Army SBIR contracting for FY-24 expected to surpass previous year's total, acquisition chief says

Army acquisition chief Doug Bush said today that he expects the Army will have awarded $350 million in contracts under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program by the end of fiscal year 2024, surpassing last year's total.

SBIR, established by Congress more than 40 years ago, aims to increase the participation of innovative small businesses within the federal government. Bush, speaking at a small business summit on the campus of George Mason University Tuesday, said the Army awarded about $317 million and 368 contracts under the SBIR program in FY-23.

The acquisition chief said the Army has been focusing more lately on improving the speed of contracting for small businesses. He noted SBIR prototyping awards are now made in 30 days on average, whereas a normal timeframe in the past would have been six months.

“Small businesses, especially new ones, exist in a highly competitive marketplace. It moves faster every day. We know that. So, speed to contract was one of the main things we focused on,” he said.

Bush also pointed to the establishment of the Army SBIR Contracting Center of Excellence three years ago as a factor in improving the speed of contracting.

“We have, through just reorganizing ourselves and focusing talent, dramatically moved the dial on speed to [contracting], although I’m sure [there are] examples where we could’ve done better,” he said.