If you’re a small business owner interested in government contracts, you’ve probably heard about the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program. The 8(a) Program itself is complex, and its eligibility rules are some of stricter rules out there; but its potential benefits are tremendous. In this Back to Basics post, I’ll break down some of the very basics about the 8(a) Program. But don’t worry, not only will I follow this post up with another to unpack more of the complexities, I have also included links throughout this post to other posts doing the same.
Continue readingCategory Archives: 8(a) Program
Posts dealing with the 8(a) business development program, including 8(a) admissions and eligiblity, requests for reconsideration, ongoing eligibility and compliance, and related matters.
SBA’s Approach to Monitoring 8(a) Firms is Focused on Eligibility Rather than Business Development, Says SBA’s OIG
Last week, the SBA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report, entitled “SBA’s Business Development Assistance to 8(a) Program Participants.” The report detailed the OIG’s recent audit of the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program to “determine to what extent SBA measures and monitors an 8(a) firm’s progress toward achieving individual business development goals” and “to ensure 8(a) firms receive the help needed to meet their goals and if the program adapted during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic.” Let’s take a closer look at the details and findings.
Continue readingGAO Tested SBA on its Tribal 8(a) Verification Process and Found It Mostly Held Up
Federal and state-recognized Indian tribes and members of such tribes are presumptively socially disadvantaged, and if tribal association is verified, no further information is needed to verify social disadvantage for a Small Business Association (SBA) 8(a) program application. However, in 2021, the SBA Office of Inspector General (OIG) reported that, although the process for awarding 8(a) program status involves a multi-level eligibility review, the SBA does not have a formal verification procedure for verifying the federal or state-recognized status of Indian tribes associated with tribal applications. As such, GAO was asked to evaluate the SBA’s verification of 8(a) applications claiming federal or state-recognized tribal association. The following is a summary of those findings.
Continue readingEvent: 8(a) Joint Ventures Webinar, Hosted by El Paso SBA
Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC will be presenting a webinar hosted by the El Paso SBA that covers an important topic in federal government contracting – 8(a) Joint Ventures.
In this webinar, government contracts attorneys Shane McCall and John Holtz cover the basics of joint ventures, the specifics of 8(a) joint ventures (including SBA requirements), and how the mentor-protégé program can benefit a joint venture arrangement.
If you’d like to join us for the webinar, mark the date of December 16 on your calendar and here is the link for the event.
SBA Suspends Bona Fide Place of Business Requirement for 8(a) Construction Contracts
SBA’s requirement that 8(a) participants maintain a bona fide place of business in the geographic location of any 8(a) construction contracts has been an encumbrance for many federal contractors–even prior to the global pandemic. But fortunately, SBA has recently recognized the additional challenges that COVID-19 has caused for 8(a) contractors seeking to comply with this rule. And as such, SBA has suspended this requirement in an effort to help our nation’s small disadvantaged businesses during these arduous times.
Continue readingFive Things You Should Know: SBA 8(a) Program Potential for Success
SBA requires that its 8(a) Business Development Program applicants demonstrate “reasonable prospects for success in competing in the private sector if admitted to the 8(a) BD program” by meeting a number of criteria. This aptly named potential for success rule is easily one of the most common reasons for 8(a) Program application denials. But even still, it seems to be one of the least understood 8(a) application requirements out there. Below, I dig into some of the most important features of this rule with the top five things you should know.
Continue readingFive Things You Should Know: Eligibility for Small Disadvantaged Business Self-Certification
The Administration’s recent announcement that it plans to boost Small Disadvantaged Business contracting by 50% means that we may see increased interest by government agencies and large prime contractors alike in doing business with self-certified SDBs.
But my guess is that the Administration’s push will come with additional oversight, too–after all, increasing the goal isn’t worth much if the government cannot be confident that the contracts it counts toward its SDB goals were awarded to eligible entities. In my experience, many contractors check the SDB box in SAM without fully understanding what it takes to be an eligible Small Disadvantaged Business under federal contracting laws.
So before you click that box (or re-click it on your next SAM update) here are five things you should know about eligibility for self-certified SDB status.
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