It’s been one year since the U.S. Small business Administration (SBA) took over the federal government’s veteran-owned small business contracting program from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and a lot has happened in that amount of time. Here, we discuss how SBA has handled the Veteran Small Business Certification Program in the first year and some of SBA’s achievments. And in other big SDVOSB news, the federal government will be providing more contracts for veteran-owned entities under
This story is about a glider, a balloon, the planet Venus, and Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. This subject matter is the fabric of the universe, but the lesson it teaches is as mundane as linen sheets.
A NASA Small Business Innovation Research offeror cannot always wait for a debriefing to file a GAO bid protest, because if it does, it may run the risk of the protest grounds being untimely.
In general, it often may be good practice for an unsuccessful offeror to wait to file a GAO bid pr
Happy Friday! Brrr, another very cold day here in the Midwest. We are looking for relief next week as the forecast is set for warmer temperatures after this deep freeze. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we are ready! We hope that you are staying warm in your neck of the woods.
This week in federal government contracting saw some important stories, including the one-year anniversary of the SBA takeover of the SDVOSB program and the new defense industrial strategy.
Small B
To be eligible to participate in the 8(a) Business Development Program, an applicant firm must be a small business that is at least 51% owned and controlled by a socially- and economically-disadvantaged individual (or individuals) who are of good character and citizen(s) of the United States. The firm, moreover, must show a potential for success.
The Small Business Administration’s internal watchdog (the Office of Inspector General, or OIG) recently raised its continuing concerns regarding the
Greetings from Fargo, North Dakota where I will present a luncheon seminar today on recent developments in government contracting. The seminar is sponsored by the SBA, North Dakota PTAC, and National Contract Management Association, and should be a great event. It’s wonderful being back in the state where I grew up. Even though I no longer have family here, I’m looking forward to catching up with an old friend (since elementary school!) this evening.
While I enjoy a trip down memory lane, it’
A government agency was liable for damaging leased space, even though the lease didn’t contain an explicit clause requiring the government to repair the space.
In a recent decision, the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals held that the VA was required to compensate the landlord for damage to the space, because every lease–including those entered by government tenants–contains an implied provision requiring the tenant not to damage the leased space, except for ordinary wear and tear.
The CBCA’
Many federal contractors know of and participate in the SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program. However, there are many agency specific Mentor-Protégé Programs, including the oldest continuous program, the Department of Defense’s Mentor-Protégé Program. The DoD’s program has been operating since around the First Gulf War, and like any good machine that is a few decades old, regularly needs some updates. Just in the past week, the DoD released the newest proposed changes to its program.
Here at Sm
The increase to DoD’s micro-purchase threshold mandated by the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act is now in effect.
A Class Deviation issued earlier this month provides, effective immediately, that the DoD micro-purchase threshold is $5,000 for many acquisitions.
The new micro-purchase threshold is $1,500 higher than the standard $3,500 micro-purchase threshold. But there are a few exceptions.
The micro-purchase threshold for certain DoD basic research programs and science and technol
Everyone has New Year traditions. Some do resolutions, some take vacations, some simply buy a fun new calendar. Here at SmallGovCon we like reading the different federal contracting annual reports. These annual reports function as almost yearbooks or like a friend’s yearly holiday card that discusses all the highlights of the past year. These annual reports are a great resource for contractors to catch up on what a specific agency or tribunal has been up to, and plan for the year ahead. In this
Joint ventures can be extremely powerful in helping small businesses capture larger government contracts. Yet, few small businesses know how they work, and even fewer understand the critical timeline and milestones required to have everything in place in time to capture those large opportunities.
In this article, we will discuss why understanding the timeline is so important if you want to leverage your JV for a big win.
Based on my years of working with hundreds of small businesses, I’d say
Last year, during consideration of the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, the Senate proposed to “reform” the GAO bid protest process by forcing some unsuccessful protesters to pay the government’s costs, and (more controversially) by denying incumbent protesters profits on bridge contracts and extensions.
Congress ultimately chose not to implement these measures. Instead, Congress called for an independent report on the effect of bid protests at DoD–a wise move, considering that major r
July has flown by. Soon, my kids will be back in school, the leaves will start to turn, and the annual craziness at the end of the government fiscal year will be here. For now, I’m enjoying a few more weeks of summer. I hope you are too.
Before we head into the last July weekend of the year, it’s time for the SmallGovCon Week In Review. In this edition: the re-arrangement of personnel over at the GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, a new measure attached to the annual defense authorization bi
Past performance evaluations normally consider two aspects of an offeror’s prior work: whether that performance was recent and relevant. But in making its best value determination, must an agency also consider the duration of an offeror’s past performance?
