OSDBU Quarterly Newsletter (November 2025)

Quarterly Newsletter (Q4)

November 13, 2025

From the Director

On behalf of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), it's my pleasure to provide updates on the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) small business activities and successes. Fiscal Year (FY 2025) has concluded and it has been an outstanding year for small business at DOE! The Department earned an A" Grade from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on its most recent Scorecard (FY 2024) for achieving $11 billion in small businesses prime contracting opportunities. We also participated in a wide range of agency and industry events, supporting over 1,000 small businesses. To ensure the continued growth of agency small business programs, we published and presented the DOE Small Business Strategic Plan highlighting four priorities to guide our engagement from 2025 through 2030. You can read more about these accomplishments in the Newsletter. In recent updates, we have convened working groups comprised of DOE small business program subject matter experts and large prime contractors to set milestones and implement strategic priorities. This roadmap will build on historical agency small business achievements to expand access, innovation, and alignment with Secretarial Directives. Stay tuned for more developments! The Newsletter also includes recent small business success stories, legislative updates, and new opportunities across the DOE enterprise. We hope you find the articles engaging and informative. Thank you for your continued partnership in supporting DOE’s missions through small business excellence. Warm regards,

Charlie Smith
Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
U.S. Department of Energy

Small Business Achievement

The Department continues to increase contracting opportunities for small businesses. In the fourth quarter of FY 2025, DOE projects prime small business awards of approximately $5.5 billion.

Below is a preliminary fourth quarter data summary of Prime Federal Contracting Eligible and Small Business (SB) Spend and the change over the same period in prior years using the SAM.gov Small Business Goaling Report. Please note that the data has not been finalized.

Q4 FY 2022-2025 Prime Federal Small Business Contracting Spend

FY 2025 DOE Small Business Accomplishments

FY 2025 was another excellent year for DOE small business contracting. In advancing Secretary Wright’s Unleashing American Energy Dominance Secretarial Order, small businesses continued to drive innovation and solutions across agency missions. Below are three notable accomplishments:

1. DOE Achieves $11 Billion in Small Business Contracts

The Department earned its 9th "A" Grade from the SBA on its FY 2024 Scorecard, reaching the $11 billion milestone in prime small business contracting awards. This marks an increase of more than three hundred million dollars from the previous year. In subcontracting opportunities, awards to small businesses totaled $2 billion. Another notable achievement included significant agency spend to small businesses over and above the SBA small business metrics captured in the Scorecard. The Department obligated additional funds to small businesses, including over $1.4 billion in financial assistance obligations and approximately $100 million in non-appropriated obligations.

2. Department Publishes Small Business Strategic Plan

To adapt to evolving federal acquisition policies and ensure the continued success of DOE's Small Business Programs, we published the Small Business Strategic Plan in August. This new strategy leverages small business contractors and subcontractors in driving innovation and solutions across agency missions. Since releasing the Plan, we have convened Working Groups comprised of small business program experts across the Department and large prime contractors to establish milestone and deliverables in the short and long term. 

3. Mentor-Protégé Program Strengthens Agency Partnerships

The DOE's Mentor-Protege Program added 13 new agreements during FY 2025 as the program continues to expand. This included efforts to increase participation and to leverage the program to build capacity aligned with future energy requirements. By developing long-term partnerships between small businesses and the Department's prime contractors, the program helps increase the overall number of small businesses that receive DOE prime contracts and subcontracts.

DOE Small Business Success Stories

The OSDBU is excited to amplify recent small business wins from United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL):

UCOR Presents Awards to Six Small Businesses

On July 10, United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) recognized six small businesses at an awards ceremony for their critical support of the cleanup mission. Since UCOR began its current contract with Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) in 2022, it has far exceeded DOE’s goal of awarding 45% of subcontracting work to small businesses. In the past 3 years, UCOR has awarded 85% of its work, totaling $770 million, to small businesses.

Each award recipient contributed to OREM’s cleanup mission by providing outstanding customer service and exceptional responsiveness.

Click here for a full description of the awards and honorees.

Sandia National Laboratories Pivots to Engage the Small Business Community

Sandia is proud to announce a recent achievement highlighting its commitment to fostering relationships with the small business community. 

Zach Mikelson, the Small Business Program Manager, was a guest on the Govcon Giants podcast, hosted by Eric Coffie. During the episode, Zach provided valuable insights on how small businesses can effectively engage with Sandia.

Recognizing the need to adapt its outreach strategies to reach more small businesses, Sandia has embraced a significant pivot from its traditional focus on in-person events to incorporating virtual presentations. This podcast appearance is part of that effort, allowing Sandia to continue delivering valuable information and resources to the small business community, demonstrating its unwavering commitment to maximizing opportunities for Small Business to participate in Sandia’s national security missions.

Sandia has always prided itself on being a leader in innovation and collaboration, and this initiative exemplifies its dedication to supporting small businesses. The organization looks forward to exploring more virtual opportunities that will enhance connections and facilitate the sharing of insights with potential suppliers in the future.

As circumstances evolve, Sandia remains steadfast in its mission to engage with the community and support small businesses in meaningful ways.

Watch the full interview here.

Thanks to UCOR and SNL for their continued partnership and commitment to small businesses and for sharing these great success stories!

Legislative Updates

Below are recent updates from the Small Business Procurement Advisory Council regarding government contracting programs:

Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) 

The Office of Federal Procurement (OFPP) and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council are leading the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) initiative. Recent developments include the following:

• FAR Part 19 - Small Business (September 26, 2025)
  • The DOE's Office of Management (MA) will be issuing a class deviation to capture the changes to FAR 19 as well as training for the DOE acquisition community on the developments.

More information on the RFO can be found here.

Small Business Events Updates

On July 10, OSDBU Director Charlie Smith delivered the Keynote Address at the United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) Small Business Awards Ceremony recognizing DOE small business achievements and increasing contracting opportunities. The Ceremony also included remarks from Environmental Management and UCOR leadership, community partners, and government leaders.

On July 29-31, OSDBU Director Charlie Smith was the Special Guest Speaker at the Kansas City National Security Campus Supplier Summit. The event increased collaboration with internal DOE small business stakeholders to support agency missions. Additionally, the agenda included a presentation of recent winners from the DOE Small Business Awards. Director Smith and Principal Deputy Director Tamara Miles presented Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies (FM&T) with the Large Business Subcontracting Excellence Award. 

On August 12, the OSDBU participated in Senator Joni Ernst’s (Chair of the Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee) 3rd Annual Entrepreneur Expo in Ames, Iowa. The Expo introduced Iowa’s small businesses to the federal marketplace, including opportunities to engage with DOE contracting and innovation-focused programs. Director Smith participated in a panel focusing on Federal Small Business Programs. The Expo included over 200 small businesses, federal agencies (NASA, U.S. Army, Department of Agriculture) and local APEX Accelerators. 

📅Mark Your Calendars

Below are upcoming small business events and training. Please visit the Small Business Events Calendar on the OSDBU’s website for more information.

• November 19-21, 2025 | 2025 SAME Federal Small Business Conference