The SBA published its annual Government Wide Small Business Procurement Scorecard for fiscal year 2022, and it appears that nearly every type of small business set-aside by the SBA, with the continued exception for Woman-Owned Small Businesses and HUBZone businesses, either met or exceeded their goal. Overall, agencies exceeded their goals for the year, earning an overall score of “A” due to meeting the small business contracting goals with 104.05% of the total goal.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Federal Government Contracting
DoD Revises its Other Transactions Guide
Something we frequently hear, when talking to those involved in the federal contracting industry, is that just when you think you have a handle on all the different ways federal contracting is run, you find out about another new program, authority, protest, guidance, regulation, or any other possible wrinkle of federal contracting. One prime example of this is that many individuals getting into federal contracting will often be surprised that the FAR is not the only standard that may drive how a procurement activity is handled. As we have blogged about in the past, “Other Transaction Authority” can come into play on certain procurements. The Department of Defense (“DoD”) utilizes this unique type of procurement authority and releases an “Other Transaction Guide” to dictate how this authority will be used. But with all things, only change is guaranteed, and any contractor who thought they knew this unique procurement authority’s ins and outs will need to take another look, as the DoD has just released a revised “Other Transactions Guide” based on industry guidance and regulatory changes.
Continue readingRecent NAICS Code Appeal Demonstrates Contractor Strategy to Limit Competition
While every federal government contractor is likely familiar with bid protests, whether directly involved in one or not, it is far less likely that those same contractors are as familiar with NAICS code appeals. This is probably due to the infrequent nature of NAICS code appeals, with roughly 20 being filed each year. However, even if so few are filed annually, they tend to have a relatively high success rate, with appeals decided on the merits being decided in favor of the Appellant about 50% of the time. Below, I will take a look at a recent NAICS code appeal to help demonstrate what the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) takes into account when reviewing NAICS code appeals, and why you, as a contractor, should review a solicitation’s classification to potentially give you a leg up.
Continue readingEvent: SBA Mentor Protege Program Webinar hosted by Texas El Paso APEX Accelerators, June 27, 10:00am-11:30am MDT
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 course, Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC government contracts attorneys Stephanie Ellis and I will explain the ins and outs of the 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. Free Registration Link here. Hope you will join us!
Limitations on Subcontracting: Partial Set Asides
Subcontracting is a hot topic in the federal government contracting world. Large businesses placing bids on federal procurements are often required to have a small business subcontracting plan, while small businesses are limited to exactly how much work they can subcontract out. The FAR and SBA rules contain the details relevant to small businesses’ limitations on subcontracting. These regulations are, in general, pretty straightforward. Well, at least when it comes to total small business set asides for one specific type of work. Further, there are a ton of resources available to help small business federal contractors understand these limits. Just googling “limitations on subcontracting” comes up with webinars, blogs, federal government sites, and even YouTube videos on the topic, but most only focus on the more general limitations. There aren’t nearly as many resources that take on the topic of partial set asides, but these limitations are important as well. In this post, I am going to walk you through how these limitations apply to partial set asides to show that contracts partially set aside for small businesses are not nearly as intimidating as they may seem.
Continue readingEvent: Ethics in Federal Government Contracting Webinar hosted by Govology, June 15, 1:00pm EDT
Uncle Sam only wants to do business with ethical contractors — and not all of the government’s ethics rules are intuitive. In this webinar, government contracts attorney, Nicole Pottroff, explains the ins and outs of the key ethics rules contractors should know, including organizational conflicts of interest, contingent fees, collusion, gratuities, the False Claims Act, and the Procurement Integrity Act. The presentation concludes with an in-depth look at what a compliant Ethics Plan and Internal Compliance Program should include. We hope you will join us. Registration link here.
Event: Limitations on Subcontracting and the Nonmanufacturer Rule Webinar hosted by Texas El Paso APEX Accelerators, June 6, 10:00-11:30am MDT
For small businesses and their teammates, few topics in government contracting are as confusing as the limitations on subcontracting for set-aside and socioeconomic sole source contracts. And if that isn’t stressful enough, the “LoS” is an area of heavy enforcement: get it wrong, and a contractor can face major penalties. The nonmanufacturer rule is another commonly misunderstood rule in the federal government contracting realm–but also, one we encounter quite often in our role assisting federal contractors.
In this course, government contracts attorneys, Nicole Pottroff & Stephanie Ellis, from Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC, will help you make sense of the limitations on subcontracting and nonmanufacturer rule. Using a step-by-step process and plenty of examples to bring these rules to life will help you ensure both understanding and compliance. Hope you will join us! Registration link here.