Spending Allocation Goals are statewide benchmarks based on the availability of certified Small Business Enterprises (SBEs) and Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) within specific industries. The goals are organized into 96 three-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) industry categories and are based on the Connecticut Contractor Database, which identifies businesses that are ready, willing, and able to participate in state contracting. State agencies collectively support these statewide goals by identifying the applicable Spending Allocation Goal for a purchase, considering whether certified businesses are available, documenting good faith efforts, and completing required reporting.

The DAS Small Business Certification Program certifies eligible companies as Small Business Enterprise (SBE) and Minority Business Enterprise (MBE). To qualify as an SBE, a business must be Connecticut-based, independently owned and operated, and registered as a small business with the federal government. An SBE owned by one or more individuals with minority status may also qualify as an MBE.

No. Spending Allocation Goals are established and measured statewide. Each agency's purchasing decisions contribute to the State's progress toward those statewide goals.

Goals are based on the Connecticut Contractor Database. Businesses identified as ready, willing, and able to participate in state contracting are organized into 96 three-digit NAICS industry categories. The market share of certified SBEs and MBEs within each category becomes the corresponding statewide Spending Allocation Goal.

No. Agencies are expected to provide certified businesses with an opportunity to participate when appropriate and document their good faith efforts. The program does not require that a purchase be awarded to a certified business.

Current Spending Allocation Goals are available through the SBE and MBE Spending Allocation Goal Search Tool on the Connecticut Open Data Portal.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) classifies businesses by the type of economic activity they perform. Spending Allocation Goals are organized using 96 three-digit NAICS categories.

Begin by identifying the account code that best represents the primary purpose of the purchase. Use the Spending Allocation Goal Search Tool to locate the mapped three-digit NAICS code and the corresponding Spending Allocation Goals. If needed, review the NAICS categories directly and select the industry that would typically provide the primary product or service.

Select the NAICS category that best represents the primary purpose of the purchase.

Use the Small Business Certification Directory to identify certified Small Business Enterprises (SBEs) and Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs).

If no certified Small Business Enterprise (SBE) or Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) businesses are available for the purchase, document the steps taken to identify certified businesses and note that none were available. The Spending Allocation Goals Program recognizes that certified businesses will not be available for every purchase.

Good faith efforts are the reasonable steps taken to identify and consider certified businesses, provide fair access to purchasing opportunities when appropriate, and retain documentation supporting those efforts.

Yes. Good faith efforts should be documented regardless of whether the purchase is ultimately awarded to a certified Small Business Enterprise (SBE) or Minority Business Enterprise (MBE). The documentation records the steps taken to identify, consider, and provide certified businesses with a fair opportunity to participate.

For agencies that use the Core financial system, DAS has developed a recommended best practice for documenting good faith efforts as part of the normal purchasing process.

When creating a requisition or purchase order, enter the following:

1. Applicable account code in the ChartFields section: The account code is automatically associated with the corresponding three-digit NAICS category. 
2. Appropriate Good Faith Effort (GFE) standard comment in the Header Comments section: Select the comment that best describes the purchasing scenario. 

For purchases initiated with a requisition, this information is automatically copied through to the purchase order, receipt, and voucher. For purchases initiated with a purchase order, it is copied through to the receipt and voucher.

For further instructions, refer to: Documenting SBE/MBE Good Faith Efforts in Core-CT.

The Good Faith Effort (GFE) standard comments provide a consistent way to document the most common purchasing scenarios in the Core financial system. Select the standard comment that best matches the purchasing method and good faith effort for the purchase.

For further instructions, refer to: Choosing the Right Good Faith Effort Standard Comments in Core-CT.

Yes. The Core financial system captures key information to support purchasing and statewide reporting, however, it does not replace your agency's supporting documentation.

Agencies should continue to maintain their own supporting documentation for each purchase demonstrating good faith efforts, including how certified businesses were identified, considered, and provided a fair opportunity to participate, when appropriate. CHRO may request this documentation as part of its oversight responsibilities.

Agencies responsible for quarterly reporting should follow the established reporting process and due dates. When reporting purchases from certified businesses, enter the vendor name exactly as it appears in the Small Business Certification Directory to ensure accurate reporting.

Due Dates:

• Q1 | Jul 1 - Sep 30 | Due October 31
• Q2 | Oct 1 - Dec 31 | Due January 31
• Q3 | Jan 1 - Mar 31 | Due April 30
• Q4 | Apr 1 - Jun 30 | Due July 31

Unlike the previous set-aside program, Spending Allocation Goals are measured at the statewide level rather than by individual agency. Agency quarterly reports assist the State in measuring spending with certified SBEs and MBEs by industry category and report progress toward the statewide Spending Allocation Goals.

Procurable Dollars are the state funds available for purchasing goods and services after certain expenditures are excluded from an agency's total funds. Excluded expenditures include federal funds, salaries and wages, and other non-procurable expenditures. The remaining funds represent the agency's procurable dollars. 

Yes, spending allocation goals are applicable to all agency procurable dollars.

DAS has provided a model for best practices, including but not limited to the following. Supporting documentation may include: 

• spending allocation goal that correlates to the purchase; 
• list of vendors identified on the contract, if applicable; 
• Small Business Certification Directory search results; 
• quote requests or emails and vendor responses; 
• notes explaining why certified SBE/MBE vendors were not available or not contacted; or
• documentation showing that no meaningful vendor-choice opportunity existed.

Agencies have the discretion to establish the documentation process.

No, agency goals have been replaced with statewide goals. These statewide goals can be found on Connecticut’s Open Data Portal: SBE/MBE Spending Allocation Goals Viewer | Connecticut Data.

This term is no longer relevant. Agencies will now identify purchases where no opportunity exists and document it accordingly.

This is an agency decision.

No. The Spending Allocation Goals Program does not require an agency to award a purchase to a certified SBE or MBE if that vendor is not selected under the applicable procurement rules.

Agencies must continue to follow all applicable purchasing requirements, including the statutory requirement to award to the lowest responsible qualified bidder. The spending allocation goals do not override price, responsibility, qualifications, responsiveness, contract requirements, or other applicable award criteria.

Agencies are expected to provide certified SBE/MBE vendors with a fair opportunity to participate when available and appropriate, and to document those good faith efforts. The requirement is to make and document reasonable good faith efforts, not to select a higher-priced quote solely because the vendor is certified.

Agencies will still be able to run quarterly STARS Reports in CORE for inclusion in Affirmative Action Plans. These reports will help agencies demonstrate good faith effort, in compliance with the law.

For P-card purchases that use a requisition or purchase order for the individual purchase, follow the normal Core-CT process and select the GFE code that best matches the purchasing scenario.

For P-card purchases that are paid through a blanket P-card purchase order, use GFE9 on the blanket purchase order. The blanket purchase order serves as the Core-CT pointer record. Agencies should document purchase-level GFEs separately for each applicable P-card purchase as part of their agency-level P-card reconciliation or approval process. We suggest that agencies use the p-card log that is required by OSC (see OSC’s Purchasing Card Use Policy for more details) to document additional details on GFE made for each purchase.