Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

Small businesses need to stand out — here’s how

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Getting on the radar (in a positive way) of government buyers and influencers before you start bidding seems to be a daunting task for some.

When I speak at proposal and contracting events, a major complaint from small businesses that lose on bids is “the customer doesn’t know us.”

This is not a problem for the customer, the government agency. It is YOUR problem, and there are several ways to get on the radar of government buyers and influencers, before, during and after the bidding process.

The first method is to go to agency briefings, often held by the agency Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization, and get some face time with the small business office. Industry associations and publications often hold events where feds will speak, and this is another chance to briefly get in front of influencers.

Keep reading this article at: https://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2017/02/17/insights-amtower-market-differentiation.aspx

SBA and GSA, OFPP not seeing eye-to-eye on ‘rule of two’ application

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SBA logoA major dispute is brewing in the small business community. Just four months after the Supreme Court’s June 16, 2016 unanimous decision on the Kingdomware case, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is taking a stand on the “rule of two” that is stressing out industry and agencies alike.

As a quick reminder, the nation’s highest court ruled in the Kingdomware case that the Veterans Affairs Department (VA) must continue to apply the “rule of two” for veteran-owned small businesses even if the agency surpassed its annual prime contracting goal. The “rule of two” states if an agency can find two or more qualified small businesses during market research of a contract under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) — between $3,500 and $150,000 — it must set aside the solicitation.

Now the SBA is expanding that Supreme Court ruling to apply to all task and delivery orders under SAT if the request for proposals comes under the General Services Administration’s Schedules.

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2016/12/sba-gsa-ofpp-not-seeing-eye-eye-rule-two-application/

Here is a copy of the SBA’s memo telling its PCRs that the should apply small business preferences to all task orders and all delivery orders because they are considered contracts pursuant to the Kingdomware decision: http://www.wifcon.com/dgc_memo.pdf

2017 NDAA strengthens subcontracting plan enforcement

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osdbuThe 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, if signed into law, includes a few changes designed to help small business subcontractors. Among those changes, the bill, which has recently been approved by both the House and Senate, includes language designed to help ensure that large prime contractors comply with the Small Business Act’s “good faith” requirement to meet their small business subcontracting goals.

Section 1821 of the 2017 NDAA is called “Good Faith in Subcontracting,” and is another Congressional effort to put teeth into the subcontracting goals required of large prime contractors.  (Congress took a crack at this same subject in the 2013 NDAA.)  The 2017 NDAA makes a handful of additional changes to the law, all of which should help ensure small business subcontracting goals are met.

The 2017 NDAA strengthens the current statutory language by specifying that a large prime contractor is in breach of its prime contract is it fails to provide adequate assurances of its intent to comply with a subcontracting plan (including, as requested, by providing periodic reports and other documents). The statute also provides that agency Offices of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBUs) will review each subcontracting plan “to ensure that the plan provides maximum practicable opportunity for small business concerns to participate in the performance of the contract to which the plan applies.”

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/statutes-and-regulations/2017-ndaa-strengthens-subcontracting-plan-enforcement/

SBA: White House focus, SES visibility help agencies meet small business goals

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The government’s success in meeting mandatory small business contracting goals two years running is due largely to White House focus and new requirements that program managers in the Senior Executive Service pay greater attention to the acquisition process, the Obama administration’s small-business development chief said on Tuesday.

SBA logo smallMany call set-asides for small business “not a handout but a hand-up, but I say it’s a matter of survival for the federal government as a whole,” said John Shoraka, associate administrator of government contracting and business development at the Small Business Administration (SBA). He spoke to contractors gathered for American Express OPEN’s all-day summit with agency acquisition officials working with small businesses that are women- or minority owned or economically disadvantaged.

Outlining the government’s efforts to institutionalize the success of meeting the goal of steering 23 percent of contract dollars to small business, Shoraka said, “I’ve told my staff I could write a book saying that America’s secret weapon is small business procurement — when small business is engaged, the industrial base is preserved. It’s win-win, because companies hire employees, which has impact on the economy.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2015/08/white-house-focus-ses-visibility-help-agencies-meet-small-business-goals/119043

VA awards new veteran-owned small business program management contract — spurring another lawsuit

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Spurred by a protest in a federal court, the Department of Veteran Affairs picked a new company to manage the process of getting veteran-owned small businesses verified. The result? Another lawsuit from the prior winner that saw its contract terminated.

It’s the latest in something of a contracting debacle for the department, which has left the management of its Center for Veterans Enterprise in a state of flux for more than a year.

