SBA Publishes Guidelines for Social Disadvantage Narrative

August 21, 2023 - The SBA published guidelines for the social disadvantage narrative, so all companies that submitted their 8a application relying on the presumption of disadvantage MUST submit a Social Disadvantage Narrative and have the SBA approve it to receive an 8a award. If you submitted an application based on the preponderance of the evidence of social disadvantage, then you do not need to submit a new narrative and the SBA should send you a letter today saying that you have established social disadvantage and you can receive 8a awards.

If you are unsure which category that you submitted under, then you can go back to certify.sba.gov and check your application. You should be receiving an email from the SBA today.

Here are the guidelines from the SBA and below is a summary of those guidelines:

Guide to Writing Social Disadvantage Narratives for 8(a) Program Participation

Definition: An individual is socially disadvantaged if they've faced racial, ethnic, or cultural bias in American society due to group membership, irrespective of individual qualities. Once established, there's no need to prove social disadvantage again during the program.

SBA's Criteria for Disadvantage: Discrimination must be chronic, substantial, and experienced within the U.S. This bias should hinder the person’s progress in the business domain.

Key Elements:
Indication of Identity: Specify the identity or attributes that led to discrimination. Examples include race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and isolation from American society. One identity is enough, but those with multiple identities may mention more, especially when the discrimination's source is ambiguous. 
Descriptions of Incidents: Narratives should have at least two incidents showcasing bias to confirm chronic and substantial social disadvantage. If a single incident is pervasive or recurring, it might suffice. Narratives should be around 3 pages, although length can vary.

Incidents’ Framework:
Education: Discrimination instances related to higher education access, exclusion from educational interactions, denied honors, or societal pressures against pursuing professional/business education.
Employment: Biased treatment in job aspects, including hiring, promotions, pay, or being pushed towards non-business roles due to societal influences.
Business history: Factors include unequal credit or capital access, discriminatory business opportunities, or exclusion from business groups.

For each incident, the narrative should be structured with:

When: Preferably exact dates of the discriminatory act.
Where: Must be within the U.S.
Who: Name the perpetrator(s).
What: Describe the discriminatory behavior.
Why: State why the action was discriminatory. Merely asserting discrimination without context isn't sufficient.
How: Highlight the impact of the discrimination on business opportunities. Discrimination without a negative impact isn't valid for the claim.

We are supporting companies with their narrative. Please let me know if this is something that we can assist with.