Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

5 things you should know about SBA’s ‘all small’ mentor-protégé program

By

In late 2016, the Small Business Administration (SBA) rolled out a fantastic tool to help small business grow in the marketplace.

Here are five things you should know about the SBA’s All Small Mentor-Protégé Program:

  1. It’s a business development program.
  2. What type of assistance can be given?
  3. Who’s eligible to participate?
  4. The benefits of participation.
  5. How can your business apply?

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/five-things/asmpp/

Eligibility requirements are here: https://www.sba.gov/contracting/government-contracting-programs/all-small-mentor-protege-program/eligibility-requirements

Why are DBEs MIA? Overcoming the disadvantaged business enterprise shortage

By

Since the early 1960s, even before the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the U.S. government has been trying to find ways to give disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs) a piece of the gigantic federal contract pie — almost $450 billion in 2014. Also commonly called WBEs (women-owned) and MBEs (minority-owned), they all refer to businesses, which, by virtue of ownership, historically have been shut out of federal contracting opportunities.

DBE ownership and controlState and federal agencies typically set required DBE participation goals at 5%-10% and up, meaning that there are tens of billions of federal dollars up for grabs. In 2015, federal construction spending, according to the Associated General Contractors of America, will total almost $106 billion, resulting in a potential $10 billion payoff for firms certified as disadvantaged.

Of course there is, for some, the temptation to commit fraud in order to gain access to these lucrative contracts. Three Pennsylvania steel company executives pleaded guilty in October to setting up a sham DBE in order to win nearly $19 million in U.S. Department of Transportation and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation contracts set aside for disadvantaged businesses.

With all that money at stake, one would think minority and women-owned businesses are filling federal offices, demanding to be certified and eager to participate. So why aren’t they? Construction industry experts say there is a shortage of certified DBEs, and that means it’s getting harder to meet federal agency DBE participation goals.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.constructiondive.com/news/why-are-dbes-mia-overcoming-the-disadvantaged-business-enterprise-shortage/408432/

DoD seeks 10-year extension of small business mentoring program

By

The Defense Department intends to request a 10-year extension of a program that improves the ability of socioeconomically disadvantaged small businesses to compete for defense contracts, the program’s manager said yesterday.

The Small Business Mentor-Protege Program began in 1991 as a way to foster small businesses and improve technology transfer between the Defense Department and industry, Robert Stewart said in a DoD News interview.

Despite having been in existence for nearly 25 years, the program is still categorized as a pilot and must be reauthorized in a National Defense Authorization Act every few years, he said.

Stewart said that through regular outreach with industry representatives, his office has learned that the periodic reauthorizations give the impression that the program isn’t permanent. This has a chilling effect on participation — particularly as the reauthorization period approaches, he said.

“Whenever we’re about a year, year and a half out from an authorization — since it’s a pilot program and it’s still crafted in language as a pilot program — industry does what’s called a chilling-off,” Stewart said. From the perspective of a business owner, he said, “If I’m not sure something’s going to be reauthorized, I’m going to be less apt to put business development dollars into helping facilitate small business.”

Extending the program’s authorization period would provide stability, reassure industry and save the department money, he said.

How to Participate

Small businesses seeking to become prime contractors with the department first choose a mentor from one of the more than 50 larger companies participating in the program, he explained. Part of that selection process is ensuring that the strategic goals of the two companies align, Stewart noted.

“We try to put them in a position to be as successful as possible,” he said.

The larger company provides training and mentorship, and in exchange, receives credit toward their small business contracting goals, Stewart said. If the training is provided through a procurement technical assistance center, a small business development center, minority institution or a historically black college or university, they can claim up to four times the amount spent for credit toward their actual small business participation levels.

The agreements may not last longer than three years, and once an agreement is fulfilled, the small business graduates from the program and is able to serve as a prime contractor for DoD contracts.

