Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

5 things you should know: SBA’s recent 8(a) program updates

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SBA has been hard at work this past year updating its 8(a) Business Development Program rules and policies.  And we have been doing our best to keep you posted.  Many of our blog posts focused on SBA’s monumental November 2020 “rule overhaul,” which implemented several 8(a) rule changes.  But given the sheer magnitude of information in that final rule, it is pretty easy to lose track of which updates might affect you, as a potential 8(a) applicant or current 8(a) participant.  There were also some pretty important changes to the 8(a) Program just prior to and subsequent to SBA’s November 2020 final rule.

Suffice it to say, there is a lot to process!  So, we thought a quick summary blog on some of the most significant changes to the 8(a) Program of late might help you in that endeavor.  Without further ado, here are five things you should know about SBA’s recent 8(a) Program updates.

As an initial matter, please keep in mind that this blog does not provide an exhaustive list of the rule changes in SBA’s November 2020 final rule that may affect 8(a) Program admission or participation.  It is merely a simplified discussion of some of the big picture changes that have already received a lot of attention in the government contracting community.

Continue reading at:  SmallGovCon

Five things to know about an 8(a) bona fide place of business

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Eligibility to bid for construction contracts in the 8(a) program can be a maze to navigate for small businesses.  The lifeblood for these companies is identifying and becoming eligible to bid for these prized solicitations.  As a new 8(a) entity, or one looking to branch out, you may be wondering how to establish a bona fide place of business.

In order to qualify for construction contracts in the 8(a) program, offerors are required to have a bona fide place of business (or BFPOB) within the established geographic area.  This post will walk you through when and how to request a determination from the SBA, and when to expect a decision.

Before we get to the five things, one important resource for the 8(a) Program to review when questions arise is the SBA standard operating procedure.  But, if you don’t have time to read all 300 pages and the corresponding regulations, we will walk you through the process.

Continue reading at:  SmallGovCon

SBA publishes guidance and FAQ document regarding 8(a) participant 1-year extension

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In accordance with the Appropriations Act, Pub. L. 116-260, Div. N, title III, sec. 330 passed into law on December 27, 2020, firms participating in the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program may be eligible for one additional year to their program term.  The SBA has recently published guidance and a FAQ document on the one-year extension for certain 8(a) participants.  You can find the guidance at the SBA’s Certify knowledgebase here:

https://sbaone.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CHDB/overview

 

SBA answers questions on 8(a) program extension

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For those who didn’t see it, SBA recently put out guidance on how the 8(a) program term extension will work.  The guidance provides some nice examples of how the process will play out.

The guidance has some straightforward scenarios for how SBA will process the 8(a) term extension.  Remember, there is still time until March 15 to provide comments on SBA’s 8(a) term extension rule.  Here are some of the highlights.

Who is Eligible?

  • Firms that were in the 8(a) Program between March 13, 2020, and September 9, 2020, can get an extension.
  • Firms that terminated, early graduated, or voluntarily withdrew are not eligible.
  • Firms admitted on or after September 10, 2020, are ineligible.
  • Active 8(a) firms participating on January 13, 2021, will receive an automatic one-year program extension unless they decline in writing.

Continue reading at:  SmallGovCon

Congressional Research Service publishes updated report on SBA’s 8(a) program

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The 8(a) Business Development Program—commonly known as the “8(a) Program”—provides participating small businesses with training, technical assistance, and contracting opportunities in the form of set-aside and sole-source awards.  A set-aside award is a contract in which only certain contractors may compete, whereas a sole-source award is a contract awarded, or proposed for award, without competition.  In FY2019, 8(a) firms were awarded $30.4 billion in federal contracts, including $8.6 billion in 8(a) set-aside awards and $9.9 billion in 8(a) sole-source awards.  Other programs provide similar assistance to other types of small businesses (e.g., women-owned, HUBZone, and service-disabled veteran-owned).

8(a) Program eligibility is generally limited to small businesses “unconditionally owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals who are of good character and citizens of and residing in the United States” that demonstrate “potential for success.”

Members of certain racial and ethnic groups are presumed to be socially disadvantaged, although individuals who do not belong to these groups may prove they are also socially disadvantaged.  To be economically disadvantaged, an individual must have a net worth of less than $750,000 at the time of entry into the program and less than $750,000 for continuing eligibility.  In determining whether an applicant has good character, the SBA takes into account any criminal conduct, violations of SBA regulations, or debarment or suspension from federal contracting.  For a firm to demonstrate potential for success, it generally must have been in business in its primary industry classification for two years immediately prior to applying to the program.  However, small businesses owned by Alaska Native Corporations, Community Development Corporations, Indian tribes, and Native Hawaiian Organizations are eligible to participate in the 8(a) Program under somewhat different terms.  Each of these terms is further defined by the Small Business Act, Small Business Administration (SBA) regulations, and judicial and administrative decisions.

