The meeting focused on discussing issues related to mid-sized and emerging large businesses in the federal contracting sector. PSC highlighted the need for better definitions and strategies for companies growing out of their size standards. They also addressed the "Powerball effect" and proposed solutions such as assessing the lowest 3 years of revenue instead of a 5-year average. The group discussed the importance of balancing quantitative and qualitative scoring in contracts and the need for reconsidering definitions and advocacy efforts. They invited participants to contribute to media topics and join the Emerging Large Business Coalition to address these issues further.

PSC provided an overview of the Emerging Large Business (ELB) Working Group and the ELB Coalition's (external from PSC) mission to support companies approaching size standard and graduating from small business status. In renaming the Mid-Size Company Working Group to Emerging Large Business, the belief is that the term better captures the goals of recently graduated small businesses seeking to compete fairly against larger firms.

Search for a Comprehensive Definition for Additional Study

The ELB Working Group discussed the need for a clear definition that would not trigger opposition from the Small Business Administration, aiming to create a legislative-friendly classification for emerging large businesses in order to advocate for a study on recidivism, possibly from the Acquisition Innovation Research Center. PSC covered its own definition established in its Mid-Sized Federal Contractor Issue Paper for a more comprehensive definition that would better represent the longevity and competitive reality of emerging large businesses. Two of the elements of this definition could include time in competition after growing out of the size standard, and de-coupling the definition from NAICS, which is owned by the SBA. The coalition is also working on data analysis, case studies, and advocacy efforts, including engaging with House and Senate Small Business Committees, and exploring opportunities within the FAR Overhaul to support mid-sized businesses.

Next steps

PSC: Reach out to the mid-tier Advocacy association to attempt to establish contact and explore potential joint collaboration.

PSC: Distribute the business growth survey to meeting participants after the meeting, along with meeting notes.

PSC, ELB Coalition: Work together over the next 3 months to develop a more comprehensive and updated definition for Emerging Large Business, distinct from previous mid-size definitions.

PSC: Identify and compile a list of companies that fit the Emerging Large Business category to provide to the Acquisition Innovation Research Center (Eric) for their study.

Meeting participants: Provide recommendations for government procurement executives or other stakeholders who may be advocates for Emerging Large Business, for potential PSC vision team interviews.

PSC: Consider input from the group regarding programming or panel topics for the June 25th Acquisition conference