Industrial Security as a Barrier to Non-Traditional Vendor Participation

Abstract

The Department of Defense (DOD) aims to increase small business participation within the industrial base and has boosted its involvement in providing goods, services, and research and technology to support national defense. However, significant obstacles persist that dissuade non-traditional vendors from entering the defense ecosystem of contracting and acquisition. Prominent among them is the complex industrial facility security clearance (FCL) process. Our research seeks to utilize discussions, data analysis, and validation from a trusted network to identify and remove industrial security process obstacles that dissuade non-traditional vendor participation and engagement within the DOD for classified projects. We discovered that a convoluted process, disaggregated resources, outdated policy, governmental-specific jargon, and a too-common tendency for smaller companies to work for larger prime contractors all reduce small businesses’ desire to produce on the government’s behalf. The outcomes of this research provide a three-tiered solution consisting of process, technical, and policy recommendations that streamline the application and provide a simple-to-understand framework for small business industrial clearance application and approval that fosters a more inclusive and diversified industrial base in support of national defense