Dod: A Case Study

The DoD primarily meets its socioeconomic program goals by establishing contract dollar thresholds for automatic small business set-asides. The DoD reserves the “acquisition of supplies and services with an anticipated dollar value between $3,500 and $150,000” for small business concerns (Federal Acquisition Regulations [FAR], 2016). However, this rule does not apply if there is a reasonable expectation that the contracting officer will not receive “two or more offers from responsible small businesses…that are competitive in terms of market prices, quality, and delivery” (FAR, 2016). For example, if market research shows that there is only one small business and two large businesses willing to submit an offer, or two small businesses with one