Author Archives: Shane McCall

Free Webinar! The SBA Mentor-Protégé Program hosted by Washington DC APEX Accelerators, February 27, 10:30am -12:30 PM EST

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Touted as a “game-changer” when it was first introduced in 2016, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s All Small Mentor-Protégé  Program isn’t new anymore. Known now as simply the “SBA Mentor-Protégé  Program, it is still extremely powerful for large and small contractors alike.

In this webinar, Gregory Weber and I will explain the ins and out of the SBA Mentor-Protégé  Program, covering the program’s eligibility requirements, its potent benefits (including the ability to form special Mentor-Protégé  Joint Ventures), the application process, and common misconceptions and pitfalls. Target Audience: Small Businesses (SDVOSB, WOSB, HUBZone, 8(a), SDB) and large businesses interest in doing business with the federal government. Please join us and register here. And thanks to Earl King of the DC Department of Small and Local Business Development and Apex Accelerator for organizing this event.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: February 12-16, 2024

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Hello, blog readers. We want to say that our hearts are with the people of Kansas City. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and families of those impacted during the the Super Bowl celebration in Kansas City. We also salute the first responders who acted so quickly.

Our stories from federal contracting news this week included continued delays for CIO-SP4 and a new initiative on carbon-free electricity.

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Adverse Inference, the Wrong Way to Lose a Size Protest

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An adverse inference is a penalty that the Small Business Administration (SBA) can enforce as part of a size protest. During a size protest determination, SBA will ask the protested company lots of questions. Sometimes, a protester will not answer those questions, either on purpose or due to oversight. Depending on the circumstances, SBA can apply an adverse inference if a protested company fails to respond to questions. If SBA applies an adverse inference, that means that the SBA Area Office will determine that the information that was not provided would prove that the company is not a small business. A recent decision reminds us about this penalty. If you are in a similar situation, reach out to a firm like ours to help think of a way to respond to SBA.

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: February 5-9, 2024

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Happy Friday Readers. We hope you all have had a great week. We are enjoying some milder winter weather here in Kansas finally. We still have a bit to go before spring, but it feels like it is right around the corner. We will be following our KC chiefs as they look to defend their Super Bowl title!

Enjoy the weekend and we also hope you will enjoy reading the articles below, regarding federal government contracting this week. Some highlights include more on the push to increase small business participation, and new legislation that will have an impact on contractors.

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: Jan. 28-Feb. 2, 2024

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Happy February! Our Kansas City Chiefs have once again managed to make it back into the Super Bowl and we couldn’t be happier about it! Whether you’re a Chiefs fan, a 49ers fan or a Swiftie, it’s sure to be a good one! Start gathering those favorite snack recipes and get out the lucky sports gear, folks!

This week in federal government contracting news had some important updates, including a new GSA schedule catalog platform, a report on savings in software purchases, and a revamped SBA training program for small businesses.

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OMB Issues Command to Increase Small Business Participation on MACs

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The White House has issued a memorandum that calls for specific procedures for Increasing Small Business Participation on Multiple-Award Contracts. To that end, OMB has recommended steps such as increasing small business order set-asides and maximizing small business set-asides across multiple types of contracts. Perhaps most importantly, OMB has directed federal agencies to apply the small business Rule of Two for all orders, which should has the potential of leading to an increase in small business set-asides. Below, we dive into these new recommendations.

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: January 22-26, 2024

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Happy Friday! We hope you had a productive week. We are slowly exiting the deep freeze that we have been enduring the past few weeks, here in the midwest. We’ve had snow, ice, rain and sub degree temperatures! Not fun! We are looking forward to seeing the sun again and warmer days. Hope you are doing well and looking forward to a nice weekend.

This week in federal government contracting news saw some interesting stories, including a push to streamline contracting and GSA not following procurement rules.

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