Lincoln Laboratory Small Business Acronyms and Definitions

Lincoln Laboratory's unofficial, shorthand Small Business definitions are as follows. For official definitions, see the U.S. Small Business Administration's website.

SB – Small Business Concern.  A domestic firm that is independently owned and operated, is not dominant in its field of operation, and can qualify under the size standards of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes. SBs are self-certified. See Small Business Program Representations and Certifications (C&Rs), parts (a) and (b)(1). SBA goal is 23% of total subcontracted dollars (TS$). 

LB – Large Business.  Any domestic firm not an SB as defined above, any domestic firm "other than small"; i.e., firms exceeding the SBA size standard for their industry and all nonprofit organizations (including hospitals and educational institutions).

FB – Foreign Business.  All nondomestic firms. FBs are excluded from socioeconomic base. Not counted in TS$.

Note: SB + LB = 100% of total subcontracted dollars (TS$) (including all procurements, purchase orders, contracts, and subcontracts) for all goods and services purchased from SBA-defined LBs and SBs.

Below the subsets of Small Business are defined.
SBs are counted in every subset for which they qualify; therefore, total dollars may exceed the total subcontracted dollars.

SBO – Small Business Only. An SB (see NAICS size standards) but not one of the below subsets. SBO is Lincoln Laboratory's terminology. SBOs are not specifically tracked by SBA and must self-certify. See C&Rs, parts (a) and (b)(1), for more details.

SDB – Small Disadvantaged Business.  A business that is 51% owned and operated by person(s) of a recognized minority group. SDBs must self-certify [see C&Rs, parts (a), (b)(1), and (b)(2)]. SBA goal is 5% of TS$.

WOSB – Women-Owned Small Business.  A business that is 51% owned and operated by one or more women. WOSBs self-certify. See C&Rs, parts (a), (b)(1), and (b)(3) for more details. SBA goal is 5% of TS$.

HBCU/MI – Historically Black College and Universities and Other Minority Institutions.  All HBCU/MIs are also SDBs. HBCU/MIs must be on the U.S. Department of Education Lists of Postsecondary Minority Institutions. No SBA goal, but HBCU/MIs are counted as SDBs.

HUBZone SB – Historically Underutilized Business Zone SB.  A business located in a depressed census zone and in which 35% of employees must live in the HUBZone. HUBZone SBs must self-certify [see C&Rs, parts (a), (b)(1), and (b)(6)] and must be certified by SBA. See the Small Business Administration's Dynamic Small Business Search. SBA goal is 3% of TS$.  

VOSB – Veteran-Owned Small Business.  A business that is 51% owned and operated by a veteran. No SBA goal; however, all SDVOSBs (see below) are also VOSBs so default goal is 3%. VOSBs self-certify. See C&Rs, parts (a), (b)(1), and (b)(4) for more details.

SDVOSB – Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business.  A business that is 51% owned and operated by a disabled veteran; however, disability may be 0%. Owner must have letter from U.S. Government as proof of disability. SDVOSBs self-certify. See C&Rs, parts (a), (b)(1), (b)(4), and (b)(5) for more details. SBA goal is 3% of TS$.

Other Acronyms and Key Terms

Concern.  Any business entity organized for profit, located in the U.S., and making contributions to the U.S. economy through payment of taxes and/or use of American products, material, and/or labor.

CCR – Central Contractor Registration.  CCR combined in 2002 with the SBA's PRONet system to create the Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) site. In order to do business with the federal government, all vendors must be CCR-registered. Lincoln Laboratory is not an agency of the federal government; however, all firms interested in doing business with Lincoln Laboratory are strongly urged to be CCR-registered. The Internet address for CCR and DSBS is http://www.ccr.gov/. Firms profiled in DSBS can be searched by NAICS codes, key words, location, quality certifications, business type, and ownership race and gender. DSBS is Lincoln Laboratory’s (and most prime contractors’) primary search engine for locating qualified small businesses.

