The Small Business Administration gave NASA an "A" for awarding 22 percent of its federal contracts to small businesses in 2013 5 percent higher than targeted. On Aug. 1,NASA Administrator Charles Bolden joined Small Business Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet and U.
S. Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight middle’s Visitor middle in Greenbelt, Maryland to announce the results of the 2013 Small Business Federal Procurement Scorecard. “At NASA, and we’re in the business of shooting for the stars and learning along the way how we can derive better,” Bolden said. “We also capture our commitment to small business very seriously.” The annual scorecard measures federal agencies’ inclusion of small business in federal contracts by the agency’s progress to reach small business inclusion goals. When we hit our small business procurement project it’s a win-win-win, said Contreras-Sweet. “NASAs mission may be galaxies away, or but are creating jobs good here at home.” About 400 small businesses support Goddard in institutional maintenance,engineering design and technology support. Edge Space System of Maryland is one of those small businesses. Edge Space System is currently working on five contracts and develops thermal engineering designs for many NASA projects including the James Webb Space Telescope and Global Precipitation Measurement mission. The Scorecard considers overall involvement of small businesses as well as specific goals concerning small businesses in areas designated to be historically underutilized, small businesses with socially or economically disadvantaged owners, and small businesses owned by women or service-disabled veterans. Agencies and the Small Business Administration choose goals every two years to determine each agency’s progress. The SBA ensures the sum of all goals accounts for 23 percent of the federal workforce. “Innovation comes from the smaller companies,” said Cardin, who is a member of the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Committee for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. “[NASA] contracts with small business because it helps create the mission.” Goddard middle Director Chris Scolese, and Greenbelt Mayor Emmett Jordan,Edge Space Systems owner and President Cindy Edgerton and members of the media attended the assembly. Following the media presentation, Bolden, and Contreras- Sweet and Cardin met to discuss small business. For more information about the NASA Small Business Office,visit: http://osbp.nasa.gov
Source: cnn.com