U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) helps Americans start, build, and grow businesses. The agency has become the government's most cost-effective instrument for economic development. About 3,000 businesses currently are certified as SDBs, and another 9,000 companies participate in the SBA's 8(a) program, which provides sole-source contracts and restricted-competition contracts to minority-owned businesses. More than 12,000 companies are self-certified as small disadvantaged busiensses (SDBs) on the federal government's contracting database.

HUD Contact Center Business Process and Quality Improvement

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offers a wide variety of programs and services to promote adequate and affordable housing, economic opportunity, and a suitable living environment free from discrimination. Through the years, its individual business lines have established their own methods to ensure that the public and program partners have ready access to the information they need in order to make appropriate use of these programs. A number of communication procedures and many toll free numbers had been established to aid customer care. The number of contact centers grew over time and each center separately managed the assignment, tracking, and resolution of all incoming calls.