Small businesses and new partners on the rise at USAID

For the first time in the history of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the agency’s funding to American small businesses reached more than $1 billion in a year. That’s approximately 13.7% of USAID’s acquisition awards in the fiscal year to September 2024, hovering at USAID’s 13.75% target for the year, according to the agency’s latest business forecast. And though it’s almost a full percentage point lower than the proportion channeled to small businesses in 2023 — 14.64% — agency heads emphasized the unprecedented dollar amount during a virtual briefing last week. “This is the first time that we’ve crossed this threshold, and it is the largest number of dollars that we’ve ever obligated to U.S. small businesses,” said Kimberly Ball, director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization at USAID, at the forecast. Every year, USAID works with the U.S. Small Business Administration to set goals on working with different types of enterprises, through both prime and subcontracts. That includes businesses owned by women, disabled veterans, economically disadvantaged individuals, and others. In 2024, the biggest increase in percentage terms came from contracts with businesses owned by disabled veterans, which Ball said more than doubled in cash terms. It’s something Ball expects will grow despite a change in administration. The day before she spoke at the business forecast, Ball shared the stage with George Price — her counterpart at the State Department — at an event geared toward international development companies in Washington, D.C. “Small businesses are popular on both sides of the aisle, so I don’t think the opportunities for small businesses are going away,” Ball said at the earlier event, which was hosted by the Professional Services Council. “I would love to see them increase, and we’ll do everything we can to make sure that that happens.” Across the board, agency officials highlighted the jump in new partners — American and otherwise — from 2023 to 2024. Jami Rodgers, the director of USAID’s Office of Acquisition and Assistance, said the agency worked with 240 new partners this past year, a 20% increase from 2023. Rodgers also mentioned that when it came to direct local funding, preliminary data showed an increase from 2023, though final data “will be released in the coming months.” “We don’t want to rest on our laurels, we’re in a new fiscal year, and there’s plenty of work to be done,” Rodgers said. Diversifying the USAID workforce has been on the agency’s agenda for years, especially after launching its New Partnerships Initiative in 2019. That team designed and launched WorkwithUSAID.gov, the agency’s resource platform for new partners, and developed dozens of tools, guides, and trainings to strengthen those partners’ local capacity. That being said, the workload of Rodgers’ team remained high. Last year, a USAID contracting officer or agreement officer obligated $106.2 million on average, as compared to the $16.9 million average obligated by their counterparts at the Department of Defense. That gap has increased in recent years and meant that some USAID contracting officers obligated more than six times that of those at the Department of Defense, according to Chris Nikola’s presentation. Nikola, a supervisory procurement analyst for the office, said he expects 2024 workload figures to be similar to fiscal year 2023. “Workload and staffing aren’t quite on parity yet, but we’re working on it as we work to enhance and reinforce our workforce,” Nikola said. Nikola mentioned the March 2024 launch of A&A Accelerate, an initiative that’s working to “support and promote” the agency’s acquisition and assistance workforce with attempted targets — such as hiring 215 foreign service contracting officers and 198 civil service staff by 2026. To do so, the agency is utilizing a certification program with the North Carolina-based Fayetteville State University, hiring eligible family members of foreign service contracting officers, and increasing the number of administrative warrants among local staff, Nikola said. He also highlighted efforts to streamline the agency’s work — USAID’s translation program, for example, has reportedly saved each implementing partner over $40,000 and up to 120 days of work since it was launched in November of 2023.