GAO
July 2001
CONTRACT
MANAGEMENT
Benefits of the DOD
Mentor-Protégé
Program Are Not
Conclusive
GAO-01-767
Report to Congressional Requesters
United States General Accounting Office
Page i
GAO-01-767 Contract Management
Letter
1
Results in Brief
2
Background
3
DOD Exceeds 5-Percent Goal, but Program’s Contribution Cannot
Be Fully Determined
4
No Explicit Link Between Mentoring and Protégés’
Competitiveness, Financial Independence, or Business
Development
5
Effect of Program Funding on Defense Contractor Participation Is
Unknown
6
Conclusions
6
Matter for Congressional Consideration
7
Recommendations
7
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation
7
Scope and Methodology
8
Appendix I
Performance Measurements Reported in the
September 1999 Semi-Annual Reports
10
Appendix II
Comments From the Department of Defense
12
Appendix III
GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
15
Tables
Table 1: Distribution of Protégés and the Value of Contracts
Received
10
Table 2: Distribution of Protégés and Change in Revenue
11
Table 3: Distribution of Protégés and Change in the Number of
Employees
11
Figure
Figure 1: Percentage of Total Dollar Value of DOD Contract
Awards and Subcontracts Awarded to Small
Disadvantaged Businesses
4
Contents
Page 1
GAO-01-767 Contract Management
July 19, 2001
The Honorable Carl Levin
Chairman
The Honorable John Warner
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Armed Services
United States Senate
The Honorable Bob Stump
Chairman
The Honorable Ike Skelton
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Armed Services
House of Representatives
To boost the participation of small disadvantaged businesses as
subcontractors and suppliers under Department of Defense (DOD)
contracts, the Congress authorized1 the Pilot Mentor-Protégé Program. The
program provides incentives for major defense contractors (mentors) to
assist small disadvantaged businesses (protégés) in strengthening their
ability to compete for work (for example, by providing computer training
or help in the areas of proposal writing and contract administration).
However, DOD