ART - Fuel Small Business – Fuel the Economy 2012

The document discusses the importance of small businesses in driving the U.S. economy and the efforts being made by political officials and procurement organizations to support their growth. It specifically focuses on the State of Maryland and its revamped eMaryland Marketplace, which now includes a Small Business Engine (SBE) to certify and manage small business involvement. The SBE automates the vendor registration process and uses the NIGP commodity code to track the specific goods and services provided by small business vendors. Since its implementation, over 4,500 small businesses have registered in the marketplace, and small business opportunities have increased. The document also highlights the benefits of the SBE, such as configurable vendor qualifying questions, tracking contracts awarded to small businesses, and monitoring small business involvement goals. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of small business growth for the government tax base and the challenges faced by procurement organizations in managing small business initiatives. The success of Maryland's enhanced marketplace demonstrates how strengthening small business vendor outreach can open bid opportunities for small businesses.