DoD Contracting: Opportunities Exist to Improve Pilot Program for Employee-Owned Businesses , March , 2025
DoD Contracting: Opportunities Exist to Improve Pilot Program for Employee-Owned Businesses , March , 2025
From the report: “The Department of Defense (DOD) awarded eight contracts under its employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) pilot program. ESOPs are benefit plans in which company stock held by a trust is allocated to employees as a retirement benefit. DOD issued a memorandum in November 2022 outlining the parameters of the pilot, but did not provide contracting officials with adequate guidance, such as collecting robust data to determine a contractor’s eligibility. GAO found evidence that DOD awarded a pilot program contract to an ineligible contractor. DOD issued updated guidance in December 2024 that included ways for contracting officers to determine a contractor’s eligibility. However, the updated guidance did not provide other information on key aspects of the program that could better position contracting officers to properly implement the pilot program.
Furthermore, DOD’s efforts to develop and implement the pilot program do not fully align with GAO’s leading practices for pilot program design. These practices state that a pilot program should be designed to collect data for program officials to make well informed decisions.”
Authors - Government Accountability Office (GAO)Related Resources
