Analysis you can check
ESRD publishes independent, document-grounded research on compliance and accountability in public commitments. Every finding is sourced to records anyone can request.
Self-Certified: What the Government Stopped Taking on Faith, and What It Still Does
Every federal contract award rests on statements the contractor made about itself, checked by no one at the moment they are relied on. This paper reads the government’s own record: the GAO case studies that found ineligible firms holding roughly $100 million in veteran-owned set-asides, the rules that replaced self-certification with certification in 2020, 2023, and 2024, and the categories that still run on the honor system, including small business size status and women-owned goaling credit.
Sources: GAO testimony and reports, Federal Register rulemaking, the Code of Federal Regulations, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and Congressional Research Service analysis, each cited in the paper.
Attested Is Not Verified: A Framework for Independent Compliance Verification
Organizations, funders, and communities are asked every day to accept that a commitment has been met because someone says it has. This paper draws the line between what is attested and what can be independently verified, and sets out a repeatable, document-grounded method for telling the difference.
Methodology: recognized auditing and attestation standards applied through ESRD’s independent, conflict-free verification approach.
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