For its ongoing comprehensive size standards review and future regulatory actions relating to size standards, SBA has developed a “Size Standards Methodology White Paper,”explaining how it establishes, reviews and modifies its small business size standards pursuant to the Small Business Act and related legislative guidelines.

The white paper provides a brief review of the following:

• Legal authority, early legislative history and regulatory history of small business size standards
• Detailed description of evaluation of industry structure and program information and data sources
• Numerous policy issues regarding the objectives and direction of size standards
• Appendix summarizing the detailed analytical steps involved in the evaluation of size standards for an industry

Can the Methodology Change?

SBA welcomes comments from the public on its methodology regarding a number of issues. SBA is aware that different choices among size standards can involve complex tradeoffs among relevant variables; and it invites comments on how to identify and weigh those variables.

Suggestions are welcome on alternative methodologies for determining small businesses on:

• How these size standards affect competition in general and within the specific industry
• Alternative or additional factors that SBA should consider
• If SBA’s approach to small business size standards makes sense in the current economic environment
• If SBA’s use of anchor size standards are appropriate in the current economy
• If there are gaps in SBA’s methodology because of the lack of comprehensive data
• Alternative data sets SBA should consider for a specific sector

Please follow the instructions in the notice of the October 21, 2009 Federal Register for submitting comments to SBA.