The Government Accountability Office recommends that the Army Futures Command track small business engagements and bolster coordination with other U.S. Army components. GAO said Wednesday that it found the new command, despite supporting small businesses, does not maximize the use of Army expertise such as that of the service’s Office of Small Business Programs.
Futures Command aligns with the service’s branch’s recognition of small businesses, with $2.3B in Army awards covering small business efforts between fiscal 2013 and 2017. However, the command does not track the frequency of of small business engagements involving all its research and development efforts.
GAO said that engagement tracking would support the command’s capacity to evaluate and possibly improve small business activities. The accountability office urges Futures Command’s commanding general to formalize personnel functions on small business coordination.