Check out the Department's big wins in maximizing opportunities for small businesses.
Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
December 11, 2024
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As 2024 draws to a close, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) is pleased to share DOE’s notable successes in maximizing small business opportunities. The Department continues to expand partnerships and increase the share of contracting dollars for underrepresented small businesses to support DOE’s mission. Check out three DOE small business accomplishments in 2024 below:
1. DOE Achieves an “A” Grade from the SBA
In April, the Department received its FY 2023 Small Business Procurement Scorecard from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), earning its eighth “A” grade from the SBA since 2015 for small business and socio-economic achievements. The Department awarded over $10 billion to small businesses in prime contracting opportunities—an increase of more than a billion dollars from the previous year. In subcontracting opportunities, DOE awarded $2 billion to small businesses. The Department continued advancing its initiatives to increase equity in procurement and expand opportunities for underserved communities, awarding over $3 billion in prime opportunities to small disadvantaged businesses, including minority-owned firms. DOE will receive its FY 2024 Small Business Procurement Scorecard next year.
2. 2024 DOE Small Business Forum & Expo
On June 4 and 5, OSDBU hosted its flagship yearly small business conference. Over 1000 small businesses attended the 2024 DOE Small Business Forum & Expo in Minneapolis covering a wide range of opportunities to help advance the DOE’s mission. The in-depth agenda focused on the theme of American clean energy powered by small businesses and featured a pre-recorded video welcome message from the Honorable Jennifer M. Granholm, U.S. Secretary of Energy Secretary; a keynote from Dr. Malik Yoba (acclaimed actor, musician, author, serial entrepreneur, educator, philanthropist, and social justice warrior); and opening remarks from OSDBU Director Ron Pierce. The conference also marked the return of the DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Pitch Competition, aka “The Purple Pitch,” awarding the winners over $160,000 in cash prizes for groundbreaking energy technologies. Additional features of the agenda included educational workshops, panel discussions, Live Reverse Auctions for various commodities and services, business matchmaking sessions, presentations from national labs and program offices, and an exhibit hall with over 115 vendors and service providers.
3. DOE Small Business Opportunity Days at the National Labs
In 2024, the OSDBU teamed up with the National Laboratories to host a series of small business opportunity days to maximize opportunities for service-disabled veteran-owned, women-owned, small disadvantaged, and HUBZone small businesses. On November 8, OSDBU and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory hosted the DOE & PNNL Small Business Synergy Day at PNNL in Richland, Washington. OSDBU next partnered with Kansas City National Security Campus, managed by Honeywell FM&T, on March 5 for a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Opportunity Day. For the third Opportunity Day, OSDBU and the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory co-hosted a Women-Owned Small Business Workshop. And on April 30, OSDBU and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory hosted a combined HUBZone and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Opportunity Day covering DOE's IT and cybersecurity requirements. DOE has awarded more than $25 million to small businesses from the opportunity days featuring how-to guides, resources, and networking sessions.
A special thanks to all small businesses working with the Department as well as DOE stakeholders utilizing small businesses to support DOE’s mission! In 2024, the Department continued to make great strides in small business growth, including increased support for underserved communities. Please check out the video below for more on DOE’s accomplishments in championing small business utilization.
We look forward to continuing the momentum next year and please join the OSDBU for the 2025 DOE Small Business Forum & Expo on June 25-26, 2025 in Chicago! The conference website and registration will be launched soon.