The VA decided to award to the $39.9 million contract to manage its Center for Veterans Enterprise to Loch Harbour Group Inc. of Alexandria. The bulk of that work is for processing contractor applications to be verified as veteran-owned, which in turn allows them to be able to compete for work set aside by the VA. That contract was originally awarded to Monterey Consultants Inc. of Dayton, Ohio, but terminated in November when the VA opted to take corrective action in response to a protest filed by Loch Harbour in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/fedbiz_daily/2014/12/va-awards-new-veteran-owned-small-business-program.html?page=all

An interview with the Pentagon’s small-business director

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Andre Gudger has heard the argument many times that, as he puts it, “small businesses don’t build planes and ships and nuclear weapons.”

It’s his job — or at least part of it — to change that perception.

A Maryland native, Gudger has been the director of the Defense Department’s Office of Small Business Programs since 2011. During the three years prior to his arrival, the share of the agency’s contracts awarded to small companies had shrunk every year. Moreover, in the more than three decades since federal small-business contracting goals had been put in place, the agency had never once accomplished them.

In the three years since, even amid budgetary constraints, small-business participation in Defense Department projects has expanded each year. In fact, this past year, the agency for the first time eclipsed not only its small-business goal, but also the federal government’s target, awarding roughly 23.4 percent of defense contracting dollars, representing about $53 billion, to small employers.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/operation-small-business-an-interview-with-the-pentagons-small-business-director/2014/10/23/216d4cc8-5a12-11e4-b812-38518ae74c67_story.html

 

Business owner says soliciting government business worth the hassle

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[Note: This article was written by Michelle Shoultz, president of Florida-based Frazier Engineering.]

For more than 20 years, Frazier Engineering had a strong commercial and municipal/county government customer base that comfortably sustained our small business.

But as the economy changed, we knew we had to change.

We decided to pursue unique certifications that would enable us to compete for federal work in a smaller competitive pool certifications such as 8(a), Disadvantaged Business Enterprise/DBE and Minority Business Enterprise/MBE).

Through the Small Business Administration 8(a) program, we were given opportunities that we would not have had before. However, if we did not already have the knowledge and manpower to support the requirements of those opportunities, our certification would only have been as good as the paper it was printed on. Our success to date has been the result of a solid team, being financially and technically sound, having a strong work history, and being actively responsive.

I’d like to share some lessons we’ve learned over time.

As a small-to-midsize, growing business leader, I would definitely recommend the time and effort involved in pursuing government contracts.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.floridatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/04/01/business-money-edge-chamber/7146529/ 

 

House members introduce flood of small-business legislation

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Small business advocates in the House continue to introduce bills in support of small federal contractors. The latest bill would bring into the light the process by which agencies insource work and give firms standing to challenge an insourcing decision in court.

Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) introduced the Subcontracting Transparency And Reliability (STAR) Act on Feb. 2.

Under the bill, agency officials would have to allow the public to comment on the agency’s procedures for bringing in-house work that a small business has been doing. The small business advocates within a department, such as Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) officials, would have to review the procedures as well.

The bill would also give small businesses the opportunity to challenge insourcing decisions in court.

Mulvaney tackles subcontracting problems as well in the bill. A small business could not subcontract more than 50 percent of what the government pays it for a contract. There would be a penalty for violating the rule, including a possible three-year suspension from contracting, a fine or jail.

The legislation is designed to ensure that small businesses that get the contracts are doing the bulk of the work. It would make it easier to crack down on deceptive large businesses hiding behind small businesses.

“The STAR Act will help provide an even playing field for many small contractors who otherwise would not have the resources to fight deceitful subcontracting and unjustified insourcing within the federal procurement system,” said Mulvaney, chairman of the Small Business Committee’s Contracting and Workforce Subcommittee.

Mulvaney’s legislation was introduced two days after the Small Business Committee chairman, Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), introduced two bills. One bill would pressure agencies to meet their small business contracting goals or take bonuses away from senior federal officials. The Government Efficiency through Small Business Contracting Act (H.R. 3850) also raises the governmentwide contracting goal from 23 percent to 25 percent.

Graves introduced the Small Business Advocate Act (H.R. 3851) the same day. It would make the OSDBU director a senior executive position and “report directly and exclusively” to the agency head. The Small Business Committee wrangled with agency officials in 2011 about the access their OSDBU directors had to the top-ranking official.

In addition to these three bills, Rep. Bill Owens (D-N.Y.), member of the Small Business Committee, introduced a bill that would cut an agency’s budget by 10 percent in the following fiscal year if that agency missed the set small-business contracting goal.

Each of the bills has been referred to the Small Business Committee for further consideration.

