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The Government Contracting Assistance Program is a business and technology extension program of the UNC System. Our purpose is to generate employment and improve the general economic condition of the state by assisting North Carolina companies, including those eligible for business development programs for local, state, and federal government contracts. We provide government contracting assistance by offering no-fee and confidential counseling on selling your products and/or services to the appropriate local, state or federal government agency.
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GCAP Director
252.737.1369
GCAP Counselor
Asheville / Cullowhee
828.251.6025
GCAP Counselor
Raleigh / Chapel Hill / Durham / Elizabeth City
919.513.0623
GCAP Counselor
Fayetteville / Pembroke
910.672.1359
GCAP Counselor/Events Coordinator
Hickory / Boone
828.322.5379
JACQUIE SPEARMAN
GCAP Counselor
Charlotte
704.687.0443
SUE CROTTS
GCAP Counselor
Triad
336.256.9302
JAMES CHESTNUT
GCAP Counselor
Wilmington / Greenville
910.962.3566
JARED WHITCOMB
GCAP Supply Chain Specialist
Statewide
704.351.8146
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SBTDC Begins New Era of Government Contracting Assistance Program (GCAP)
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Scott Barker, GCAP Director
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Effective the 1st of April 2021, the Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) has started its own government contracting assistance program and will no longer associate with the PTAC program overseen by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA).
This change will allow us to expand our cross-program collaboration which is key to providing a wider range of assistance to small businesses in the state. Services across our partnership now include providing assistance with Payment Protection Program (PPP) loans and grants, bringing innovative products to market through technology development and commercialization, export expertise, financial analysis and projections, traditional and digital marketing, performance improvement, and technical assistance with government contracting. Government contracting assistance has been a key source in this array of coordinated services.
This transition from PTAC to GCAP will enable us to keep supporting our clients without skipping a beat. The former PTAC team remains intact and will continue to assist North Carolina companies with their procurement and government contracting needs.
We are confident that with this new organizational set-up, the GCAP will be able to provide an excellent level of service to its clients. We look forward to our continuing collaboration to support your success.
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Getting Support for Your Veteran Owned Business Through the Veteran's First Verification Program
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Pamela Racer, GCAP Counselor at Western Carolina University
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If you have a Veteran-Owned Small Business, you may qualify for advantages when bidding on government contracts through the Vets First Verification Program.
The Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-461) provides the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with the unique authority for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) set-aside and sole source contract awards. This procurement authority is an extension of VA's mission to care for our Nation's Veterans. VA refers to this program as the Veterans First Contracting Program.
The Vets First Verification Program affords verified firms owned and controlled by Veterans and Service-disabled Veterans the opportunity to compete for VA set asides. During Verification, the Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) verifies SDVOSBs/VOSBs according to the tenets found in Title 38 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 74 and 13 CFR Part 125 that address Veteran eligibility, ownership, and control. To qualify for participation in the Veterans First Contracting Program, eligible SDVOSBs/VOSBs must first be verified.
Eligibility, ownership, and Control of the business are requirements to qualify for participation in the program. You may be eligible if you're a Veteran, and you or another Veteran at your company meet all the requirements listed below.
All of these must be true. You or another Veteran at your company:
- Owns 51% or more of the company you want to register, and
- Has full control over the day-to-day management, decision-making, and strategic policy of the business, and
- Has the managerial experience needed to manage the business, and
- Is the highest-paid person in the company (or can provide a written statement explaining why your taking lower pay helps the business), and
- Works full time for the business, and
- Holds the highest officer position in the company
To be considered a Veteran, at least one of these must be true. You:
- Served on active duty with the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard for any length of time and didn't receive a dishonorable discharge, or
- Served as a Reservist or member of the National Guard and were called to federal active duty or disabled from a disease or injury that started or got worse in the line of duty or while in training status
To determine if the Veteran meets the minimum Verification eligibility requirements and has the required documentation, go to https://www.va.gov/OSDBU/docs/preparing-for-verification.pdf. As part of the Verification Process, applicants move through four stages: Intake, Assessment, Federal Review, and Decision.
VA trains and certifies Verification Assistance Counselors through its Verification Assistance Counseling Program. Under this program, counselors are trained to provide application assistance to SDVOSBs/VOSBs that are interested in becoming verified. VA-certified Verification Assistance Counselors work with applicants to:
- Offer insight regarding 38 CFR Part 74 and CFR Part 125
- Review a firm's business model
- Assist owners with resource tools
- Review documents for application submission
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Success Story
SDV Office Systems, LLC: Veterans Designing Spaces to Heal Veterans
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Pamela Racer, GCAP Counselor at Western Carolina University
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SDV Office Systems, LLC (SDV) is a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) that has provided full furniture design and installation at nearly every Department of Veteran Affairs facility in the country. In partnership with 150 office furniture manufacturers and a full-time staff of five certified designers, SDV has transformed, updated and created healing spaces for thousands of Veterans, their families and those that care for them.
As a VA certified SDVOSB, SDV assists many large manufacturers who don't currently have the capabilities to access the VA directly. SDV partners with these manufactures along two main selling divisions: SDV Office Systems and SDV Medical.
SDV Office Systems is one of nine companies in the US that holds a contract with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) for the purchase of office and health care furniture at every VHA
facility in the US. SDV Medical represents several leading medical technology companies in areas such as dialysis, ICU ventilators, and medical imaging. In 2020, the VA awarded a national contract to SDV Medical to provide a new disruptive technology in the dialysis market in response to the impacts that COVID-19 was having on Veterans with kidney disease.
SDV has worked with the North Carolina GCAP (formerly PTAC) since its inception in 2016 and is looking forward to the changeover for the procurement team from PTAC to the SBTDC (GCAP) so that it will make working with the various SBTDC services more collaborative, excited that the SBTDC team is expanding its collaboration efforts to support customer needs.
GCAP assistance has covered nearly every topic in the government contracting arena as well as the VA's SDVOSB certification process. Additionally, SDV has worked with the Small Business Administration; the Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) at Western Carolina University. Their Business Resiliency Counselor has provided immense value in connecting with other small businesses in Western NC. He's helped SDV explore business development opportunities, providing top level industry insights to help leverage negotiations with their suppliers and vendors, and referring local candidates to this fast-growing business.
For the past two years, SDV has been named the #1 and #3 fastest growing business in Asheville, experiencing triple digit growth the last three years. Additionally, SDV benefitted greatly from Elevate, the mentorship program of Venture Asheville, the high growth entrepreneurship initiative of the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County. This program provided a team of business mentors who provided business counseling, guidance, and assistance in areas that the SDV team had little to no expertise. SDV has grown from the three original owners (two Marines and Gold Star Parents) to now 12 employees across the country who are very proud and honored to serve Veterans, their families and their
caregivers.
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