“Now you have a small business who’s a prime contractor [and] whose overhead is significantly lower than your traditional government contractors,” Stewart said. “They can do the exact same work, sometimes faster, sometimes cheaper, oftentimes better than larger, more cumbersome agencies or entities.”

This is a win-win situation for industry and the Defense Department, Stewart said. Larger businesses now have a pool of capable, responsive partners with which to team up and seek defense contracts, while small businesses gain better-trained employees and, by piggybacking on the capabilities of their larger partner, they can compete for contracts that they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to support.

“It works out in a lot of areas,” he said. “We’re helping grow the manufacturing-industrial base by ensuring that we’re going through our [procurement technical assistance centers], small business development centers, minority institutions and [Historically Black Colleges and Universities], but also identifying tech transfer companies that allow the United States government to be able to fight the threat that the Googles, the Amazons, the Microsofts, the Oracles face every day.”

The Way Ahead

“One of the things that we’re looking for going forward … [is that] we want to focus on the evaluation and criteria and factors to drive contracting commands across the DoD enterprise to utilize Mentor-Protege as a way to meet those subcontracting small business participation goals,” Stewart said.

To accomplish this, he said, the Office of Small Business Programs plans to develop a defense acquisition regulation that would give participants in the Mentor-Protege Program greater weight during the bid solicitation process.

“You’re going to get credit toward being already involved in DoD — you know DoD’s business, you’ve already got an established working relationship with the DoD,” Stewart said.

Source: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=128014

‘How to do business with GSA’ webinar Feb. 27th

By

The U.S. General Services Administration’s Office of Small Business Utilization is sponsoring an on-line webinar on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, from 9:30 to 11:30 am EST.

This webinar gives businesses the opportunity to the “learn the federal ropes” from marketing to promoting sustainability.

GSA’s Office of Small Business Utilization advocates for small, minority, veteran, HUBZone, and women business owners.  The webinar will focus on the steps to “Doing Business with GSA” through contracting
options, sustainability, and more, including:

  • GSA’s procurement policies and methods
  • Accessing government solicitations
  • Marketing your products/services
  • GSA Schedules Program Pros and Cons
  • The GSA Mentor Protege Program
  • GSA and Sustainability

Space is limited.  Reserve your webinar seat now at: https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/152980351

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements:

  • PC-based attendees requirements: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
  • Mac®-based attendees  requirements: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer
  • Mobile attendees requirements: iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet

For additional information, please contact Janice Bracey at janice.bracey@gsa.gov

U.S. DOT announces mentor-protégé pilot program

By

The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced the launch of a new Mentor-Protégé Pilot Program. The pilot program was created to enhance the capability of minority and small business owners to successfully compete for and perform in federal procurement opportunities. Managed by DOT’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), the program is designed to provide an opportunity for small businesses to create strategic alliances with successful large or prime contractors to receive technical assistance and move their businesses to the next level.

By encouraging and supporting private-sector relationships, DOT is expanding its efforts to identify and respond to the developmental needs of small and minority owned businesses. Through the pilot program, large and prime contractors will establish an agreement with small businesses to provide developmental assistance in areas such as project management, financial assistance, technical support, marketing techniques, cooperation on Joint Venture projects, and rent-free use of facilities among others. Mentor-Protégé agreements can be established for a maximum of 24 months.

The mentor can be a business that has graduated from the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development program, a firm in the transitional stage of the program, or a small or large business. In addition, the mentor should be able to show that it is currently eligible for Federal contracting opportunities, is not under a suspension or debarment action, and is not in the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) database.  The program is designed to strengthen the mentor’s strategic alliances within their industry and provide them with a greater network of potential partners.

A protégé can be a Small Business (SB), HUB Zone, Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), including Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB); Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). The protégé should be able to show that it is currently eligible for Federal contracting opportunities, is not under a suspension or debarment action, and is not in the EPLS database.

