The WOSB Program, 8(a) Program, and SBA affiliation rules were all on the agenda during my interview today with government contracts guru Mark Amtower on his popular radio show, Amtower Off-Center.
If you weren’t able to catch the show live, just click here to listen or download the audio from Federal News Radio. And be sure to tune in every week as Mark talks government contracts with movers and shakers from industry and government alike.
A contractor’s “frantically busy” employee, who was listed as the firm’s contact in SAM, skimmed through an email from the SBA containing a size protest, and took no action to respond.
In a recent size appeal decision, the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals held that the SBA had properly issued an adverse size determination against the contractor in question after receiving no reply to the size protest–and the fact that the employee who received it was “frantically busy” was no excuse.
I suppose it was bound to happen to us, just like it happens to bloggers everywhere: someone is stealing our SmallGovCon blog posts and republishing them as their own, without our permission (and without any attribution).
I was very upset and angered to discover today that a company called Vindai Corporation is publishing all of our SmallGovCon posts on its own website. Vindai not only lacks permission to republish our work, but is posting our work without any author attributions–which makes it look as though Vindai itself has authored all of these SmallGovCon posts. Whoever is responsible for Vindai’s website is either very negligent or very sleazy. Or maybe both.
I have demanded that Vindai immediately remove our work from its website. In the meantime, Vindai, if you’re reading this (and I’m sure you are, since you’ve been busy stealing the rest of our posts): you have my express permission to republish this post only on your website. I’m sure your readers will find it informative.
A year after Congress surprisingly eliminated WOSB self-certification, the SBA is asking for public comment on how to certify WOSBs.
In a notice published today, the SBA states that it intends to draft regulations to address the statutory change, but “seeks to understand what the public believes is the most appropriate way to structure a WOSB/EDWOSB certification program.”
I am pleased to announce that I will be presenting three Learning Sessions at the 2015 National Veterans Small Business Engagement in Pittsburgh.
My first session, Joint Venturing and Teaming on SDVOSB Set-Aside Contracts, will take place on November 17 at 11:10 a.m. in Room 333. The second session, The SBA’s Proposed New “Universal” Mentor-Protege Program, will be that same day at 3:10 p.m. in Room 413. The third session, Is My Company a “Non-Manufacturer”–The Ins and Outs of the Non-Manufacturer Rule will be held on November 18 at 11:10 a.m. in Room 413.
If you will be attending NVSBE 2015, I hope you’ll make it to my Learning Sessions. See you at the conference!
I was on the road during the latter half of last week–first a stop in Columbia, Missouri for a workshop with the Missouri PTAC, and then on to the greater Chicago area, where I gave a presentation at a procurement conference. My travels prevented me from getting SmallGovCon Week In Review posted on its usual Friday date, so here is a special Monday morning edition of government contracting news and commentary.
I am back in Lawrence after a trip to the greater Chicago area, where I spoke at The Next Level: Federal Contracting conference.
The conference was a great chance for experienced federal contractors to avoid beginning level seminars (“how to register in SAM” and so forth) and concentrate on information designed to help them take their government contracting businesses to the next level. I was honored to be part of an all-star roster of speakers, including Tom Johnson and Alice Lipowicz of Set-Aside Alert, Richard Hernandez of e-MBE.net, and Jamie Bratten of EZGovOpps. My presentation focused on the SBA’s proposed new “universal” mentor-protege program.
Many thanks to Rita Haake and Amber Gardner of the Illinois PTAC at the College of DuPage for putting on this conference and inviting me to speak. A big “thank you,” as well, to all of the contractors and industry professionals who attended the event, asked great questions, and seem poised to take full advantage of the new mentor-protege program.