SmallGovCon Week in Review: May 20-24, 2024

Memorial Day weekend is almost here, which means the unofficial start to summer! Whether you are hitting the road or relaxing at home, I hope you have an enjoyable long weekend while remembering those that have given their lives to protect our country.

Of course, a relaxing weekend isn’t complete without some good reading material, and we’ve got you covered. This week in federal government contracting news….

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Govology Webinar: June 6, 2024 – Understanding and Complying with the Nonmanufacturer Rule (2024 Update)

The nonmanufacturer rule is one that is commonly misunderstood in the federal government contracting realm. But it is also one we encounter quite often in our role assisting federal contractors. Despite its seemingly straightforward definition, being classified as a “nonmanufacturer” entails more than simply not being the manufacturer.

On June 6, please join my colleagues, Nicole Pottroff & Greg Weber, as they dissect the complexities of this rule and answer your questions. The webinar will be hosted by our friends at Govology, and it is easy to register: just click here.

Webinar! Mentor Protégé and Legal Aspects To Be Mindful Of on June 5, 2024

Please join Federal government contracts attorneys John Holtz and Stephanie Ellis for this informative webinar, hosted by the Catalyst Center for Business & Entrepreneurship, on June 5 at 10:00 am CDT.

The SBA’s Mentor Protege Program allows two or more businesses to come together and form a joint venture to bid on small business set-aside government contracts. One of the most advantageous aspects of this program is the ability for a large business to mentor a small business through the use of a joint venture. When a large business mentors a small business, the SBA approved joint venture can obtain and perform small business set-aside contracts despite the size of the large business. Join us as we discuss the recent changes in the SBA’s Mentor Protege Program and explore how you can use this program as a tool for scaling your business (whether large or small). Register here.

Somewhat Appealing: Which SBA Certifications Can You Appeal From?

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) runs four socioeconomic programs aimed at providing equal opportunity to participate in federal contracting. And one would think that all of them have similar options if a contractor is denied certification. One would be wrong. SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) recently dismissed an appeal for lack of jurisdiction, showcasing the different options in the various programs. The contractor was decertified from the Women Owned Small Business Program (WOSB). Its owners ran afoul of an important distinction in OHA’s appeals jurisdiction, particularly the substantial difference between appealing a competitor’s protest of a contractor’s SBA certification and the government’s initial denial of a program certification. This provides an excellent opportunity to assess the regulatory differences in appellate jurisdiction between the four programs, with an eye toward successfully navigating future encounters with the OHA.

Editor’s Note: Special thanks to our law clerk Will Orlowski for his immense help in drafting this post.

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: May 13-17, 2024

It’s Friday and time for another week in review. The kids are finishing up the school year, so get ready parents! There are lots of activities happening in town and as I drive by our local ice cream shop it seems to be constantly filled with kids as they celebrate the beginning of summer. We hope you are looking forward to a lot of fun summer activities, as well. Enjoy the weekend!

This week in federal government contracting included updates on veteran-owned and WOSB contracting, as well as concerns about the ranks of DoD contracting officers getting thin.

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Govology Webinar: Small Business Subcontracting Plans: What SBLOs Need to Know, May 16, 2024, 1:00pm EDT

Steven Koprince, Govology Legal Analyst and retired founder of Koprince McCall Pottroff will be presenting this webinar to help you understand when a small business subcontracting plan is required for a federal prime contractor. Additionally, the course will cover common oversights and mistakes made by prime contractors in connection with establishing and implementing small business subcontracting plans. Please join Steve as he walks you through the process. Register here.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: May 6-10, 2024

Happy Friday and Happy Mother’s Day! Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals. The American incarnation of Mother’s Day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914. Did you know that the most phone calls are made in the United States on Mother’s Day? We hope you have a wonderful weekend and please acknowledge all those mothers and mother-figures in your life. Have a nice weekend.

And now in federal government contracting news this week, some of the interesting updates included GAO’s look at waste in federal programs (they found some) as well as a push to lift budget caps on the DoD.

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