As a federal management contractor (FMC), UT-Battelle has established some of the highest percentages of diversity among the agency's contractors in several small-business socio-economic categories. DOE recognized UT-Battelle at its recent 2003 National Small Business Awards with an FMC Small Business Diversity Achievement Award.
"UT-Battelle and ORNL have contributed significantly to the Department of Energy's continuing effort to increase contract opportunities and contract awards to small businesses," Yosef Patel, director of DOE Small Business Programs, said. "The program at ORNL has resulted in solid partnerships and excellent performance from the small business contractors involved."
Through initiatives that include small-business outreach and mentor-prot?g? programs, ORNL's Small Business Office has exceeded its goals in the areas of small business, small disadvantaged business, women-owned business and historically underutilized business zone, or HUBZone, business. UT-Battelle received an "outstanding" rating for its small-business performance during fiscal year 2003.
ORNL contracts in the four small business areas together are worth nearly $92 million.
"I am impressed with the companies we work with in our small business programs and with what they have to offer," said ORNL Director Jeff Wadsworth. "One reason that UT-Battelle leads the DOE contractors in this area is the outstanding work these businesses do for us."
Will D. Minter, director of the ORNL Small Business Programs Office, attributed the success to goal setting, teamwork, and the lab's mentor-prot?g? partnerships.
"(UT-Battelle Chief Financial Officer Greg Turner) challenged us to be world class," Minter said. "We presented UT-Battelle with a roadmap to get there. We set our goals higher, we stayed the course, and the results paid off."
The Mentor-Prot?g? program is a DOE initiative to help energy-related firms that are small, disadvantaged or minority-owned perform quality work under contracts and subcontracts with DOE laboratories.
ORNL leads the DOE science labs in the number of mentor-prot?g? partnerships. The mentored firms are PrSM Corporation and GEM Technologies, both in Knoxville; and Information International Associates, Inc.(IIa) of Oak Ridge.
ORNL's Small Business Program Office has previously received the U.S. Small Business Administration's Award of Distinction, the DOE FMC Small Business Program Manager of the Year Award, the DOE Historically Black Colleges and Universities Award and two Tennessee Small Business Advocacy Awards.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a Department of Energy multiprogram facility operated by UT-Battelle.