Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

SBA proposes big changes to the HUBZone program

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The SBA’s Historically Underutilized Business Zone program intends well—by directing awards to contractors in regions that have been passed by economically, the federal government has tried to lift these areas up.

But the HUBZone program has exacting regulations, which (ironically) have helped cause it to be an underutilized tool for contracting officers. This could soon change.

On October 31, the SBA published a proposed rule that, if adopted, would bring clarity to the HUBZone regulations. In this post, we wanted to bring you up to speed on some of the more substantive proposed changes regarding certification requirements and the HUBZone protest process. Changes to employee definitions and requirements will be handled in another post.

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/hubzone-program/sba-proposes-big-changes-to-the-hubzone-program/

SBA’s Georgia district office conducts monthly 8(a) and HUBZone workshops in Atlanta

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The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Georgia District Office conducts monthly workshops which provide an overview of the requirements for eligible small businesses to participate in the 8(a) and the HUBZone programs.

These free workshops are scheduled to be conducted in Atlanta on Oct. 10, Nov. 14, and Dec. 12, 2018.

They are held at 10:00 am at Suite 300, 233 Peachtree Street, NE, Harris Tower, Atlanta, GA 30303.

Advance registration is required and can be accomplished at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/8a-hubzone-workshop-tickets-41770204807

 

Meeting the definition of a small business concern — A checklist

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This is a  Checklist for existing or prospective federal government contractors to determine whether they can meet the definition of a small business concern (SBC) under the Small Business Act (SBA).

This Checklist includes the definitional thresholds and size standards for SBCs.

This Checklist can also be used to determine if an SBC can qualify under a specific small business category, including:

  • the 8(a) Business Development Program,
  • a Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB),
  • a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB),
  • a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB),
  • an Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB), and
  • a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) SBC.

See the Checklist and related details at: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/meeting-the-definition-of-a-small-42284/ 

Can a small business take over DISA’s $1 billion perimeter security contract?

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The Defense Information Systems Agency’s perimeter cybersecurity has been managed by a large contractor for almost 10 years and now the agency wants to know if a small or underutilized business can take over.

The agency released two requests for information June 20 for its Gateway Security Engineering program: one looking for responses from small businesses, including 8(a), service-disabled veteran-owned and women-owned; and another soliciting information from vendors in historically underutilized business zones, or HUBZones.

The Gateway Security program manages security at the intersection of the Defense Department’s non-classified network, known as NIPRNet, and the public internet. “It provides support by developing, testing, implementing, and maintaining secure interoperable solutions at the Gateways,” according to the RFIs.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2018/06/can-small-business-take-over-disas-1b-perimeter-security-contract/149152/

SBA is deleting ‘direct’ ownership requirement from HUBZone program

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HUBZone companies owned by U.S. citizens will no longer be required to demonstrate that the ownership is “direct.”

The SBA’s HUBZone program rules have long required that a HUBZone company owned by U.S. citizens be at least 51% directly owned by those citizens – as opposed to allowing the qualifying citizens to own those interests through legal vehicles like holding companies.  But the SBA has had second thoughts, and effective May 25, 2018, the direct ownership requirement will be eliminated.

In a direct final rule issued on March 26, the SBA writes that “[d]irect ownership is not statutorily mandated” by the portion of the Small Business Act governing the HUBZone program.  The SBA has concluded that “the purposes of the HUBZone program – capital infusion in underutilized geographic areas and employment of individuals living in those areas – may be achieved whether ownership by U.S. citizens is direct or indirect.”

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/hubzone-program/hubzone-program-sba-will-delete-direct-ownership-requirement/

SBA announces free, six-part HUBZone webinar series in February

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The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is conducting a free, six-part webinar series beginning in February 2018 to help small business owners navigate the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Program.

Feb. 7: HUBZone Contracting:  Make the Federal Government Your Customer

2-3p.m. EST

Small businesses will learn about HUBZone contracting vehicles and regulations.

