Amy G. Cox

The Air Force is trying to increase small-business use and identify industries that have the most potential for increasing small-business utilization. This report examines the Air Force Small-Business Performance Expectations Methodology, with recommendations for improving the methodology accuracy to identify small-business opportunities.

This document seeks to help the Air Force develop a strategy for managing supply chain risks during weapon system acquisition and sustainment. The authors review the literature on supply chain risk management and report on a series of interviews they conducted within acquisition, sustainment, and commercial communities. They also describe a prototype methodology that the Air Force may wish to use to identify and manage supply chain risks.

The report seeks to identify barriers that companies face when attempting to enter into contracts with the Department of Defense (DoD), especially when they are not traditional DoD suppliers. To learn more about barriers, the authors interviewed personnel in companies that are in industries of likely interest to DoD and interviewed DoD personnel who work with suppliers.

Despite the Air Force s efforts to create a force that mirrors the racial, ethnic, and gender differences of the nation s population, minority groups and women are underrepresented in the active-duty line officer population, especially at senior levels (i.e., colonel and above). This report examines the reasons for this, with the goal of identifying potential policy responses."

The report investigates the barriers that service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) may face when attempting to contract with the federal government and the Department of Defense. The government and DoD goals are to award 3 percent of prime-contract dollars to SDVOSBs but current contracting falls below that level.

Determines whether gender differences exist in federal research grant awards and funding. On the request of the National Science Foundation (NSF), this report analyzes administrative data from fiscal years 2001 through 2003, describing the outcomes of grant applications submitted by women versus men to federal agencies. The report focuses on three federal agencies: the Department of Health and Human Services, in particular, the National Institutes of Health; the NSF; and the U. S. Department of Agriculture.