Tag Archives: mentor-protege agreements

SBA OIG All Small Mentor-Protégé Program Evaluation Reveals Concerns and Suggests Improvements

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In 2016, SBA established the All Small Mentor-Protégé Program, or ASMPP, enabling mentors of any size to provide business development assistance to small protégé businesses to enhance the protégé’s ability to compete for federal contracts. Since then, the ASMPP has served as a powerful tool for many businesses and, as of August 1, there were 885 active mentor-protégé agreements.

Recently, however, the SBA’s Office of the Inspector General released a report highlighting some opportunities to improve the program and recommending SBA take additional steps to ensure compliance with the program’s requirements.

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Years after Expiration of Mentor-Protégé Agreement, Joint Venture Still Small Based on Status as of Proposal Date

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SBA regulations say that size is determined as of the date an offeror submits its initial proposal, with price. On its face, this rule seems pretty straight forward. But what happens if the initial proposal was filed six years ago? And what if the joint venture that submitted the proposal has since expired? Following OHA’s recent logic, the proposal-date rule stands even in these unique circumstances.

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SBA Mentor-Protégé Joint Ventures: Even GAO Appears a Tad Confused

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The SBA’s All Small Mentor-Protégé program offers a tremendous opportunity for participants to pursue set-aside contracts as joint venture partners.  But misunderstandings and misconceptions about how SBA mentor-protégé joint ventures work are pervasive.

One very common misconception is that the SBA must pre-approve a mentor-protégé joint venture.  In most cases, that’s not so.  In a recent bid protest decision, even the GAO appeared a little confused, repeatedly mentioning SBA approval of a joint venture even though no such approval was required for the contract in question.

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All Small Mentor-Protege: SBA Confirms “Two Per Lifetime” Limit

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A small business “can have no more than two [SBA] mentors over the life of the business,” according to the SBA’s All Small Mentor-Protege Program website.

The SBA’s clarification of the lifetime limit provides important guidance for proteges, especially because the SBA’s mentor-protege regulations aren’t exactly crystal clear when it comes to this point.  The SBA’s limit ensures that small businesses don’t become permanent proteges–but is “two per lifetime” the best way to carry out that policy?

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5 Things You Should Know: All Small Mentor-Protege Program

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In late 2016, the SBA rolled out a fantastic tool to help small business grow in the marketplace.

Here are five things you should know about the SBA All Small Mentor-Protégé Program:

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SBA All Small Mentor-Protege Program: Annual Evaluation Forms Now Available

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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.

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27 Percent Of DoD Mentor-Protege Agreements Are Deficient, GAO Says

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The GAO estimates that 27 percent of DoD mentor-protege agreements are deficient.

In a comprehensive new report, the GAO says that many active DoD mentor-protege agreements are missing basic (and necessary) information, like the protege’s primary NAICS code.  Also missing, in some cases: the parties’ signatures.

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