A recent GAO bid protest decision answered this question, at least under the rules established in the solicitation at hand. In Technica LLC, B-413546.4 et al. (July 10, 2017), GAO denied a protest challenging the sufficiency of an awardee’s p
For small businesses, 8(a)s, SDVOSBs, HUBZones and WOSBs, few legal requirements in the world of government contracts are as important as those surrounding ownership and control. I recently joined host Carroll Bernard of Govology for an in-depth podcast exploring these important requirements, including a discussion of common mistakes and misconceptions.
Follow this link to listen to or download the podcast. And don’t stop there–check out Govology’s other great podcasts with government contrac
A contractor could not file a valid bid protest challenging an agency’s decision to terminate the contractor’s task order, according to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
In a recent decision, the Court agreed with the GAO, which also held that the contractor’s challenge involved a matter of contract administration–something outside the bid protest process.
The Court’s decision in Cotton & Company, LLP v. United States, No. 17-878C (2017) involved a Defense Finance and Accounting Services
Federal contractors not so infrequently find themselves in a position where they are unable to complete performance of a contract by the agreed-upon deadline. So, what happens when the delay is neither party’s fault, but the government denies extension of the period of performance or provides inadequate extensions?
In IAP Worldwide Services, Inc. (ASBCA Nos. 59397, 59398, and 59399), the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals found under the legal theory of “constructive acceleration” that th
To qualify for the 8(a) program, a disadvantaged individual must fall below certain personal net worth thresholds. Loans can reduce net worth–but not all loans are treated the same.
According to the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals, if a disadvantaged individual intends to rely on a loan to reduce net worth, the loan better be bona fide.
In a recent decision, OHA held that it is the unconditional obligation to repay that is critical to determining whether a loan will reduce the net worth of
Coming off their World Series win last year, my Chicago Cubs are back atop the National League Central division in hopes of repeating as champions. While we still have few months of the regular season left, I’m hoping for a repeat of October 4, 1908, when a whopping 6,210 fans watched the Cubs successfully defend their 1907 title.
But enough baseball for now–this is a government contracts blog, after all. And since it’s Friday, here is the SmallGovCon Week in Review. In this edition, a contr
SmallGovCon has covered the SBA’s assumption of control over certification of Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (“SDVOSB”) and Veteran Owned Small Businesses (“VOSB”) since it was first announced well over a year ago. Now, we are coming close to one of the final deadlines associated with SBA taking over these certification processes. It is hard to believe that it is already the end of the calendar year once again. But time flies when you are having federal contracting fun! With the
Multiple-award task-order contracts are becoming an increasingly common feature of government contracting, and many carry very high ceiling values. This places participation in MATOC awards at a premium.
Unsurprisingly, base MATOC awards are being protested with some frequency before GAO. In a recent decision, GAO provided a unique solution for sustaining MATOC protests without causing substantial disruptions: simply adding the successful protester to the pool.
Millennium Corp., Inc., B-4164
In its evaluation of proposals, a procuring agency gave a challenger a strength for proposing to recruit incumbent employees, but didn’t give the incumbent contractor a strength–even though the incumbent contractor proposed to retain the very same people.
Unsurprisingly, the GAO found that the evaluation was unequal, and sustained the incumbent’s protest.
The GAO’s decision in SURVICE Engineering Company, LLC, B-414519 (July 5, 2o17) involved an Air Force solicitation for engineering, progra
Under the SBA’s ostensible subcontractor affiliation rule, hiring incumbent employees can be evidence of affiliation, but the importance of that staffing plan in an affiliation analysis depends on what role the incumbent contractor will play in the awardee’s performance of the contract.
In a recent size appeal decision, the awardee proposed to hire 85% of its personnel from the incumbent contractor, but the incumbent wasn’t proposed as a subcontractor–in fact, the incumbent was the company prot
The SBA’s All Small Mentor-Protege Program office has issued its annual evaluation forms for ASMPP participants. The purpose of the reports is to “determine whether the business is eligible to continue to participate in the All Small Business Mentor-Protege Program.”
The annual evaluation process requires participants to complete two forms: a nine-page protege evaluation report, and a separate five-page mentor evaluation addendum.
Some of the information covered in the reports is no surpris
I don’t know about you, but I am ready for the weekend. I’m looking forward to spending some time with the family before I turn into a bit of a road warrior. Next week, I’ll be at the 21st Government Procurement Conference in Texas; the following week I head to the West Coast for the Navy Gold Coast Small Business Procurement Event, and I’ll wrap up the month in Oklahoma at the Indian Country Business Summit.
If you’ll be at any of these events, please stop by to say hello and talk about the
An incumbent contractor won a protest at GAO recently where it argued that the awardee’s labor rates were too low, because they were lower than the rates the incumbent itself was paying the same people.
GAO faulted the agency for concluding that the awardee’s price was realistic without checking the proposed rates against the incumbent rates. In other words, GAO told the agency to start at the obvious place—the compensation of the current employees.
The decision in SURVICE Engineering Compan