YouTube Tuesday: Writing Your 8(a) Application’s Social Disadvantage Narrative- What the SBA is Looking For

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Nicole Pottroff

One of the trickiest requirements for admission into the SBA’s 8(a) program is demonstrating social disadvantage. While some groups are presumed socially disadvantaged (as discussed here), social disadvantage can also be demonstrated based on other characteristics not specifically included in the SBA’s regulations. For those characteristics, applicants must submit a “social disadvantage narrative.”

In this video, I provide you the tricks of the trade you’ll need to write a successful narrative:

For assistance drafting your social disadvantage narrative, reach out to us here!

Room for Improvement: GAO Reviews Agency Oversight of Small Business Subcontracting Plans

Posted on July 13, 2020 by SmallGovConContributor

Recently, GAO published a report on small business subcontracting plan compliance, concluding that agency oversight of these plans need improvement.

Week In Review: July 6 – July 10, 2020

Posted on July 10, 2020 by SmallGovConContributor

Congratulations, everyone! We’ve made it through another week. Hopefully your weekend will be full of (socially-distanced) pool parties and barbecues . . . or, at the least, an afternoon couch nap.

Before we log off for the weekend, it’s time for the SmallGovCon Week In Review. In this week’s edition, we’ll touch on CMMC (of course), the Alliant II cancellation, and more.

Have a great weekend!

COVID-19 Lockdown No Excuse for Late Filing, GAO says

Posted on July 9, 2020 by SmallGovConContributor

In a recent bid protest decision, GAO said being under a COVID-19 “Stay at Home Order” was no reason to miss a comments filing deadline.

GAO Rules RFQ Requirement Unreasonably Restricted Competition

Posted on July 8, 2020 by SmallGovConContributor

In recent GAO decision, Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., B-418449 (Comp. Gen. May 18, 2020), GAO reminded the Marine Corps to make sure its RFQ requirements were reasonable—and in line with the underlying contract.

Removing a Price Realism Evaluation is a Material Change, Says GAO

Posted on July 6, 2020 by SmallGovConContributor

Price realism—the evaluation of whether a proposed price is too low—is a method the government may use to evaluate fixed price offers to ensure that offerors are proposing pricing that reflects an understanding of the work required by the solicitation.

Prices that are unrealistically low can result in proposal elimination. This means price realism is an important consideration when preparing a bid. But what if an agency decides after proposal submission that a price realism evaluation will not be performed? In a recent decision, GAO confirmed that offerors must be given the opportunity to revise their proposals.

SmallGovCon Week In Review: June 29 – July 2, 2020

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Shane McCall

Happy Independence Day to all of our SmallGovCon readers! I hope you are able to share some time with family and friends and observe the 4th in a way that means the most to you. Stay healthy and safe.

In this short week, there were still some interesting federal contracting developments. These included debate on National Defense Authorization Act and other congressional initiatives such as the ban on equipment from certain Chinese companies, some challenges for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, and GSA announcing awards for the government e-commerce portal.