Jump to content
  • entries
    1,823
  • comments
    54
  • views
    72,663

Entries in this blog

SmallGovCon Week in Review: October 16-20, 2023

Happy Friday! The Autumn trees are really showing off their colors this past week here in Lawrence, Kansas. We are grateful for some nice fall temperatures after the heat of summer. The city is bustling with activity and there seems to be some sort of fall festival every weekend. Also, our attorney-author John Holtz had a good time at the Meet the Buyers Fall 2023 Conference. Thanks to Daniel Kuchar for inviting us! If you have some down time from all that apple picking and festival going, h

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

SBA and Industry Leaders Reaffirm Support for 8(a) Program in Light of Recent Judicial Attacks

This week, the SBA published a press release affirming its continued support of its 8(a) Business Development Program in response to recent 8(a) Program attacks in the courts. In the press release, business industry leaders across the nation joined SBA Administrator, Isabella Casillas Guzman, in praising the 8(a) Program, its successful history, and its driving policy and spirit. If you are not up to speed on the recent 8(a) Program happenings, take a look through the recent 8(a) article

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Conference Announcement: ICBS Show, Oklahoma City, October 23-25, 2023

Partner Nicole Pottroff will be attending and presenting at the the ICBSSHOW in Oklahoma City so please stop by our table to say hello. The ICBSSHOW, offers informational sessions featuring experts in government procurement, as well as one day of matchmaking to introduce you and your business to government decision makers. Also, there is access to government agency buyers and policy leaders, prime contractors, and tribal procurement representatives looking to expand their vendor pools. The

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

MyGovWatch Live: The B2G Roundtable with Nicole Pottroff & Greg Weber, Federal Contracts Attorneys, October 18, 2023, 12:00pm CDT

If you’re interested in winning more B2G business through the bid process, but you don’t have all the answers, join this LIVE forum and talk about this market with people who have helped hundreds of companies win BILLIONS of dollars in government contracts. The event host, Nick Bernardo, President & founder of MyGovWatch.com, has over 20 years of experience helping companies of all sizes figure out how to find, compete for, and actually win government contracts. Sign up now to join this free

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

SmallGovCon Week in Review: October 9-13, 2023

Happy Friday the 13th! It seems very fitting to have a Friday the 13th fall in the month of October, right? The pumpkins are being gathered from the patches in preparation of carving and I see Halloween decorations everywhere I go. It’s also conference season at SmallGovCon.com. I was in Iowa last month, John Holtz is headed to Nebraska next week for the Fall Meet the Buyers Government Contracting Conference and Nicole Pottroff will be going to Oklahoma the following week for the ICBS Confe

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Event: Meet the Buyers Fall 2023 Conference | October 17-19 | Scottsbluff, Nebraska

Please join attorney John Holtz, as he heads back to his home state of Nebraska, to the Meet the Buyers Conference. This is Nebraska’s premier government contracting conference where businesses can advance their contracting knowledge, connect with other business owners, and network directly with agency representatives and buyers. John will be doing two presentations: joint ventures, as well as size and affiliation issues. Don’t miss the chance to meet directly with Federal, State, and Local

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Joint Venture Agreement Fails for Lack of Detail–And Too Much Detail on Venturer Control

A joint venture agreement must closely follow Small Business Administration rules to be compliant for a small business set-aside. And SBA interprets those rules strictly. If they are not followed, a joint venture that was up for award, can see that award go up in smoke. Here, SBA said that a joint venture involving a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) was not compliant because it was both (a) not specific enough and (b) too detailed in providing for oversight of actions of th

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

SmallGovCon Week in Review: October 2-6, 2023

This week we had some actual fall temperatures at the SmallGovCon home offices. It’s finally pumpkin spice weather! We’ll be enjoying the fall weather and some football this weekend. Hope you enjoy the fall weather as well, along with some of top federal contracting headlines, including the continuing resolution to fund the government, new cyber rules, and the opening of the 8(a) portal.  Fight over DHS consulting contracts moves to court What’s in the continuing resolution, and whe