This report examines the 8(a) Program’s historical development, key requirements, administrative structures and operations, and the SBA’s oversight of 8(a) firms.  It also discusses two SBA programs designed to support 8(a) firms, the 7(j) Management and Technical Assistance Program and the All Small Mentor-Protégé Program, and provides various program statistics.  It concludes with an analysis of the following current 8(a) Program issues:

  • The SBA’s decision to address recent declines in the number of program participants by revising and streamlining the program’s application process, an action which the SBA’s Office of Inspector General (SBA OIG) reports “may erode core safeguards that prevented questionable firms from entering the 8(a) Program.”
  • Reported variation in 8(a) Program service delivery.
  • Reported deficiencies in the oversight of 8(a) Program participant’s continuing eligibility.
  • Disagreements concerning the financial thresholds used to determine economic disadvantage, including the SBA’s decision to exclude equity in a primary residence from the calculation of an individual’s net worth.
  • The adequacy of the performance measures used to evaluate the program’s effectiveness in meeting its statutory goals.

Read the full report here:  https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44844

Minority-owned small business government contracting guides

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The blog Government Contracts Insights has published a series of posts (4 total) specific to federal government contracting as a minority-owned small business.  You can find links to the four posts below:

  1. Roadblocks inherent to the public procurement process for minority-owned businesses
  2. Overview of SBA contracting assistance programs
  3. Guide to the 8(a) and HUBZone programs
  4. Access to capital opportunities for minority-owned businesses

SBA interim final rule allows certain 8(a) program participants to extend participation for one year

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On January 13, 2021, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued an interim final rule (effective immediately) to allow certain 8(a) Business Development (BD) program (the “program”) participants to extend their program term by a period of one year.  The interim rule implements a provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, which permits businesses that were in the program on or before September 9, 2020, to extend their participation in the program for a period of one year.

Continue reading at:  Pillsbury

See also related article at Bradley’s Buildsmart blog.

GSA announces STARS III IT contract for small businesses

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The General Services Administration released a draft solicitation Friday to replace an expiring governmentwide acquisition contract (GWAC) for small IT businesses.

The 8(a) Streamlined Technology Acquisition Resource for Services (STARS) III GWAC will replace its predecessor, 8(a) STARS II, when that ends Aug. 30, 2021.

Agencies will issue task order requests via 8(a) STARS III for information technology services from active participants in the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development program for startups.

Continue reading at:  Fedscoop

Five ways small, minority-owned construction firms can build success

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To spread the economic benefits that construction projects generate more fairly across communities, government agencies reserve some public work for contractors owned or operated by traditionally disadvantaged groups.

Federal, state and even city and county agencies have special programs that give qualified minority and woman-owned business enterprises (MWBEs) and other disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs), such as service-disabled veterans, a chance to bid on and win certain construction projects ranging from small to mega.  That is, if they are certified.

The Small Business Administration, for example, runs the 8(a) certification program, which is probably the most well-known among government contractors, but other agencies have renditions as well.  Most certifying agencies require that a qualified business be owned by at least 51% minority or disadvantaged owners.

African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian-Pacific and Subcontinent Asian Americans and women are presumed to be socially and economically disadvantaged, according to the federal government.  Other individuals can also qualify as socially and economically disadvantaged on a case-by-case basis.

But while certification provides some opportunities, it doesn’t mean that MWBEs and DBEs get to skip over all the hard work that goes into building a business.  “That’s not the way it works,” said Dan Moncrief III, CEO and chairman of certified minority commercial contractor McDaniel’s Construction Corp. in Columbus, Ohio, and president of the National Association of Minority Contractors.

“You have to work harder than you’ve ever worked and stay up later than you’ve ever stayed up to get your first job,” he said.  “And once you get a first job, it may be a long time before you get the second one.  So, it’s a constant grind.  If you don’t have the fortitude for it, you might want to do something else.”

Continue reading at:  Construction Dive

SBA denies 8(a) status based on applicant’s ability to successfully overcome gender-based discrimination in her field

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OHA recently affirmed the 8(a) status denial of a 100% woman-owned small business performing in the historically male-dominated renewable energy field.  The applicant—who SBA called an “advocate” and “mentor” to women in the industry—detailed specific instances of gender-based-discrimination that plagued her education, employment, and career.  But SBA was unmoved, instead focusing its analysis on the applicant’s triumph over these obstacles—apparently an indication that she was not socially disadvantaged in the first place.  

Continue reading at:  SmallGovCon

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