Connecticut’s economic development agencies aren’t the only game in town for small businesses looking for the capital and technical assistance needed to grow. The federal Small Business Administration (SBA) has been at this since the Great Depression, offering different forms of assistance for different businesses’ purposes. Ironically, the number of SBA programs could be a problem for legislative staff new to economic development policies and programs.
But a new, twenty-six-page Congressional Research Service report meets this need, describing the SBA’s history and summarizing its programs. The table of contents alone helps the reader see how SBA organizes and markets its services. For example, the report divides the programs into two general categories—disaster loans and financial programs. It introduces the latter by describing how the SBA defines small business, making it easier for researchers to determine if its programs are right for their constituents. Then it sorts the programs into meaningful categories.
The report concludes by bringing readers up to date on recent Congressional changes, programs the SBA discontinued, and current funding levels.
