Events
Blog
FAQs
ACQUISITION ALERT

 
 
                          Wisconsin Business Forum    
Working with the UN  
 



WPI was pleased to welcome to Wisconsin, for the first time, procurement officials from the United Nations. Businesses had an opportunity to learn first hand from the UN officials, network with WEDC personnel as well as fellow businesses and meet one-on-one with all the speakers from the day's event.

Featured guest speakers included:
  • Dmitri Dovgopoly, Procurement Director, United Nations
  • Francesco Giusso, Chief, Goods & Services Procurement, World Food Programme (WFP)
  • Sam Ocran, Senior Contracts Manager, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
  • Ali Jumah, Chief, Central Procurement Unit, New York, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
  • Bruno Maboja, Team Leader, Engineering Support Team, United Nations
Additional presentations and participation by:
  • Mark Hogan, CEO, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC)
  • Katy Sinnott, Vice President, International Business Development Division - State of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Economic Business Development Corporation (WEDC)
  • Kevin Fletcher, President - We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service
  • William Hughes, Partner, Husch Blackwell LLP
  • Rebecca Dash Gladen, International Trade Specialist, S. Commercial Service Wisconsin, U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration
If you are interested in working with the UN and missed the event contact ainav@wispro.org or if you need assistance in registering on the United Nations Global Marketplace  (UNGM) or learning how to start locating and responding to opportunities, please contact Becca Gladen, International Trade Specialist, U.S. Commercial Service Wisconsin, U.S. Department of Commerce | International Trade Administration at (414) 405-3560 or Rebecca.Gladen@trade.gov. 


UPCOMING EVENTS
4/25/17
Learning About the Surety Bond Guarantee from the SBA
Webinar

5/3/17
Building Your Business- Tools for Native & Tribal Small Businesses
Hales Corners
Learn More
4/26/17
Preparing a Winning Government Proposal
Milwaukee
  Learn More

5/3/17

Contracting Basics & Women Owned Business Certifications
Madison
Learn More
Fraudulent Activity in the System for Award Management (SAM)

As a result of potential 3rd party fraudulent activity, the General Services Administration (GSA) is implementing new security requirements for SAM. Starting on March 22nd, all new entities registering in SAM had to submit a notarized letter to the Federal Service Desk (FSD) identifying the authorized entity administrator.  The requirement to submit this notarized letter will go into effect for all entity updates and renewals beginning April 27th. Additionally, information on what to include in the required notarized letters can be found at fsd.gov. If you have additional questions, please contact Joseph Smetak at 414-270-3600 or josephs@wispro.org
 
LEARN MORE
DLA - The Link

The April 2018 issue of The Link - Connecting Suppliers with DLA is available online . Articles such as "Improving Readiness at DLA Industry Events can be found at www.dla.mil.

 
Office of Naval Research launches program to speed up innovation
 
WASHINGTON - The Office of Naval Research is launching a new program to spur innovation in the Navy and Marine Corps, in what the service says is a direct response to the National Defense Strategy's call to accelerate the delivery of technology to warfighters.

The Naval Innovation Process Adoption (NIPA) program, launched March 29, seeks to inject new processes into the service that would allow "light bulb" ideas to go from concept to reality at a faster rate.

"The National Defense Strategy states it clearly," Richard Carlin, the head of ONR's Sea Warfare and Weapons Department, said in an ONR press release. "As technology advances faster than ever before, and both state and non-state actors having access to it, the naval research community needs to accelerate accordingly."

Continue reading at defensenews.com.

6th Annual U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Business Conference - May 16th

The VA, like all federal agencies, has small business goals set by the Small Business Administration (SBA). However, unlike all the other federal agencies (where all the SBA goals are prioritized equally to meet the individual category goal standards) the VA has a congressional mandate (Public Law 109-461 section 502 and 38 USC 8127) to purchase from small businesses owned and controlled by Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) first, and then those owned and controlled by Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB) before considering the other classes of small business. As a stipulation of the Public Law, SDVOSBs and VOSBs must be certified with the VA and be listed in a public database (at www.vip.vetbiz.gov) to be eligible to receive the "VETS FIRST" priority. SDVOSBs and VOSBs ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND.

This conference will focus on procurement procedures and business opportunities for veteran owned businesses with the Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 12 area consisting of Milwaukee, WI; Madison, WI; Tomah, WI; Chicago, IL; Danville, IL; and Iron Mountain, MI with eight medical centers, 38 outpatient clinics, eight nursing homes, and six domiciliaries, providing health care services to the 700,000 Veterans who reside within its four state (Illinois, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin, and Northwest Indiana) area. Overall, the Department of Veterans Affairs spends over $23 billion annually.
DOD SBIR/STTR Topics Pre-Release

DOD will release 18.2 and 18.B SBIR and STTR topics on April 20th. The announcements will open on May 22nd and close at 8:00 p.m. (est) on June 20th.

Learn more at sbir.defensebusiness.org.

All Bid Protests Must be Submitted Online Starting in May

Vendors that don't like the results of a contract award will have to go online to take up their beef up with the Government Accountability Office starting next month.

GAO on Thursday announced its plans to launch the electronic bid protest docketing system, a web portal where groups can securely file protests to federal contract awards. Vendors will be required to submit all new protests through EPDS beginning May 1.

"This new system modernizes the bid protest process at GAO and will make it a much more efficient process," said Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, who heads the congressional watchdog agency, in a statement.

Continue reading at nextgov.com.

SAME Joint Industry Days

Area businesses had the chance to meet with Federal, State and Local government agencies as well as current government prime contractors at the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Joint Industry Days and Federal Agency Forum held in Northrbook, IL on April 9-10. Participating agencies included the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), General Services Administration (GSA), Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Founded in 1920, The Society of American Military Engineers is the premier professional military engineering association in the United States.

If you missed the event or have questions please contact Aina Vilumsons at Ainav@wispro.org.