Field Operations Performance Evaluation

The SBA Office of Field Operations (OFO) manages a network of 68 district offices that serve as the point of delivery for many agency-wide programs and services. Field operations play a key role in sustaining the entrepreneurial ecosystem by providing entrepreneurs access to information, resources, and capital needed to start or grow their businesses. This evaluation explored the role of the district offices within the SBA and the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem. The evaluation found that district office staff are committed to the SBA’s core mission to help small businesses start, grow, and be resilient. The study also identified that while district offices excel at forming and maintaining relationships with resource partners, they cannot equally attend to every relationship. Additionally, adequate business opportunity specialist and lender relations specialist staffing is essential to maintaining district office capital and contracting expertise. Finally, opportunities to increase alignment between the activities conducted by district offices and relevant strategic objectives were identified.