March 2023

A Note from the Program Manager

Greetings!


We have had an incredible few weeks at AZ APEX Accelerator! Since January, we have hosted or participated in six events with a total of almost 300 attendees. We are grateful to have wonderful partners like the AICEF APEX Accelerator, SBDC, and Department of the Navy to work with to bring intentional training to the small business community in Arizona. Don’t forget to check out our upcoming events on our website! We are partnering with the USDA, VA, Arizona Commerce Authority, SBDC, and more for future events. 


March is Women’s History Month. We celebrate all the accomplishments and contributions of the women who came before us and paved the way for women business owners today. If you are a woman-owned business and are interested in becoming a certified WOSB, call your counselor or our main office at 623-845-4700.


On February 22, Arizona APEX Accelerator met with Graham Markiewicz, a representative from Senator Krysten Sinema’s office to discuss our program. Others present at the meeting were James Rottweiler, Cochise College President, Mark Schmitt, SBDC Director, Venessa Gleich American Indian Chamber Education Fund (AICEF) APEX Accelerator Program Manager, Nichole Jackson AZ APEX Specialist, Jeremy Sandoval, AICEF APEX Specialist and 2 Ft. Huachuca representatives.


I presented on the AZ APEX program clients and services we offer to businesses in Arizona. We discussed how we collaborate with resource partners and other government agencies to teach businesses how to procure contract opportunities. We informed Mr. Markiewicz that transferring from the Department of Defense (DOD) Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to the DOD Office of Small Business Programs (OSPB) has allowed our program to expand its services and outreach to include newly established businesses. AZ APEX will identify those businesses and offer services from “the ground up” for those industries that will eventually become government contractors. Mr. Markiewicz inquired about how we receive funding for our APEX program. I explained that we have a cooperative agreement with DOD OSBP that requires Maricopa Community Colleges’, our host, to match funds based on the percentage required.


We also touched on the Armed Forces, National Security, International Affairs, and foreign trade, which Mr. Markiewicz covers for Sen. Sinema. 


AICEF APEX & Cochise SBDC also shared their goals with Mr. Markiewicz.


All in all, the meeting was a success! 


As a reminder, our offices will be closed from March 13-17.


Wishing you all the best, 

Lori Haozous

Interim Program Manager



From our meeting with Graham Markiewicz

Offices Closed

Client Highlights

Paula Pedene and Associates received a $7,500 award from the Department of Veterans Affairs for National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic (NDVWSC) Strategic Public Relations (PR) Planning and Measurement Services for the Grand Junction VA Medical Center.


Pedene and Associates are a Service Disabled Woman-Owned Small Business. The company's counselor is Robert "Bob" Mucci.

Small Business News

FEDERAL AND STATE TECHNOLOGY (FAST) PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM


The Arizona Commerce Authority has partnered with the Small Business Administration to facilitate the SBIR program in Arizona. To help entrepreneurs succeed with SBIR proposals, Arizona's FAST program provides funds, resources, training, and networking opportunities.


By participating in the program, startups will be able to compete more effectively for federally-funded innovation and research and development programs. Six applicants will be awarded up to $3,000 each. FAST Program funding is only available to Arizona businesses.


FAST Program applications are now being accepted through April 30, 2023. 

Learn More

2023 DBE Business Development Program


ADOT's Business Development program is designed to provide DBEs with general and firm-specific training and technical assistance to help them to become more competitive within the transportation industry. This program will give DBE firms an opportunity to gain a competitive edge within and outside the highway industry. 


Sign up here

A Change in SAM.gov will Affect Access for Some Entity Administrators


From GSA:

All SAM.gov users have specified roles, with each type of role offering different levels of ability to interact with the system. Beginning March 3, 2023, Entity Administrator roles can only be held by employees, officers, or board members of the organization. A comprehensive role with elevated responsibilities, this change to the Entity Administrator role ensures the entity is in control of and accountable for who can update their registration in SAM.gov while allowing entities to continue to use service providers to manage their entity registration if they wish.


If you use an outside service to manage your registration, or if you provide registration management services to other organizations, this change to SAM.gov roles may impact you. The outside service and/or the entity may need to take action to ensure entities can manage access to their entities.   