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

UPDATE: SBA Reopens its Certify Site for all 8(a) Program Applicants

It’s the moment many have been waiting for–SBA has reopened its Certify portal to new applicants seeking admission into the 8(a) Business Development Program. SBA closed the portal to all new 8(a) Program applicants in early August 2023, following a decision from the Federal District Court of the Eastern District of Tennessee that took away applicant’s presumption of social disadvantage for certain designated groups. This resulted in all 8(a) participants being required to submit a social disadv

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

SmallGovCon Week in Review: September 24-29, 2023

Happy Friday. It’s time to say goodbye to September and welcome in October already. Where does the time go? As I’m sure you all are aware, this week’s federal government contracting news is all about the possible government shut down and its impact on federal services and federal government contractors. Lawmakers have today and tomorrow to come to some sort of agreement. We’ve included some articles below with additional information on this situation as well as other federal government cont

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

No Work No Play: SBA Reminds Contractors of HUBZone Employment Requirements

One of the pillars of the SBA’s HUBZone program is the location of a company’s employees. In August of this year, SBA released an Information Notice emphasizing important points about where employees reside, and HUBZone entity’s efforts to employ the necessary amount of employees residing in HUBZone areas. While SBA’s HUBZone policies don’t have the weight of law as compared to a regulation, the HUBZone office will generally enforce this sort of guidance quite strictly. So don’t think it’s just

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Watching the Watchman – New FAR Rule Opens Door to Further Feedback on Acquisition Process

In Fiscal Year 2022, 1,595 bid protests were filed with GAO. While that seems like a large number, it pales in comparison to the number of federal contracts the federal government awards in a given year. On average, the government awards over 11 million contracts per year. That’s a lot of acquisitions that are not subject to any feedback from outside the agency. But things might change now with the new rule that the FAR Council enacted. Today, we’ll take a look at what this entails. Back

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Small GovCon Week in Review: September 18-22, 2023

Happy Friday, Readers. We hope you have had a great week and are looking forward to the weekend. Talk around the proverbial water cooler, this week, has been about the possible government shut down. On midnight, September 30th, fiscal year 23 will come to an end. Apparently, if certain things aren’t passed by Congress and signed by the President, the new fiscal year will start with a shutdown, and that has a lot of government contractors nervous. We have included some articles on this topic

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

COFC: Lapsed SAM Registration During Proposal Evaluations Makes Offeror Ineligible for Award

It’s a tale as old as time, and I’m not talking about “Beauty and the Beast.” I’m talking about an offeror who failed to comply with the registration requirements in FAR 52.204-7. What’s FAR 52.204-7? It’s the FAR provision that requires, among other things, all offerors to be registered in the System for Award Management, or SAM as it is better known. And, as we have seen many times before, there is no way around this rule. Often, failure to be registered in SAM limits an offeror’s eligibility

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

SmallGovCon Week in Review: September 11-15, 2023

Happy Friday, Readers. We hope you had a great week. We are starting to get a little fall weather around these parts, which is exciting. Fall has also brought the prospect of a potential government shutdown and what the impact will be, as reflected in some of these articles. The budget process is complicated, so we are all waiting to see how it shakes out. We’ve also included some other articles on topics such as OASIS+ and cybersecurity, we hope will be of interest to you below. Have a gre

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

UPDATE: SBA Opens Certify Portal for Social Disadvantage Narrative Uploads by Current 8(a) Participants Not Pending 8(a) Award

As we have previously written about in several recent 8(a) articles and updates, which can all be found on our 8(a) landing page here, SBA had previously told all 8(a) participants not pending an 8(a) award to “sit tight” and wait for the go-ahead to submit their social disadvantage narratives. Well, according to SBA’s just-released Certify Help Desk Guidance, it appears that go-ahead was just given to all the (justifiably) anxious 8(a) participants out there hoping to confirm their continued 8(

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Davis-Bacon Act Resurrects Old Prevailing Wage Methodology

There is a saying that sometimes to go forward, you have to go back first. In August, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a final rule that will update the Davis-Bacon Act, with some methodologies previously abandoned. Unsurprisingly, this final rule focused on enforcement of labor standards, and was quite lengthy (numbering in the hundreds of pages). Despite it’s voluminous size, there was one major change that federal contractors will find of interest, a change to the method of determini

