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Happy Fall Everyone!
Football, cider & donuts, back-to-school ⊠a change of seasons is in the air. It also means a close-out of the governmentâs fiscal year. But it is not the time to kick-back and relax; changes continue to occur in the government sector and agencies strive to ensure that they meet their socioeconomic goals. So, there are always those âlast minute procurementsâ which need to be locked in.
This edition of âQuick Notesâ focuses on an array of topics; new SBA rules, back to basics, marketing research and, tip of the month. You will also find updates on trainings, seminars and, events listed below.
Enjoy the beginnings of Fall and stay safe.
Marie Myszkier, PTAC Specialist
Procurement Technical Assistance Center at UNF
marie.myszkier@unf.edu
New SBA Rule Enhances Past Performance Opportunities for Small Businesses
by Sam Finnerty
On August 22, 2022, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will implement a final rule that provides two new methods by which small businesses can obtain past performance credit when competing for federal prime contracts. First, the rule allows certain small business offerors to rely on the past performance of joint ventures (JV) in which they were a member. Second, the rule establishes a process by which certain small businesses can request, obtain, and rely upon past performance obtained when performing as a first-tier subcontractor. This rule greatly expands the ability of small businesses to establish a record of meaningful and relevant past performance. Click here to read more.
Back to Basics: Veteran-Owned Small Business and SDVOSB Eligibility
by Gregory Weber
Qualifying as a veteran-owned small business or service-disabled veteran-owned small business can be enormously beneficial to a federal government contractor. But the programsâ requirements can appear complex and confusing. This article breaks down the basics of these important programs in plain English. Click here to read the full article.
What You Donât Know Can Hurt You
By Gloria Larkin
Marketing Research as a Service, now MRAS (pronounced M-raz) is the brainchild of the General Services Administration (GSA.) This brilliant process was developed to help the government solve problems like handling larger, ever-expanding budgets and spending requirements, finding competent companies faster, using existing contracting vehicles where possible, and tightening up or reducing protest issues. GSA says MRAS is working beautifully and the kicker is, it is done totally at no cost to any federal agencycustomer. Click here to learn more.
Tip of the Month: Minimizing Size & Status Protest Risks
If you win a federal government contract set-aside for small businesses or certain socioeconomic subcategories, such as woman-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, a competitor could file a protest with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) challenging your eligibility.
Contrary to a common misconception, a protester need not prove that youâre ineligible. Instead, the protester merely must provide some evidence that you may not qualify as a small business, woman-owned business, and so on. Once the protester clears that hurdle, itâs up to you, as the protested business, to prove to the SBA that youâre eligible.
Your PTAC counselor can help ensure you meet all the requirements, but even so, defending a size or status protest can be time-consuming, costly, and stressful. Itâs far better not to face a protest in the first place! Here are a few tips to help minimize the chances that a competitor will choose to file an SBA size or status protest against your award.
1. Attend to Your SAM Profile
When your competitors are deciding whether to file a protest, theyâll do their researchâand one of the first places theyâll turn is SAM. Make sure that your SAM profile doesnât include any information that could call your eligibility into question.
For example, if youâre a woman-owned small business, donât list men as the only points of contact in SAM. Likewise, if youâre a service-disabled veteran-owned small business, be sure that the veteran is listed as a POC.
After youâve given your SAM profile a once-over, do the same with your SBA Dynamic Small Business Search profile and any other publicly available government profiles (like those for contracts such as SeaPort-e).
2. Update Social Media Profiles
You might be surprised how often social media accountsâparticularly LinkedIn accountsâare used as evidence in size and status protests. Pretend youâre a competitor and review your social media accounts from that perspective. Is there anything a competitor could useâeven if itâs wrong or outdatedâto challenge you?
For instance, if youâre the owner of a service-disabled veteran-owned small business, but your LinkedIn profile is outdated and still shows you as a current employee of another company, a competitor may use that as evidence that youâre not devoting full time to the SDVOSB. Similarly, the competitor could use that information to allege that your business is affiliated with the other company.
3. Review Your Website
Competitors thinking about a protest will be all over your website like the proverbial white on rice. So, put yourself in their shoes and consider tweaking anything that could suggest youâre ineligible. For example, some small businesses post lists of âpartners,â usually a list of larger and better-known companies they work with. Protesters sometimes use these lists to claim affiliation with the âpartnerâ companies. (If this sounds silly, remember: a protester doesnât have to prove that youâre ineligible, just provide the SBA with some evidence that could suggest it).
4. Pull Your Dun & Bradstreet Profile
Sometimes, potential protesters will obtain your Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) profile, which could include outdated or inaccurate information suggesting youâre ineligible for a contract. Beat your competitors to the punch by pulling your own D&B profile and working with Dun & Bradstreet to address any errors.
Doing so has a potential second benefit: even though a DUNS number is no longer required to register in SAM, contracting officers may still obtain D&B profile data as part of their responsibility reviews. Click here for a sample Supplier Evaluation Report through D&B to see what information contracting officers will find when they pull your D&B report.
5. Search for Yourself
This doesnât mean searching for yourself in a mystical, finding-your-true-self way. Rather, it means firing up your favorite search engine and seeing what happens when you plug in your companyâs name. After all, thatâs exactly what your competitors will do when considering a protest.
You may be surprised to find other websites with outdated or inaccurate information about your company. As with the D&B profile, itâs wise to do what you can to fix these errors before your competitors find them.
Trainings, Seminars and Events
2022 Procurement Technical Assistance (PTAC) Day Celebration & Expo
Getting on the GSA Schedule - Webinar
October 25 | 10am - Webinar
The "Getting on GSA Schedule" course will cover-
- Understanding the Process of Becoming a GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Contractor
- MAS (Multiple Award Schedule) Roadmap- (One stop Shop for Instructions/Checklist)
- Conducting Market Research
- New GSA Processes
Presented by Janice Zeigler - Industry Liaison, Customer & Stakeholder Engagement Division, with the U.S. General Services Administration
Click here to learn more.
Doing Business with the State of Florida â Webinar
November 2 | 1pm - 2pm | No-cost Webinar
Presented by the State of Florida Office of Supplier Diversity
MyfloridaMarketPlace (MFMP) and the Office of Supplier Diversityâs (OSD) mission is to improve and promote business and economic opportunities for Floridaâs women, veteran, and minority-owned small businesses. This discussion will provide insight on how to contract with the state and the certification process. We would like to invite you to join us for a webinar as we discuss doing business with the State of Florida.
Topics for discussion:
· eProcurement system
· MyFloridaMarketPlace
· How to get certified with the Office of Supplier Diversity to improve your business opportunities
Date: November 2, 2022
Time: 1:00 pm â 2:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Click here to register now.
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