Happy Friday and happy November! It’s time to start thinking about that Thanksgiving turkey dinner and, if you’re inclined to get an early start, begin your Christmas shopping! Enjoy that nice fall weather this weekend as you stay up to date on latest in federal contracting news.
This week in federal government contracting, be sure to check out stories on fixed price contracts and potential NDAA updates on data rights.
Continue readingThe HUBZone Program generally has received less attention from SBA than its counterparts in the 8(a) Business Development, WOSB, and SDVOSB Programs. However, over the past couple years, SBA has given it a little more attention than it has received in the past, with proposed changes in 2024 later becoming finalized that same year to make some aspects of the program a little stricter. This might reflect a new approach to the HUBZone Program. SBA has recently proclaimed that it has approved several petitions for new Governor-Designated Covered Areas, expanding the HUBZone map in 252 areas. Here, we explore what this actually means and how much of an impact this might have.
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Happy Friday and Happy Halloween to our SmallGovCon readers! We’ve scared up some interesting updates for this Week in Review. Will the government have tricks or treats for federal contractors? Have some fun this weekend trick or treating, watching scary movies, or just enjoying some fall weather. My personal favorite thing is seeing what all my kids collected in their hauls, including all the non-candy items (pencils anyone?).
This week in federal government contracting were multiple guilty pleas dealing with bribery or kickbacks (probably in the tricks column), along with updates on procurement of AI systems.
Continue readingThe Department of War (DoW, referred to by some as the Department of Defense) is always trying to find new ways to get more federal contractors involved in defense contracts. One of the elements of the DoW which focuses on such is the “Innovation Unit.” Within that unit is now a “Bridge Program” which is hoping to raise the probability of the DoW embracing novel approaches to defense needs while also cutting down on the proverbial red tape which prevented contractors from performing for the DoW in the past, especially regarding security clearance. Let’s dive into some of the ideas and goals of this new Bridge Program.
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Happy Friday! We hope you have had a great week and are looking forward to the weekend. Fall has finally arrived here, and we are all hoping to find some time to enjoy the typical fall festivities like pumpkin patches, watching the leaves change, and watching our favorite football teams before it gets too cold.
This week in federal government contracting there was a focus on artificial intelligence, transparency, and further audits in the SBA’s 8(a) Program, among other items. Have a great weekend!
Continue readingHere at SmallGovCon, we have often discussed the federal government’s small business “Rule of Two” and the basis it provides small business contractors for protesting an agency’s decision not to set aside a procurement for small businesses. One essential component of that rule is a requirement that agencies conduct market research when determining whether or not two or more responsible small businesses are likely to submit offers on the pending solicitation. That market research has always been a loosely-defined, broad concept, one which allows agencies a fair amount of discretion in how they go about assessing the number of potentially-responsible small businesses in a given industry. As a result, agencies have some leeway in how they conduct their market research. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult for contractors to assess what constitutes satisfactory market research—in other words, how can a small business determine whether the agency properly chose an unrestricted procurement?
A potential common-sense approach one might consider would be to look at examples of market research that have been found acceptable under judicial review before. That provides a baseline threshold, and if the agency you are assessing falls short, it might seem reasonable to think that the agency did not carry its burden—i.e., there might be a successful Rule of Two protest basis on hand. This approach was applied by the protester in a recent Court of Federal Claims decision, but as explained below, it was not a successful one. The Court essentially stated that, just because one agency had gone to specific lengths in the past to conduct its market research, this did not mean that other agencies were required to go to similar lengths in order to satisfy their market research requirements. Rather than establish a standard to adhere to, the original agency had instead gone above the minimum.
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Dear SmallGovCon readers, we are back with another edition of the Week In Review. Hopefully folks are enjoying some cooler weather this week. We have certainly been seeing nice temperatures in our region to get us ready for fall.
This week included updates about DOGE records, inquiries into the VA records modernization cost, and questions about restructuring at USDA.
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