Effective March 3, 2023, when you register an entity or update an entity registration, you must attest to your affiliation with the entity. If you are not an employee, officer, or board member of the entity, you will no longer be able to hold the Entity Administrator role. Instead, you will be given the Data Entry role. With that role, you can continue to register new entities, manage updates, and renew entity registrations, but you can't manage user roles.


Entities assigning Entity Administrator roles using an Entity Administrator Appointment Letter, (sometimes known as the notarized letter process) will no longer be able to assign the Entity Administrator role to a non-employee. 


My entity currently uses outside Entity Administrator support to manage SAM.gov registrations. What are the next steps? 


If you use a non-employee from an outside service to assist with managing your SAM.gov registration, you will need to have an Entity Administrator who holds a position (i.e. employee, office, or board member) within your entity. Entities need to establish an employee, officer, or board member as an Entity Administrator if they don’t have one already. There are two ways to do this.


  1. Send an Entity Administrator Appointment Letter to the Federal Service Desk (FSD) appointing an administrator, or
  2. Ask your outside Entity Administrator to assign the role to someone in your entity before March 3, 2023. 


Once you have an Entity Administrator who is an employee, officer, or board member of your organization, they should assign at least one additional administrator as a backup.


I manage registrations for other organizations. What should I do?


First, rest assured that you can continue to create and manage registrations on behalf of entities with the Data Entry role. 


Before you complete the next registration update for your client, help them out by requesting whom they would like to serve as the Entity Administrator role. Once you have assigned an Entity Administrator role for the entity, you can proceed with your update. View the steps to assign a role in SAM.gov here. This will save your client the task of having to submit a letter to appoint someone. If you do not designate a new Entity Administrator from the entity organization prior to an update, the entity will need to send an Entity Administrator Appointment Letter to FSD.gov to assign a new Entity Administrator. 


Read more about what you can do with a Data Entry role here. There are only two things you won’t be able to do with the Data Entry role: assign roles to others and deactivate the entity’s registration.


My entity has an employee, officer, or board member currently serving as an Entity Administrator. What are the next steps?


Entities that already have an employee, officer or board member as the Entity Administrator managing their SAM.gov registration are not affected by this change. Remember, it is 100% free to useSAM.gov. You do not need to pay a fee to register your entity or to keep your entity registration active. SAM.gov does not endorse any registration management services.


To view your current roles, sign in to SAM.gov and go to your Workspace. Locate your Profile and then select “My Roles”. Roles are assigned by the entity for each SAM.gov domain. Read this guide for more about SAM.gov roles and permissions. If you have any trouble making the change, reach out to FSD.gov.


We strongly encourage all entities to have at least one backup employee Entity Administrator assigned in case of staff changes or absences.


SAM.GOV PRO TIP


System for Award Management (SAM) 


SAM.gov is experiencing a high volume of issues due to the Entity Validation and the website is updating on a daily basis. 


Review time will depend on whether the EVS team can make a match from your original document submission or if they need to request additional documentation.


The validation process is a critical piece of the federal awards ecosystem. It prevents improper payments, and procurement fraud, and helps ensure the integrity of government contracts and grants processes, representing trillions of dollars in taxpayer funds each year.

SAM.gov uses an entity validation service (EVS) to independently verify the existence and uniqueness of an entity.


Validation is required when you:

  • register an entity
  • renew your entity registration each year
  • get a Unique Entity ID, and
  • update or change your entity’s legal business name or physical address


Every entity must validate with the EVS provider’s databases and data sources, even if you had an active registration.


Arizona PTAC can assist you and your business with Entity validation & SAM registration. 

  • If you are a current client, reach out to your primary counselor. 
  • If you are interested in receiving our services, go to our website for New Client Info - https://azptac.com/are-you-ready/



PTAC Tip:

If you have an expiring registration, start your renewal at least 30-60 days prior to the expiration date. This will help prevent your registration from expiring should there be any issues with your renewal.


Your procurement specialist is here to help! Contact them or call 623-845-4700.

Upcoming Workshops

Register for Doing Business with the USDA

As part of the Arizona Commerce Authority's Small Business Bootcamp Series, Arizona APEX Accelerator will present the basic steps for contracting with Federal, State, and Local governments. Attendees will hear about the tools and support services available to help your business contract with the government.

Register for Intro to Government Contracting

Resource Partner Upcoming Workshops

Register for Cybersecurity Webinar
Register for Aviation Business Summit

Office Hours and Locations

www.azptac.com
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