DOT – Department of Transportation.  Federal department that maintains a small-business system used by the states to determine a business's minority-owned business enterprise (MBE) or women-owned business enterprise (WBE) socioeconomic (SE) status. MBE/WBE certifications do not take into consideration SBA NAICS size standards, and the MBE/WBE may not qualify for small-business status under FAR guidelines. Neither DOT nor state standards apply to DoD-funded contracts.

DoD – Department of Defense.  This federal department has overall cognizance of Lincoln Laboratory's U.S. Government programs.

DCMA – Defense Contract Management Agency.  This agency has cognizance over Lincoln Laboratory's SB program.

DCMA-640 – Standard form used by DCMA to audit LB small-business programs.

FAR – Federal Acquisition Regulations. Rules and regulations that define how the U.S. Federal Government and its prime subcontractors will procure goods and services. The Federal Acquisition Regulations System is established for the codification and publication of uniform policies and procedures for acquisition by all executive agencies. The Federal Acquisition Regulations System consists of the FAR, which is the primary document, and agency acquisition regulations that implement or supplement the FAR.

FFRDC – Federally Funded Research and Development Center.  An entity established by the federal government to meet its special long-term research and development needs that cannot be met effectively by existing in-house or contractor resources. Each of the almost 40 FFRDCs currently sponsored by the federal government is administered by an industrial firm, university, or nonprofit institution (FAR 35.017). Lincoln Laboratory is an FFRDC sponsored by the Department of Defense and administered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Interdivisional Transfers. Procurements from a division or subsidiary of a company to another division or subsidiary or to the main company. Procurements from Lincoln Laboratory to MIT are interdivisional transfers and are not counted in the socioeconomic (SE) base.

NAICS – North American Industry Classification System.  Replaced the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. All companies operate under one or more NAICS codes. Each NAICS code has an SBA-established maximum dollar limit or maximum employee-number limit. A company can be small in one NAICS code and large in another.

NP – Nonprofit.  A legal structure, authorized by state law, allowing people to come together to either benefit members of an organization (e.g., a club or mutual benefit society) or for some public purpose (e.g., a hospital, environmental organization, or literary society). Nonprofit enterprises do not qualify as SBs regardless of the number of employees or annual dollar volume.
See http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/oha/allcases/sizecases/siz-4201.txt for appellate decision on this topic. NPs are counted in the LB base.

PTAC – Procurement Technical Assistance Center.  This center is funded by federal and state governments. It is a key resource to SBs for information about federal and state SB programs.  

SBA – Small Business Administration.  In 1953, the SBA was created by Congress, who stipulated that the SBA would ensure small businesses receive a "fair proportion" of government contracts. The SBA has secondary cognizance over Lincoln Laboratory's SB program. The SBA must certify all SDBs and HUBZone SBs.

SBA Size Standards.  These define whether a business entity is small and, thus, eligible for Government programs and preferences reserved for small-business concerns. Size standards have been established for types of economic activity or industry, generally under the NAICS. Size standards are stated in either number of employees or average annual receipts. NAICS assigns codes to all economic activities in twenty broad categories. 

SBSP – Small Business Subcontracting Plan.  All LBs that are awarded a contract over $550M ($1M for construction) and are either prime or subprime must submit an SBSP. SBSPs contain percentage goals for the SBs and the subcategories.

SF 294 –  Standard Form 294 is required of all firms who have an SBSP and measures actual performance against SBSP goals from inception to date.

SF 295 – Standard Form 295 measures subcontracting performance for a six-month period ending 30 March (interim report) or a 12-month period ending 30 September (annual report). 

TS$ – Total Subcontracted dollars. Total SBA-defined LB and SB procurements, including all forms of purchase orders, contracts, and subcontracts. TS$ do not include procurements to U.S. Government agencies, such as the Air Force, procurements to foreign entities, or interdivisional transfers.

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