“As part of our commitment to small businesses, it is our goal to find ways to increase small business participation in DOT and the federal market place. We are thrilled to launch this pilot program to provide small businesses with developmental assistance, increasing their ability to compete for and perform in federal procurement opportunities. We encourage business owners to take advantage of this program, gain procurement and marketing techniques, and foster long lasting strategic alliances,” remarked DOT’s OSDBU Director Brandon Neal.

Mentor and protégé firms are responsible for selecting their counterpart. The mentor is encouraged to select from a broad base of Small Businesses including SB, SDB, WOSB, EDWOSB, VOSB, SDVOSB, and HUBZone firms whose core competencies support DOT’s missions.

More information about the U.S. Department of Transportation’s new Mentor-Protégé Pilot Program is available at; http://osdbu.dot.gov/Procurement/mentor-protege.cfm.

SBA considering mandating set-asides on multiple award contracts

By

The federal government finally could reach its goal of awarding 23 percent of all contract dollars to small businesses by allowing, and possibly mandating, agencies to set aside orders against the General Services Administration’s Multiple Awards Schedule and other indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity contracts, according to a senior Small Business Administration official.

Currently, agencies are not required to, and they often are discouraged from setting aside small businesses task and delivery orders that are placed against multiple award contracts. But the Small Business Jobs Act, signed by President Obama in September 2010 instructs SBA and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to develop guidance that would reverse that policy.

To further its policy deliberations, SBA met with hundreds of small business owners on Wednesday in Manhattan as part of its Small Business Jobs Act tour. The event, one of 13 scheduled in locations across the country in March and April, is designed to provide the public with information about the provisions in the legislation, including 19 focused on contracting.

Arguably the most important, and potentially difficult to implement, provision would dramatically alter how agencies use the GSA schedules and IDIQ contract vehicles, which now represent 28 percent of the federal procurement marketplace. In 1990, IDIQs represented just 14 percent of the total contracting dollars spent by agencies.

SBA and OFPP have held five outreach events in recent months seeking feedback from the public on the best way to implement this provision. The crux of the issue, according to Joe Jordan, associate administrator for government contracting and business development at SBA, is whether to mandate small business set-asides on multiple award and IDIQ contracts, or to allow agencies the discretion to use them.

“We need to get the ‘shall’ versus ‘may’ language right,” he said.

SBA’s decision could make the difference in whether the government finally meets its small business contracting goals. In fiscal 2009, small businesses won 21.9 percent of all small business contract dollars, amounting to $96.8 billion. To meet its 23 percent goal, agencies would have to spend roughly $5 billion more on small businesses, Jordan said.

Mandating small business set-asides could push agencies over that threshold. About $40 billion in contracts was awarded last year off GSA’s Multiple Awards Schedule, and another $150 billion was spent governmentwide through IDIQ contracts.

But the Obama administration also is weighing whether a mandate would discourage agencies from using these contracts, particularly the GSA Schedules. One possible solution, Jordan said, is developing a hybrid solution in which agencies could be required to set aside task-and-delivery orders if they do not meet their small business goals. The agencies that are meeting those goals then would be allowed, but not forced, to use the set-asides.

“The question is how to make this happen without taking away from the speed and efficiency” he said.

The jobs act also establishes a mentor-protégé program to assist small businesses owned by women, service-disabled veterans and those operating in Historically Underutilized Business Zones in competing for contract opportunities. The initiative would be modeled after the 8(a) mentor-protégé program and also take into account the staffing and resources SBA has devoted for these programs, Jordan said.

But these new joint ventures bring possible perils, including opening the door for mammoth contractors, such as Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co., to begin winning a high percentage of contracts that are intended for small businesses.

“How do we balance that?” Jordan asked. “These can’t be pass-throughs. We can’t let companies play that way.”

SBA expects to submit a proposed rule creating the mentor-protégé programs by the end of May.

