Event: 8(a) Program Conversation with Teresa Moon of Parabilis

Posted on June 28, 2021 by Steven Koprince

For disadvantaged small businesses, the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program can help level the playing field by providing powerful benefits, including access to sole source and set-aside contracts. And in the wake of the Administration’s announcement that it will attempt to boost SDB contracting by 50%, this could be the right time for many businesses to consider an 8(a) Program application.

On Wednesday, June 30 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern, please join me as I discuss the 8(a) Program with Teresa Moon of Parabilis. As a back-and-forth conversation (not a webinar), this promises to be an informative and fun event. Click here to sign up. See you on June 30!

Inadvertent Release of Incumbent Pricing Data Leads to Sustained Protest

Posted on June 28, 2021 by SmallGovCon Contributor

Protecting sensitive business information, especially pricing, is essential even in the GAO bid protest realm. As an agency found out, even an inadvertent release of such information could lead to a sustained protest.

This slip up resulted in the cancellation of a nearly $1 billion contract. Needless to say, this was a big deal. How did this happen, and what should parties be looking for to protect their confidential data?

CIO-SP4 Amendment 4: Undoing Amendment 3? Sort Of

Posted on June 25, 2021 by Nicole Pottroff

Last night, NITAAC released Amendment 4 to the CIO-SP4 RFP. The amendment removes the language expressly restricting the use of first-tier subcontractors past performance, capabilities, and experience, which was previously added by Amendment 3. Let’s take a closer look.

SmallGovCon Week In Review: June 21-25, 2021

Posted on June 25, 2021 by Shane McCall

Happy Friday and welcome to this week’s addition of the week in review. I recently got back from a camping trip in 100 degree weather, so I know that staying cool is crucial. Hope you are all staying cool and enjoying the summer.

There were several announcements such as Robin Carnahan‘s confirmation by the Senate as Administrator of the General Services Administration Wednesday afternoon and on Tuesday Kiran Ahuja was also confirmed to be the next director of the Office of Personnel Management. The General Services Administration made awards to 426 small businesses in an effort to provide agencies with more emerging technology options, completing the first phase of its $50 billion 8(a) STARS III contract Thursday. Read on for more details and have a great weekend!

Conflicting CIO-SP4 Updates For CTAs, And Now, A Promise to Clarify

Posted on June 24, 2021 by Nicole Pottroff

We finally have NITAAC’s CIO-SP4 solicitation, complete with several amendments and a Q&A. So that means the anticipated offerors have the answers to all of their questions about this long-awaited GWAC procurement, right? Well, no. In fact, for anyone planning to team-up for CIO-SP4, there seems to be more confusion now than ever before.

Five Things You Should Know: Common Misconceptions About SBA’s Affiliation Rules

Posted on June 24, 2021 by Steven Koprince

Avoiding affiliation with other companies can be critical to qualifying as a small business under the SBA’s rules for government contractors. But not all SBA affiliation rules are intuitive, and in my career as a government contracts attorney I have seen the same misconceptions about the affiliation rules come up time and and time again.

So without further ado, here are five common misconceptions about the SBA’s affiliation rules.

GAO: Protestors Must Show Intervening Offerors Would Not be in Line for Award to be Interested Party

Posted on June 22, 2021 by John Holtz

In order to have a bid protest sustained, a protestor must have a reasonable chance of being awarded the contract if the protest succeeded. Often, this just means that the protestor’s own proposal must be acceptable to the awarding agency in the first place. What many contractors do not know, however, is that if intervening offerors would be in line for the award even if the protest was sustained, the protestor will not be considered an interested party by the GAO.