Click http://ems7.intellor.com/login/714969 10 minutes before webinar begins.

Feb. 14: HUBZone Joint Ventures: How to Partner with Other Companies for HUBZone Contracts

2-3p.m. EST

Learn how to enter into a HUBZone joint venture, and the importance of having a well-defined joint venture agreement .

Click http://ems7.intellor.com/login/714968 10 minutes before the webinar begins.

Feb. 21: Continued HUBZone Compliance:  How to Maintain Your HUBZone Certification

2-3p.m. EST

Learn how to remain compliant to reap the benefits of your investment.

Click http://ems7.intellor.com/login/715049 10 minutes before the webinar begins:

Feb. 28: How Does HUBZone Consider Employees and Affiliation?

2-3p.m. EST

Learn who to count as an employee for the purpose of HUBZone, and understand when to combine employees from other businesses to evaluate residency compliance.   

Click http://ems7.intellor.com/login/714967 10 minutes before the webinar begins.

March 7:  Understanding How HUBZones are Designated

2-3p.m. EST

Learn how areas become designated as HUBZones.

A link to the webinar will be announced by mid-February.

March 14: HUBZone Protests and Appeals

2-3p.m. EST

Learn the process for filing HUBZone protests and appeals; and for responding to protest notices.

A link to the webinar will be announced by mid-February.

All webinars will be archived on the SBA’s YouTube page. For more details about the HUBZone program, please visit www.sba.gov/hubzone or contact your GTPAC counselor for assistance.

New legislation looks to revitalize lagging HUBZone program, underdeveloped communities

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Lawmakers have been searching for answers to bolster a small business program designed to focus on economically disadvantaged communities, and vendors are saying their most recent effort goes a long way toward solving some of its biggest problems.

The Small Business Administration’s Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program incentivizes small businesses to base their headquarters in and hire employees from communities with high unemployment and low median incomes. The government has never reached its goal of awarding 3 percent of its contracts to HUBZone-certified businesses. SBA reports it came closest within the last decade in 2009 with 2.81 percent, but that number has steadily dropped to a low of 1.67 percent in 2016.

“Program participation dropped immensely after the release of the 2010 Census data,” said House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) during a Sept. 13 hearing on the HUBZone Unification and Business Stability Act of 2017. “Nearly 90 percent of HUBZones do not have a single certified firm.”

One of the main reasons behind this is the way HUBZone qualification data is calculated. The income and unemployment numbers used to designate HUBZones are updated annually, causing the zones to shift on a yearly basis. This makes it difficult for businesses seeking HUBZone certification to conduct long-term planning in order to locate their headquarters and hire employees in such a way that will maintain compliance.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/congress/2017/09/new-legislation-looks-to-revitalize-lagging-sba-hubzone-program-underdeveloped-communities/

SBA considering changes in 8(a) and HUBZone programs

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The SBA is considering making changes to improve its socioeconomic programs–particularly the 8(a) and HUBZone Programs.

The author of this article is Steve Koprince.  He is an attorney specializing in government contracting issues and is the author of a book entitled “The Small-Business Guide to Government Contracts.”

In a talk on Aug. 22nd at the 2017 Navy Gold Coast Procurement Conference, Robb Wong, the SBA’s recently-appointed Associate Administrator, Office of Government Contracting and Business Development, discussed some of the big changes the SBA is considering.  And to my ears, at least, a lot of what Mr. Wong said makes good sense.

Mr. Wong made clear that few decisions have been made at this point; most of the potential changes are only in the discussion phase for now.  That said, here are some of the changes the SBA is considering – and why.

First, SBA is considering how to better focus on what the VA would call “procurement readiness.”  Mr. Wong pointed out that many small businesses think that getting a socioeconomic certification is the hard part, and that the contracts come easily once a company is certified.

Of course, that’s not the case.  Many certified companies aren’t truly ready to do business with the government.  That, in turn, can hurt the reputations of the socioeconomic certifications themselves.  It may be unfair, but some procuring officials can become gun shy about using a socioeconomic class after a bad experience with an unready company.