Other job act contracting provisions include:

  • Requiring OFPP to establish a governmentwide policy for contract bundling — a process in which several small contracts are consolidated and awarded to one firm, often out of the reach of small businesses. (Before bundling a contract, procurement officials would be required to conduct market research and to have a senior acquisition official sign off on the decision. The rationale for bundling then would be publicly disclosed, either on a federal database, or on the agency’s website. )
  • Establishing a pilot program for collaboration and joint ventures involving small business contractors. (Under the five-year program, $5 million in federal grants will be awarded to nonprofit groups that would then collaborate with small business teams seeking to compete collaboratively for larger procurement contracts. Thus far, 80 to 90 grant proposals have been received, and SBA expects to choose from 10 to 20. Proposals must be received by April 11.)
  • Mandating small businesses to recertify their size status annually. The law also establishes a governmentwide policy for prosecuting companies that fraudulently disclose themselves to be a small business. (The policy would allow an agency to keep the product or services the fraudulent company provided and still sue the business for the entire sum the agency paid through the contract.)
  • Requiring SBA to re-examine its size standards in each of its business categories every five years.

 — by Robert Brodsky – GovExec.com –  March 30, 2011

“Jobs Act Tour” coming to Atlanta on Mar. 30

By

On Wednesday, March 30, 2011, Georgia businesses will have a chance to meet with leaders from the Small Business Administration (SBA), give input on new regulations, and learn how you can take advantage of new tools coming out of the Small Business Jobs Act (click here for fact sheet).

At this event you can learn more about:

This event will be held at the Loudermilk Center, 40 Courtland Street, NE, Atlanta, GA 30303, starting at 9:30 am.

Space is limited.  To register, go to: http://events.sba.gov/eventmanagement/eventlisting.aspx?state=GA.

Breakout sessions will be held on six topics, including:

1. Small Business Jobs Act Provisions Affecting Small Business Participation in Government Contracting

  • SBA’s Office of Government Contracting and Business Development will take general comments on key contracting provisions, including:
    • multiple-award contract set-asides
    • contract bundling accountability
    • consolidation of contracts requirements
    • subcontracting; plan improvements, misrepresentations, and timeliness of payment
    • mentor-protégé programs for women-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, and HUBZone businesses
    • presumption of loss to the federal government and willful misrepresentation of size and status by business owners
    • annual certification of size requirement

2. Opportunities in Accessing Capital

  • SBA’s Office of Capital Access will discuss opportunities to accessing capital, and how SBA loan programs (including new Jobs Act tools) can help.

3. New SBA Loan Programs

4. Investing in Counseling and Training Services to Support the Growth of Small Businesses

5. Expanding Exporting Opportunities for Small Businesses

  • SBA’s Office of International Trade will discuss new exporting tools such as increased loan sizes, the Export Express program, and state-level STEP grants made possible by the Jobs Act as well as new efforts under the National Export Initiative to double exports over the next five years.

6. Lender Roundtable (for Prospective and Current SBA Lenders)

  • SBA’s Office of Capital Access will discuss new efforts to simplify and streamline loan programs and requirements, while also enhancing customer service in areas such as lending policy, processing, and oversight operations.

Minority engineering firm grows business with assistance from GMBEC

By

In 1998, the outcome of a legal case changed the course of Barry Bennett’s life. Bennett, who was working for a geotechnical and environmental engineering firm in Atlanta at the time, had provided expert testimony for a family-owned company that was suing a large manufacturer for non-payment.

“After several months, the small company finally prevailed and we celebrated that evening in Buckhead. The owner of the company said I did a great job and asked why I didn’t do this for myself,” recalled Bennett, now president of Metals & Materials Engineers, LLC (MME). “I told him I had a one-income family with four small children, and I couldn’t afford to start a business and put all of these people at risk. He looked at me and said, ‘Barry, all of the reasons you just gave me for not starting a business are the reasons you should.’ I went home that night and couldn’t sleep.”

