“The Department of Homeland Security said it will expand engagement with the goal of increasing contract opportunities for small businesses owned by or supporting members of underserved communities as a core tenet of its first-ever Equity Action Plan. The plan was crafted in line with President Biden’s Jan. 20, 2021, executive order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, which stated that ‘because advancing equity requires a systematic approach to embedding fairness in decision-making processes, executive departments and agencies must recognize and work to redress inequities in their policies and programs that serve as barriers to equal opportunity.’...” “In FY 2020, DHS obligated over $7.6 billion in contracts from a pool of $21 billion to small businesses. Preliminary FY 2021 data indicates the total small business-eligible dollars obligation hit a historic high for DHS at nearly $8 billion, including service-disabled veteran-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, small disadvantaged businesses including 8(a), and HUBZone small businesses. ‘DHS will prioritize enhancing efforts to engage these firms through various outreach activities, in addition to monitoring and increasing small business goals as appropriate,’ the plan states...” Read the full article here. Source: DHS Outlines Steps to Increase Contract Opportunities in Equity Action Plan – By Bridget Johnson, April 18, 2022. Homeland Security Today.