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/events/sba-considering-8a-hubzone-changes/

SBA launches new HUBZone maps

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The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the launch of a new Historically Underutilized Business Zones map (via Google Chrome).  The new map is located at www.sba.gov/hubzone-maps.  The HUBZone map is the first step in the modernization effort of SBA’s federal contracting programs.  SBA has partnered with the U.S. Digital Service to streamline and enhance online services for small businesses.

The new HUBZone map helps small businesses in urban and rural communities determine if they are eligible for participation in the SBA’s HUBZone program.  It features the latest HUBZone designations, “Qualified Disaster Areas,” and new features to improve usability and assist with HUBZone address assertions.

“We are excited about our partnership with the White House’s U.S. Digital Service and the improvements made to the HUBZone maps to modernize SBA’s contracting programs — making them more user-friendly, agile and nimble for the busy entrepreneurs that we support,” SBA Administrator Linda McMahon said.  “This is one of many projects that we have worked on with the USDS team to leverage technology to support America’s small businesses.”

In March 2016, the SBA launched certify.SBA.gov – a modernized, web-based application to further streamline and improve the application and certification processes for small businesses and entrepreneurs seeking to do business with the federal government.  Certify.SBA.gov currently facilitates complete application and certification workflow for the Women Owned Small Business Program, including access to third party certification for women-owned small businesses.  To help firms assess their eligibility for SBA contracting programs, Certify’ s “Am I Eligible?” tool helps small businesses determine if the certification programs are a good fit for their businesses through a series of questions. The site will eventually serve additional SBA certification programs, including the 8(a) Business Development Program and the HUBZone Program.

For more details about the HUBZone map please visit www.sba.gov/hubzone or contact your GTPAC counselor.

Auditors criticize SBA’s management of small business programs

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In a report released on June 30, 2017, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reaffirmed “long-standing management challenges” within the Small Business Administration’s operation of several small business contracting activities “resulting in inefficient program operations.”

The programs impacted include small businesses in the socioeconomic categories of small disadvantaged businesses (SDB), women-owned small businesses (WOSB), service disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB), and historically underutilized business zone (HUBZone) small businesses.

For three of the small business programs, GAO specifically found:

HUBZone Program
  • There is no specific guidance or criteria for making requests for supporting documentation in connection with applications made as a part of the HUBZone certification process.
  • Because of shortcomings in the recertification process, there is not reasonable assurance that only qualified firms are allowed to continue in the HUBZone program.
  • Despite some automation put in place by the SBA, there is a backlog of firms in the recertification pipeline, required within a three-year time frame.
8(a) Program
  • There is an open issue involving the need to “clearly document [SBA’s] justification for approving or denying applicants into the 8(a) program, particularly when those decisions differed from lower-level recommendations.”  The SBA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) intends to continue to flag this issue “until this practice is documented in an SOP or desk guide for the program.”
  • The OIG reports that it has received documentation on thirty 8(a)-certified firms that it earlier found did not meet all of the eligibility requirements, and plans to issue an analysis of that documentation in a forthcoming report.
WOSB Program
  • SBA validated an earlier OIG report by agreeing that 40 percent of the WOSB concerns that the OIG questioned were not, in fact, eligible to receive contracts under the WOSB program at the time of award.
  • While the FY15 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) eliminated SBA’s self-certification process for the WOSB program, the SBA has not yet implemented a process to eliminate self-certification.
  • “As 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, increasing the risk that they may receive contracts for which they are not eligible.”
  • Until a new certification program required by the FY15 NDAA is implemented, “oversight of third-party certifiers and enhancing examinations of WOSB firms are needed to help ensure that only eligible businesses participate in the WOSB program.”

GAO’s complete report can be seen at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/690/685569.pdf.

Here is a list of earlier GAO audits of SBA’s small business programs, linked to the full reports:

 

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