Similar Business Assistance Programs of Two Federal Agencies Have Potential for Duplication
CED-81-26
Published: Dec 31, 1980. Publicly Released: Jan 30, 1981.
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Highlights
The university-based management and technical assistance programs administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Economic Development Administration (EDA) were reviewed. Comparisons were made of the similarities, differences, and possible duplications between the programs.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Congress should reevaluate the need for both agencies to provide management and technical assistance using university based centers as delivery vehicles. | GAO has no information on the actions taken in response to this recommendation. |
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Commerce | The Secretary of Commerce should direct the Assistant Secretary of Economic Development to provide criteria to centers on how to determine the results EDA requests centers to report, such as jobs created and saved or potential jobs created. |
GAO has no information on the actions taken in response to this recommendation.
|
| Department of Commerce | The Secretary of Commerce should direct the Assistant Secretary for Economic Development to periodically check the consistency and validity of results centers report. |
GAO has no information on the actions taken in response to this recommendation.
|
| Small Business Administration | The Administrator of SBA should ensure that data being reported by the centers, for example, the form 1062, is accurate. |
GAO has no information on the actions taken in response to this recommendation.
|
| Small Business Administration | The Administrator of SBA should stress to center officials the need for accurate data. |
GAO has no information on the actions taken in response to this recommendation.
|
| Department of Commerce | The Secretary of Commerce should require that the Assistant Secretary for Economic Development and the Administrator of SBA modify their systems for evaluating the effectiveness of their university based, management assistance programs. |
GAO has no information on the actions taken in response to this recommendation.
|
| Small Business Administration | The Secretary of Commerce should require that the Assistant Secretary for Economic Development and the Administrator of SBA modify their systems for evaluating the effectiveness of their university based, management assistance programs. |
GAO has no information on the actions taken in response to this recommendation.
|
| Department of Commerce | The Secretary of Commerce should require the Assistant Secretary for Economic Development and the Administrator of SBA to consider the need for (1) uniform and consistent data at centers; (2) adequate documentation of assistance provided by centers; (3) criteria for centers to use in accepting clients/businesses; (4) matching center costs to program elements; and (5) measuring quality of counseling assistance and results achieved. |
GAO has no information on the actions taken in response to this recommendation.
|
| Small Business Administration | The Secretary of Commerce should require the Assistant Secretary for Economic Development and the Administrator of SBA to consider the need for (1) uniform and consistent data at centers; (2) adequate documentation of assistance provided by centers; (3) criteria for centers to use in accepting clients/businesses; (4) matching center costs to program elements; and (5) measuring quality of counseling assistance and results achieved. |
GAO has no information on the actions taken in response to this recommendation.
|
| Department of Commerce | The Secretary of Commerce should require the Assistant Secretary for Economic Development and Administrator of SBA to consider using evaluation teams comprised of individuals having the expertise and established credentials in the primary areas of counseling to (1) evaluate the qualifications of the principal center counselors for areas they counsel; (2) select cases at varying stages of completion and monitor/evaluate these counselors' methodology, judgments, and recommendations; and (3) assign values based on the levels of performance observed. |
GAO has no information on the actions taken in response to this recommendation.
|
| Small Business Administration | The Secretary of Commerce should require the Assistant Secretary for Economic Development and Administrator of SBA to consider using evaluation teams comprised of individuals having the expertise and established credentials in the primary areas of counseling to (1) evaluate the qualifications of the principal center counselors for areas they counsel; (2) select cases at varying stages of completion and monitor/evaluate these counselors' methodology, judgments, and recommendations; and (3) assign values based on the levels of performance observed. |
GAO has no information on the actions taken in response to this recommendation.
|
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Topics
Economically depressed areasMinority business assistanceProgram evaluationPublic assistance programsSmall business assistanceSmall businessTechnical assistanceEconomic developmentEngineeringBusiness assistance