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1 1 (May 19, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govelrx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informing the Iegislative debate sinco 1914 May 19, 2023 The SBA's Small Business Development Centers Program Overview The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) provide free counseling, training, and resources to small business owners and entrepreneurs. SBDCs operate in partnership with state governments and higher education institutions. This flagship technical assistance program evolved from when the SBA began operating in 1953, when the agency directly provided management and training services. The provision of these services through third party partners began in the 1970s. Congress authorized the SBDC program in 1980 in the Small Business Development Centers Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-302 P.L. 96-302). The services currently offered by SBDCs include: One-on-one counseling: SBDCs offer individualized counseling sessions with business advisors who have experience in a range of industries. These advisors help business owners with tasks such as developing a business plan or finding funding sources and identifying growth opportunities. Some SBDCs offer virtual counseling services accessible via phone, email, or video conference. Training and workshops: SBDCs offer a variety of training programs and workshops to help entrepreneurs and small business owners build their skills and knowledge. These programs cover topics such as marketing, finance, and human resources. Access to resources: SBDCs provide access to a range of resources, including market research data, industry reports, and other business tools. To access SBDC services, small business owners can visit the SBA's website to find their local SBDC and schedule an appointment with a business counselor. According to the SBA's FY2024 Congressional Budget Justification, there are 62 recipient organizations or lead SBDCs, that receive grant funds from the SBA. There is at least one lead center in each state (with four centers located in Texas and five in California), the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Seventeen lead centers are located at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), including, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). A lead center is tasked with establishing a network of partner service centers to cover its service area. There are currently more than 900 service centers. Aside from SBDCs, the SBA also funds technical assistance at Women's Business Centers (WBCs), Veteran Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs), and SCORE chapters (a mentoring program formerly known as the Service Corps of Retired Executives). Collectively, these providers seek to improve access to entrepreneurial education and assist with business formation and expansion. Hkitory The SBA created the University Business Development Center pilot program in 1976 to provide counseling and training for small businesses at centers within universities. P.L. 96-302, the Small Business Development Center Act of 1980 (Act), provided statutory authorization to the SBDC program. According to discussions in Senate committee hearings, SBDCs were meant to rely on the private sector primarily, and the university community, in partnership with the SBA and its other programs, to fill gaps in making quality management assistance available to the small business owner. Although most SBDCs have continued to be affiliated with universities, the act authorized the SBA to provide funding to state governments and agencies, and to partnership entities formed by universities and state agencies. In 1984, the Small Business Development Center Improvement Act of 1984 (P.L. 98-395), required SBDCs, as a condition of receiving SBA funding, to contribute a matching amount equal to the grant amount. The match must be provided by nonfederal sources and be comprised of not less than 50% cash and not more than 50% of indirect costs and in-kind contributions. In 2015, the RISE After Disaster Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-88) expanded the SBDC program's reach by authorizing SBDCs to provide assistance outside an SBDC's state, without regard to geographical proximity to the SBDC, if a small business requiring assistance is located in a presidentially-declared major disaster area. The law also authorized the SBA to provide additional financial assistance to SBDCs, on a competitive basis, to assist small businesses in a presidentially-declared major disaster area. F ederal Fund ing an d Managerment The SBA's Associate Administrator for Small Business Development Centers is responsible for general management and oversight of the SBDC program, through a cooperative agreement with each institution of higher education or state agency that receives federal funds to operate an SBDC. Federal funding is provided in the form of grants to institutions of higher education or state agencies (resource partners) that operate SBDCs. Grantees receive initial

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