Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

DoD publishes long awaited interim rule on CMMC

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At long last, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) has provided its interim rule, published in the Federal Register on September 29, 2020, amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (“DFARS”) to set forth requirements for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (“CMMC”) program, as well as new requirements for a “NIST SP 800-171 DoD Assessment Methodology.”  The interim rule is effective November 30, 2020, and comments to the interim rule should be submitted by November 30 as well. 

NIST SP 800-171 DoD Assessment Methodology

For contractors already required to comply with NIST SP 800-171, per DFARS 252.204-7012, DoD now is going to hold those contractors accountable, instituting an assessment and reporting system to verify compliance before new contracts can be awarded.  While the new requirement is for information to be provided prior to contract award, DoD encourages affected contractors to begin their self-assessments immediately.

The Assessment Methodology will include three assessment levels:  (1) Basic, (2) Medium, and (3) High.  The Basic Assessment will be a self-assessment completed by the contractor prior to contract award, while the Medium and High Assessments are available options for DoD to complete after award.  DoD estimates it will conduct 200 Medium Assessments and 110 High Assessments each year.  Additional information regarding DoD assessments is available here.

There is a specific scoring methodology to be followed for the Assessment.  A contractor that has fully implemented all 110 NIST SP 800-171 controls will have a score of “110.”  It goes without saying that contractors will need to be careful here – an inaccurate report could subject a company to exposure under the False Claims Act.

Assessments will be valid for three years unless there are issues requiring a reassessment sooner.  The newly-announced Assessment Methodology appears to be an immediate solution to provide DoD some peace of mind on contractor data security until the CMMC program can be fully implemented.

Continue reading at the Sheppard Mullin GovCon Blog.

GSA Region 4 OSDBU hosting small business webinar

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The General Services Administration, Region 4, Regional Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization his holding a webinar entitled “Small Business Contracting & Support During COVID-19.”

Join GSA for a collaborative discussion on federal contract opportunities with various Federal Agencies during COVID-19.

In addition, learn about the second phase of the PPP loan process via the Small Business Administration.

Participating Federal Agencies:

  • U.S. General Services Administration
  • U.S. Small Business Administration
  • Center for Disease Control
  • Federal Aviation Administration
  • Department of Veterans Affairs

DATE:  Wednesday, May 6, 2020

TIME:  2:30 – 4:00 pm, ET

Web-Conferencing via MeetingSpace.

Webinar URL will be provided once you register:  REGISTER HERE

This event is free of charge, but space is limited.

For more information on this event or for special accommodations, please contact r4smallbiz@gsa.gov

GTPAC launches COVID-19 resource page

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The Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) is closely monitoring the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and its impact on government contractors.  Our greatest concern is for the health, safety, and well-being of our clients and staff.  As a unit of Georgia Tech, we will continue to comply with Georgia Tech’s operational directives, and that of the University System of Georgia.

We are still operating and performing all counseling sessions by email, phone, or via online conferencing methods.  Because some of our counselors are now working from home, their phone contact information may have recently changed.  Please visit the team directory and each counselor’s profile on our website for the most up-to-date contact information:  https://gtpac.org/team-directory/

If you would like an appointment, please reach out to the specific procurement counselor you would like an appointment with by phone or email.

All seminars and classes are now being taught online as webinars.  You can register for any of our upcoming classes on our training events page here:

https://gtpac.ecenterdirect.com/events

Please also remember that we offer on-demand training, which can be accessed here:  https://www.gotostage.com/channel/gtpac

When we resume normal operations and allow in-person appointments again, we will provide notification.

We recently created a COVID-19 resource page for government contractors and vendors, which you can access here:  https://gtpac.org/gtpac-covid-19-resource-page/

The page contains information and guidance government agencies have shared with GTPAC related to COVID-19, including information regarding how to reach out to various state and federal agencies if you can support their response to the ongoing situation.  We will update this webpage regularly with the latest news and information that may be helpful to government contractors during this difficult time.

Please continue to visit the resource page for the latest in helpful links, webinars, and current information.

GDEcD seeks GA Manufacturers and Distributors that can help with critical health care supply needs related to COVID-19

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The Georgia Department of Economic Development is identifying Georgia Manufacturers and Distributors that can help with critical health care supply needs.

If you are aware of a business that can provide, produce, distribute, store – or quickly be repurposed to create – in-need medical and health care supplies, please direct them to fill out the following form, as soon as possible:

http://www.georgia.org/covid19response

Items they are seeking include:

  • Air Purifying Machines
  • Face Shields
  • Gloves (Various Sizes/Nitrile or latex-free)
  • Hair Covers
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Hospital Beds
  • N-95 Masks or Equivalent
  • Negative Pressure Machines
  • No-Touch Thermometers
  • Regular Thermometers if No-Touch Thermometers are not available
  • Safety Goggles
  • Sanitation Units
  • Sanitizing Spray
  • Sanitizing Wipes
  • Shoe Covers
  • Surgical Gowns
  • Surgical Masks
  • Tyvek Suits
  • Ventilators
  • …And any other item that may be useful for responding to the COVID-19 situation.

You can find more information on the Georgia Department of Economic Development COVID-19 website here:  https://www.georgia.org/covid19

Georgia DOAS to hold 4th Annual Georgia Procurement Conference April 21-23, 2020

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The 4th Annual Georgia Procurement Conference (GPC 2020) will be held April 21-23, 2020 at the Jekyll Island Convention Center.  GPC 2020 will provide excellent opportunities to foster business partnerships between state and local government entities, exhibitors, statewide contractors and small businesses.