It was at that pivotal moment that the idea started for MME, an Atlanta-based, minority-owned engineering firm that has been providing technical experience in metallurgy, civil engineering, engineering sciences and utility services since 2001. Today the company has two major divisions – materials engineering/metallurgy studies and civil engineering/infrastructure analysis – and employs 70 people across three locations. MME’s customers run the gamut from law firms to municipalities to large manufacturers.

“Over the past five years, the emphasis has been on the infrastructure side because that’s where the growth was. Approximately 75 percent of our company is focused on the civil and infrastructure arena,” Bennett noted. “Part of my business plan and long-term goal is to create a 50-50 split between the two operations. Currently, the growth is on the metallurgy side because municipalities are struggling with lost revenues and a decreased tax base.”

Because of the company’s relatively young age and shift in focus, Bennett was intent on taking advantage of any and all opportunities available to his SBA 8(a) certified company, a designation that means the company meets the requirements of being a small business, is unconditionally owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged people who are U.S. citizens, and demonstrates potential for success. Most importantly, having 8(a) certification means a business can bid on government projects not available to uncertified companies.

“About two years ago, we had an opportunity to enter into a mentor-protégé relationship with Atlanta Gas Light, and through that relationship, the Georgia Minority Business Enterprise Center was brought in to provide some guidance and counseling to the minority businesses that participated in that program,” said Bennett. “I had some one-on-one conversations with Donna Ennis, the project director, and Maria Mar Hill, a business advisor, and I realized they provided additional services.”

The Georgia Minority Business Enterprise Center (GMBEC) is operated by the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute, providing business and technical assistance that helps emerging and existing minority business enterprises (MBEs) experience significant growth and sustainability, and have long-term economic impact through the creation of jobs and revenue. Part of a national network of centers established to increase the number of MBEs and strengthen existing ones, GMBEC provides services in business assessment, access to capital and finance management, access to markets, strategic business consulting and business process improvement. Bennett says that his interactions with GMBEC have proven to be invaluable to his business.

“I’m an engineer by training. Prior to that I had limited management training, so I knew that was one of the areas I could use some help in, certainly on the accounting side. They started talking to me, showing me how I could improve on this shortcoming,” he said. “We entered into a contractual agreement for them to just give me guidance on some of my procurement or banking issues, how to improve on our certification packages – just a full array of executive business counseling that I never had before.”

Working with Hill, Bennett began to examine MME’s banking issues and re-structured some of the company’s loans for a monthly savings of $30,000. She also encouraged him to purchase the company’s 10,500-square-foot headquarters building in Suwanee – which he had been renting since 2001 – resulting in a more lucrative credit line and a savings of $4,000 a month.

“There’s not a single major transaction that I undertake without Maria’s counseling, guidance and support,” Bennett said. “I really believe that if I hadn’t had this service from Georgia Tech, it would have been very difficult to survive under these terrible economic circumstances.”

Hill also assisted Bennett with his application to the Governor’s Mentor Protégé Connection program, a unique opportunity for a select group of Georgia’s emerging businesses to improve business practices, develop relationships and promote business growth. The program partners a small business with a leading Georgia-based corporation to focus on areas such as new markets and global expansion; professional development, business training and networking; business operations improvements; and cutting-edge business practices and mentoring. In February, MME was partnered with Southern Company for the year-long program.

“Barry and his staff are extremely talented professionals,” said Melissa Evans, Georgia Power’s staff supplier diversity consultant. “It is always exciting and rewarding for us at Georgia Power to identify a top performing minority-owned business.”

Currently, Bennett is in the process of putting together a master service agreement with Southern Company to provide non-destructive testing and metallurgical services throughout all Southern Company plants. MME will begin with the Georgia and Alabama plants, and then take advantage of other opportunities in Florida and Mississippi as the project progresses, giving them tremendous opportunities to grow. Hill, described by Bennett as someone he “trusts exclusively,” agrees that MME is well-poised for growth and long-term success.

