-economic prime contracting and subcontracting goals set by the White House. âNASA is one of the leading agencies in delivering on the Biden-Harris Administrationâs commitment to make federal contracting and procurement opportunities more readily available and remove barriers faced by underserved individuals and communities,â said Guzman. âSpace exploration opens endless possibilities for understanding our own world and our universe, and American small businesses are the engines powering the next exciting era of exploration and achievement.â This year, NASA received a grade of âAâ from SBA for investing more than $3.6 billion dollars directly to various socioeconomic small businesses, along with $3.5 billion subcontracted to small businesses from the agencyâs large contractors. The $7.1 billion dollars obligated through its prime and subcontracts to small business equates to 36% of NASAâs total obligated dollars in Fiscal Year 2022. âItâs the small business innovators, thinkers, and doers who are helping us imagine and prepare for the future of space exploration,â said Melroy. âOur work creates good-paying American jobs; strengthens innovation and development opportunities; and increases competitiveness; which in turn creates a robust and global space economy and sets the rules and norms in space.â The agencyâs Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP), led by Glenn Delgado, associate administrator for OSBP, works to integrate small businesses into the future of space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research. OSBP works in tandem with NASAâs Office of Procurement, led by Karla Smith Jackson, deputy chief acquisition officer and assistant administrator for procurement, to identify prime and subcontracting opportunities for the small business community to work with NASA. Additional participants at the event included representatives from three small businesses working with NASA: - Timothy Richardson, FDSS-III program manager, OPR, LLC
- Daryl Carrington, director of business development, OPR, LLC
- Ed Aguayo, president, Newton, LLC
- Justin Ward, vice president, Newton LLC
- Ashok Jha, president, Adnet
- David Morris, vice president, Adnet
Whether providing critical support for the James Webb Space Telescope, science and technology, or the Artemis program, thousands of small businesses across the country have a hand in NASA missions. Learn more about NASAâs Office of Small Business Programs at: https://www.nasa.gov/osbp -end- |