This year’s conference will give government procurement professionals the opportunity to:

  • Learn new techniques and best practices directly from state and national procurement industry experts
  • Attend training sessions to strengthen procurement knowledge and earn recertification credits
  • Build and strengthen relationships with DOAS State Purchasing Division (SPD) staff
  • Network with fellow procurement professionals

The conference will also showcase a dynamic Exhibitor Expo, where attendees can network with scores of exhibitors and suppliers from across the state.

Learn more about the conference at:  Georgia Department of Administrative Services (DOAS) website

Small business subcontracting for cloud computing gets easier

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In response to widespread interest in allowing more small business participation in opportunities involving cloud computing, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) has decided to exclude cloud computing from the limitation on subcontracting rule calculation, in certain circumstances.  Thus, beginning December 30, 2019, small businesses are no longer limited in their ability to subcontract out cloud computing services to larger companies, in connection with performing a Government contract set aside for small businesses, where the small business will perform other services that are the primary purpose of the acquisition.

The limitation on subcontracting rule provides that a small business may not subcontract more than 50% of the prime contract amount, under a services contract, to businesses that are other than small. 13 C.F.R. 125.6; 48 C.F.R. 52.219-14.  In the cloud computing context, this limitation has had the effect of reducing small business participation in IT service contracts with a substantial cloud computing component.  Typically, a small business is not able to commit to a procurement in which it (together with other small businesses, if needed) will provide more than 50% of the services under these contracts.  Certainly not where the cloud computing market is currently dominated by juggernauts who are far larger than “small.”

Continue reading at:  Government Contracts and Investigations Blog

A guide to labor and employment obligations for federal contractors

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Companies doing business with the federal government must comply with a litany of complex laws and regulations that affect their day-to-day business operations.  To assist government contractors, this guide discusses some of the labor and employment laws and regulations that should be considered when pricing and performing a government contract.

Continue reading at:  JD Supra

Who pays for CMMC certification?

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Last week, DOD announced the release of CMMC Version 1.0.  CMMC Version 1.0 is a comprehensive certification process featuring 171 cybersecurity best practices to ensure that contractors secure their information systems.  The question on everyone’s mind is who is going to pay for the certification and all of the work necessary to comply.

DOD has been less than clear on how contractors are expected to pay for CMMC certification. But what is clear is that the costs associated with obtaining CMMC certification will be significant.  It is unclear whether contractors can seek reimbursement for these costs.  They may be able to claim costs as an allowable indirect cost.  We suspect that the cost of certification itself will be covered, but that the greater costs associated with becoming compliant will not be covered as a reimbursable direct cost.

Continue reading at:  Fox Rothschild

Dr. Abdallah testifies on U.S. competitiveness, research, STEM pipeline at Congressional hearing

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On Jan. 29, Chaouki Abdallah, Georgia Tech’s executive vice president for Research, testified before a U.S. House of Representatives committee about the cooperative United States research and development (R&D) enterprise, including the threat of falling behind other nations in critical technologies, investment in the nation’s institutions of higher education, and the future of the STEM talent pipeline.

Along with Abdallah, the hearing brought together expert testimony from representatives from federal and industry perspectives, including Diane Souvaine, chair of the National Science Board, and Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google and founder of Schmidt Futures.

In his testimony to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Abdallah stressed the importance of maintaining the U.S. position of leadership in R&D, and the importance of the collaboration between the federal government, higher education, and the private sector.

“The mission, alignment, and cooperation of these three actors have historically made the U.S. research landscape the most productive and admired in the world … and made the U.S. safer, healthier, and wealthier.”

Continue reading at:  Georgia Tech News Center

Long awaited changes to WOSB/EDWOSB regulations expected this summer

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Big news for women-owned businesses!  It’s certainly been a long time coming, but self-certification for women-owned small businesses is finally on its way out.  For those of you unfamiliar with this issue, here’s a little background.

When the Small Business Administration (SBA) created the Women-Owned Small Business program in 2011, the regulations allowed women owned small businesses (WOSBs) and economically disadvantaged women owned small business (EDWOSB) to self-certify for participation in the program.  Compare this to the SBA’s 8(a) program, for example, which does not allow self-certification and instead requires a company to go through a rigorous application process.  During that application process, the SBA ensures that all of the eligibility criteria are, in fact, satisfied.  Because the WOSB/EDWOSB program allowed women to self-certify without going through an arduous application process, many women-owned businesses did just that.  Others chose to use third-party certifiers.  (Though not required, third-party certification offers the added benefit of conferring eligibility under certain state-run women-owned business programs.)

Over time, criticism of WOSB self-certification mounted.  Various reports from the GAO and other governmental watchdogs noted high levels of fraud, and industry insiders began lobbying for change.  Legitimate WOSBs wanted a more robust review process, to eliminate fraudulent “front” companies from the program.  In response, Congress passed the 2015 NDAA, which eliminated self-certification for WOSBs and EDWOSBs.  The NDAA directed the SBA to modify its regulations, abolish self-certification, and create an application process to vet potential participants.  A year later, the SBA published a notice, indicating that it did plan on drafting the regulations Congress ordered . . . but no regulations were forthcoming.  In 2016, the SBA set up a new online portal – certify.sba.gov – through which WOSB status could be managed.  But, again, no actual changes to the regulation were proposed, let alone completed.  A 2017 GAO report found that “[a]s a result of inadequate monitoring and controls, such as not implementing a full certification program, potentially ineligible businesses may continue to incorrectly certify themselves as WOSBs.”  Still…crickets from the SBA.

Continue reading at:  GovCon Examiner

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