“MME is the type of company that allows the GMBEC to fulfill its mission of successfully growing businesses and creating employment in the state of Georgia. The company has been very successful leveraging internal and external resources and relationships resulting in significant growth,” she said. “MME has the capacity, capability and dedicated staff to continue to achieve great business success.”

GMBEC celebrated its sixth year at Georgia Tech in 2009, and over that time it helped clients secure more than $232 million in procurement contracts, financing, and sales; assisted minority companies with creating more than 3,000 jobs; and provided one-on-one technical assistance to some 450 firms and advice, guidance, and resources to thousands of others. The program received the 2010 Special Recognition Award from the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 2006 Institution Award from the Greater Atlanta Economic Alliance and has been recognized by its federal sponsor as an outstanding performance center since 2005.

GMBEC works with existing high-impact firms in manufacturing, construction, warehousing, transportation, technology and professional services. Assistance ranges from identification of funding sources to process and infrastructure improvement to securing new business. To qualify for GMBEC assistance, companies must have 51 percent minority ownership and minimum annual revenues of $500,000.

About Enterprise Innovation Institute:

The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute helps companies, entrepreneurs, economic developers and communities improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation. It is one of the most comprehensive university-based programs of business and industry assistance, technology commercialization and economic development in the nation.

Research News & Publications Office

Enterprise Innovation Institute

Georgia Institute of Technology

75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314

Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA

Writer: Nancy Fullbright – 9/16/2010

SBA lifts suspension of technology contractor

By

The Small Business Administration has reached an agreement with recently suspended technology contractor GTSI Corp. that will allow the systems integrator to resume most of its business with the federal government during an ongoing investigation, subject to strict oversight.

According to the pact announced Tuesday, GTSI will once again be eligible to compete for non-small business contracts. The Herndon, Va., company will remain temporarily barred from SBA’s mentor-protege program, joint ventures with small firms and circumstances where it serves as a subcontractor to a small business.

The agreement lifts SBA’s Oct. 1 temporary suspension of GTSI amid allegations the company manipulated small business set-aside rules to inappropriately win government work. The deal is contingent on GTSI’s cooperation with the SBA inspector general’s ongoing investigation of those allegations, and will remain in effect for a maximum of three years. It will end earlier if the IG completes the probe sooner, or if SBA proposes debarring GTSI.

The company also must adhere to several oversight requirements. For example, an independent, SBA-approved monitor will track GTSI’s business practices and ensure it is fulfilling the requirements of the agreement. GTSI also must institute SBA-approved ethics and contracting rules training.

“The lifting of the suspension gives GTSI, its vendors and clients the ability to move forward,” John Toups, chairman of the contractor’s board of directors, said in a statement. “The cloud of uncertainty that was hanging over our employees, creditors, shareholders and partners has been removed, and we can get back to the business of serving our government clients.”

Toups noted the company — which has about 525 employees and ranked 106 on Government Executive‘s list of top 200 contractors for fiscal 2009, with nearly $540 million in prime contract awards — in recent years has earned less than 15 percent of its annual revenue from working with small businesses serving as prime contractors.

The agreement with the government did take a toll on the contractor’s leadership team. It required GTSI’s chief executive officer and general counsel to step down; several other high-ranking company officials will be suspended while the pact is in effect.

– by Amelia Gruber – Gov.Exec.com – October 19, 2010

GSA offers webinar on its mentor-protégé program

By

The Office of Small Business Utilization of the General Services Administration (GSA) is conducting a free one-hour webinar on Monday, Oct. 18, 2010 to explain the agency’s Mentor-Protégé Program.

The webinar provides both potential mentors and protégés with a general overview of GSA’s Mentor-Protégé Program as well as a review of the policies and procedures for participation.

You must REGISTER for this webinar in advance.   If you have questions regarding this webinar, please contact Anthony “Tony” Eiland by email at anthony.eiland@gsa.gov or by telephone at (202) 208-0257.

Contracting News

Read More

Contracting Tips

Read More

GTPAC News

Read More

Georgia Tech News

Read More