About the Author: Matthew Weigelt is a senior writer covering acquisition and procurement for Federal Computer Week. This article appeared on Feb. 2, 2012 at http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2012/02/02/small-business-legislation-house.aspx?s=wtdaily_030212.

Lawmaker pushes to boost small business contract work

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House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves, R-Mo., on Tuesday (Jan. 31, 2012) introduced legislation to encourage a higher percentage of federal contracts to go to small business, along with a separate bill to elevate agency Offices of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization.

Graves’ GET Small Business Contracting Act would raise the small business prime contracting goal from the current 23 percent to 25 percent, while withholding bonuses from agency managers who fail to meet the goal. He estimates the 2 percent increase would bring $11 billion in new federal contracts to small businesses. The government spent about $535 billion in contracting in fiscal 2010, according to the Office of Management and Budget.

“Because the federal government spends half a trillion dollars on contracted goods and services, we owe it to the taxpayers to make sure their money is used wisely and efficiently,” Graves said in a statement. “Government contracting offers a unique opportunity to invest in small businesses while also stimulating our economy, considering small businesses create the majority of jobs — 65 percent over the last 17 years. Small businesses have proved time and time again that they can perform a service or produce goods for the government cheaper and often quicker than their larger counterparts; however, various bureaucratic impediments remain for small contractors.”

The Obama administration missed its small business contracting goal by 3 percent in 2010, according to Graves. His bill also would seek to use more small businesses as subcontractors, raising the goal from the current 35 percent of subcontracted dollars to 40 percent.

Graves is also offering a second bill, the Small Business Advocate Act, that would promote greater use of contractors, prime and sub, at each agency’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization.

OSDBUs were created in 1978 to reserve some federal contracts for for-profit small business concerns in which socially and economically disadvantaged individuals own at least a 51 percent interest and manage and control daily business operations. Their director’s place in the hierarchy has varied by agency.

The Graves bill would elevate those directors to senior acquisition leaders and prohibit them from holding any other position “so they can concentrate on their advocacy responsibilities,” a statement said. “This legislation makes it easier for the OSDBU to advocate for small business contracts, focus on acquisition assistance, and fight insourcing and unjustified contract bundling.”

This bill would require directors to be GS-15s or members of the Senior Executive Service and their performance reviews to be done by agency heads. “Acting as the OSDBU director,” Graves said, “is often simply another assigned duty for a senior official that lacks the authority to challenge decisions made by the chief acquisition officer or senior procurement executive.”

In April 2010, President Obama set up a task force to boost small business contracting opportunities.

The Graves bills come on a day when President Obama is releasing a package of proposed tax breaks for small businesses, including elimination of taxes on capital gains for investments in small businesses.

— by Charles S. Clark, Government Executive, January 31, 2012, at http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2012/01/lawmaker-pushes-boost-contractor-work/41045

House subpoenas four agencies for small-business noncompliance

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Four federal agencies were issued subpoenas by the House Small Business Committee on Oct. 20 for not complying with the Small Business Act’s procurement policies, according to a committee staffer.

The departments of Justice, Agriculture, Treasury and State were summoned to appear before the the Small Business subcommittee on contracting and workforce on Nov. 1 to testify why they are in noncompliance.

At issue is the “structure” of these agencies’ Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Offices (OSDBU) and “the fact that they are not reporting to the agency head or deputy head,” wrote Darrell Jordon, house committee spokesman, in an e-mail to Washington Technology.

OSDBUs were conceived in 1978 with the purpose of having federal agencies set aside contracts for small and disadvantaged businesses. The Small Business Act also has requirements that agencies report their procurement activities with small and disadvantaged businesses.

Justice, Agriculture, Treasury and State were warned of their missteps and given a chance to remedy the situation after a June Government Accountability Office small business contracting report found seven agencies not in compliance.

Following that report, letters to agencies were sent by subcommittee Chairman Mick Mulvaney (R-SC). As a result, the Interior Department and Social Security Administration are now in compliance, and a third, the Commerce Department, was pardoned due to an administrative issue.

In September, agencies were reminded of their noncompliance by memo and a hearing was held on Sept. 15 by the subcommittee to examine the GAO report and the economic impact of noncompliance.

As part of the subpoena procedure, the four agencies must produce a number of documents, including paperwork relating to their small business procurement programs, attainment of small business goals or challenges to decisions not to restrict competition to small business between Jan. 20, 2009, and Sept. 30, 2011.

About the Author: Alysha Sideman is an online content producer with 1105 Government Information Group.  Published by Washington Technology – Oct. 21, 2011 at http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2011/10/21/small-biz-committee-subpoenas.aspx

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