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Govology Webinar: Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) Rules for Federal Contractors, Sept. 14, 2023, 1:00pm EDT

Steven Koprince, Govology Legal Analyst and retired founder of Koprince McCall Pottroff will be presenting this webinar which covers the Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) Rules for Federal Contractors, including which contracts are subject to FOCI rules, how does the government evaluate whether a contractor is operating under foreign ownership, influence, or control, what responsibilities does a contractor or potential contractor have to identify and report FOCI concerns, and more

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

SmallGovCon Week in Review: September 4-8, 2023

Happy Friday! We hope you enjoyed the nice long weekend. After this long heatwave, we’ve been enjoying the cooler weather this week, here in Kansas. I think it’s safe to say that most everyone is ready for fall. There was a lot of activity this week in federal government contracting. We have included some articles that we hope will be of interest, including updates on the 8(a) Program, and a lot of changes on the IT front for federal agencies. Enjoy the weekend! SBA program upended

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Partner Nicole Pottroff Discusses Recent 8(a) Program Changes in Washington Post Article

Our very own Nicole Pottroff was featured in the Washington Post yesterday, in an article titled: “SBA program upended in wake of Supreme Court affirmative action ruling.” This article covers SBA’s 8(a) Program and its recent changes, as well as the federal court decisions that sparked the changes and some of the more widespread concerns moving forward. As you probably know as one of our readers, the 8(a) Program has always been a subject close to our hearts here at SmallGovCon. We have been for

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Event Announcement: Senator Joni Ernst’s Entrepreneur Expo, September 22, 2023 Ames, Iowa

I’m excited to announce that I will be presenting at Senator Ernst’s Entrepreneur Expo in Ames, Iowa. This is a wonderful opportunity for Iowa’s small businesses to learn about government contracting and federal innovation programs. This event will feature successful small business speakers, multiple information sessions with procurement experts, and networking opportunities with federal, state, and local agency officials. I’ll be discussing both the SBA Mentor-Protégé Program and small busines

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Virtual Event Announcement: Teaming Agreements hosted by Wyoming APEX Accelerators, September 13, 2023, 1:00pm CDT

For large and small contractors alike, teaming agreements are often essential to winning and successfully performing federal government contracts. Many agencies are (increasingly) requiring teaming agreements for a prime contractor to rely on subcontractor experience, qualifications, or resources. Even where a teaming agreement is not required to compete for a contract, it can still significantly reduce the likelihood of disputes during contract performance. So it is easy to see why teaming agre

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Govology Webinar: Cracking the Code: NAICS Essentials for Government Contractors, September 12, 2023, 1:00pm EDT

Join this webinar as John Holtz and I explore the pivotal role of NAICS codes in determining eligibility for SBA’s exclusive small business set-aside contracts. Recent revisions in size thresholds, size calculations, and industry classifications within the latest NAICS manual have reshaped the landscape. We’ll also discuss NAICS codes appeals, which can be a powerful tool. Register here. The post Govology Webinar: Cracking the Code: NAICS Essentials for Government Contractors, September 12, 20

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Clearing Things Up: OHA Remands Matter for Unclear Veteran-Owned Bylaws

SBA administers four socioeconomic programs: Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), 8(a) Business Development Program (8(a)) Women-Owned Small Business Program (WOSB) and HUBZone. The SDVOSB, 8(a), and WOSB programs all require that the key owner generally have control over the long-term decision-making and the day-to-day operations of a company. These same rules apply to the veteran-owned small businesses program (VOSB) as well. A recent decision from the Office of Hearings and

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

SmallGovCon Week in Review: August 28-Sept. 1, 2023

Happy Friday! We always know it’s almost Labor Day when the sunflower fields start blooming in Kansas. They hold a special place in our hearts because they are the state flower. People come from miles around to visit and photograph the beautiful fields each year. I mean, how can you not smile when you see a sunflower, right? We hope you have some fun plans for the long Labor Day weekend and if you have a bit of spare time, we have provided some interesting articles on what’s happening in fe

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

×
×
  • Create New...