8(a) Business Development (Competed) Set-Aside

Answers are computed from FPDS-NG transactions distributed via USAspending.gov. Figures reflect the most recent SmartSync run, refreshed every six hours.

What is the 8(a) Business Development (Competed) (8A) set-aside?

Competitive 8(a) Business Development set-aside reserved for SBA-certified 8(a) program participants under 13 CFR § 124. Federal contracting performance for the 8(a) Business Development competitive set-aside (FPDS code 8A). Agencies obligate to SBA-certified 8(a) program participants under 13 CFR § 124 and FAR 19.8. Counts toward the 5% Small Disadvantaged Business sub-goal under 15 U.S.C. § 644(g). The contracting officer records the 8A value on each FPDS-NG transaction at award time under FAR 19.5; GovChime preserves the code verbatim and aggregates obligations by 8A.

How much have agencies obligated under code 8A in FY2026 YTD through September 21, 2026?

For FY2026 YTD through September 21, 2026, federal agencies obligated to 8(a)-certified firms $4.84B under this code across 8,378 contracts. GovChime sums federalActionObligation across prime-contract transactions whose typeOfSetAsideCode equals 8A, net of deobligations. Source: FPDS-NG distributed via USAspending.gov; refreshed every six hours. Current-FY figures are year-to-date and not directly comparable to a fiscal-year-close SBA scorecard.

Which statutory goal does 8A count toward?

Code 8A rolls up into the 5% Small Disadvantaged Business sub-goal under 15 U.S.C. § 644(g). The 23% government-wide small-business floor and its sub-goals (HUBZone 3%, Women-Owned Small Business 5%, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business 3%, Small Disadvantaged Business 5%) are statutory minimums; agencies are scored annually by SBA on the consolidated Procurement Scorecard. Authority: 13 CFR § 124; FAR 19.8.

Which other set-aside codes are related to 8A?

Within the same scorecard family, the related codes are 8AN (8(a) Sole Source), HS3 (8(a) with HUBZone Preference). Each carries its own typeOfSetAsideCode value on FPDS-NG transactions; agencies elect the specific code at award time under FAR 19.5. GovChime's main /analytics/set-aside page renders the full 18-code rollup and a Total Small Business comparison against the 23% statutory goal under 15 U.S.C. § 644(g).

Who are the top recipients of 8A contracts?

The top-ranked recipient under code 8A is DEFENSE SYSTEMS AND SOLUTIONS at $551.88M in obligations. GovChime ranks recipients by total obligated dollars (federalActionObligation summed by contractAwardUniqueKey, net of deobligations) for FY2026 YTD through September 21, 2026. Rankings refresh every six hours. Recipients are tracked at the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) level — Leidos Holdings, Leidos Inc., and Leidos Innovations would appear on separate rows. Current-FY figures are year-to-date and not directly comparable to a fiscal-year-close SBA scorecard.

How is the year-over-year change for 8A calculated?

Obligations under this code rose 6.5% versus the prior fiscal year. The formula is (current_period − prior_period) / prior_period × 100, computed on obligated dollars for code 8A only. When the prior fiscal year shows zero obligations under the code (common for low-volume sole-source codes), GovChime suppresses the YoY pill rather than emit a divide-by-zero result.

Why might 8A totals differ from the SBA Procurement Scorecard?

SBA's official Procurement Scorecard applies additional FAR 19 exclusions to its goal-eligible base — Foreign Military Sales (FMS) orders, sub-$10K micro-purchases, mandatory-source acquisitions, certain utilities, and direct 8(a) sole-source orders awarded by SBA itself. GovChime aggregates raw FPDS-NG transactions where typeOfSetAsideCode equals 8A. Combined with year-to-date timing in current-FY views vs. fiscal-year-close in SBA's report, methodology differences typically widen GovChime's denominator and shift the apparent achievement percentage relative to the SBA scorecard.