If you have ever looked into socio-economic certifications through the SBA or “set-asides” as some call them, you undoubtedly have run into SBA’s certify portal. It certainly is a big part of the small business federal contracting landscape, with likely massive numbers of site visitors a day. However, it will soon be updated, causing a pause on new applications very soon.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Women Owned Small Business Program
SBA Proposed Rule: Make WOSB, SDVOSB, and 8(a) Regulations More Consistent
If you ask any small business federal government contractor or their attorney for the top complaints about the regulations that apply to the Small Business Administration, inconsistency between the various programs is likely to show up on that list. At first glance, it seems the requirements are pretty standard across the board. However, when you dive deeper, you’ll likely notice that even though the requirements are similar, there are enough small differences in the language you can’t just assume that, say, a requirement for service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) is going to be the same for a woman-owned small business (WOSB) or an 8(a) Program participant.
The differences make it crucial to look at the specific regulations for the specific SBA program to ensure compliance. You can’t just assume that they are the same. Thankfully, it looks like the SBA has finally heard our cries for consistency with a recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, in which it attempts to align the WOSB Program with the new SDVOSB/VetCert Program and the 8(a) Program. And, as an added bonus, the beginnings of what appears to be a plan to make the WOSB certification process a bit easier if your business is already certified under either the 8(a) program or the SDVOSB program.
Continue readingWebinar! Small Business Certifications, March 20, 2024, 10:00-11:00 am CDT
Please join federal government contracts attorneys Nicole Pottroff & Greg Weber for this informative webinar on SBA certifications hosted by Catalyst Center for Business & Entrepreneurship. Participants will get an overview about the Small Business Certifications including:
- Woman Owned Small Business and Economically Disadvantaged Woman Owned Small Business
- 8(a) Business Development Program
- HUBZone (Historically Underutilized Business Zone)
- Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business
We will discuss how to get certified, how long it may take, regulations, changes, updates, and tips and tricks on how to be prepared. Please Register here.
SBA OIG Report Shows Improvements in 8(a) and Woman-Owned Small Business Programs
The Small Business Administration Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently released its report discussing the top management and performance challenges facing the SBA in 2024. The report highlights a number of issues currently plaguing the SBA and its various programs, including abuse of economic relief programs, disaster assistance programs, and loan programs, cyber security shortcomings within the agency, and oversight of grant management. The report also notes concerns with the HUBZone and small disadvantaged business programs. However, today I want to focus on the issues identified in two programs that we at Koprince McCall Pottroff work with day in and day out: the Woman-Owned Small Business Program and the 8(a) Business Development Program.
Continue readingSenate-Passed 2024 NDAA set to Raise DoD Set-Aside Sole-Source Contract Threshold Limits
Through an amendment to the Senate-Passed 2024 NDAA, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) sole source threshold for many socioeconomic set-aside programs would be increased significantly under the Senate-passed version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. Also a method to adjust DoD sole-source thresholds for inflation would be created.
Continue reading$162B in Small Business Contracts: SBA Releases Small Business Scorecards for FY 2022
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 readingCOFC Part II: Evaluation of Mentor-Protégé Joint Ventures
A couple of weeks ago, I explored the Court of Federal Claims case of SH Synergy, LLC v. United States. In that blog, linked below, I looked at the first question raised in the protest that centered on the question of whether a mentor with two approved mentor protégé joint ventures with two different protégés under the SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program is restricted from placing competing offers for a solicitation, in this case GSA’s Polaris solicitation. The answer to that was yes, they are restricted pursuant to 13 C.F.R. § 125.9. Because this decision was chocked full of useful information, and as promised, I’m back to look at the second issue tackled in this mammoth COFC opinion: did the solicitation’s terms, which required mentor-protégé joint ventures, woman-owned small business joint ventures, and service-disabled veteran owned small business joint ventures to be evaluated in the same manner as offerors, generally, violate procurement regulations? As you will see, the answer to that question is also yes, and it appears that this decision has already had an impact on other procurements.
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