It happened again this morning. I was at a government contracts conference (which was great, by the way), and stepped away from my trade show booth for a few minutes.
While I was gone, someone stole one of my display copies of Government Contracts Joint Ventures, our new GovCon Handbook. It’s not the first time a display copy of one of my books has been pilfered at an industry event. Why do people keep stealing my books at government contracts conferences?
The SBA has released its proposed consolidated rule for SDVOSB eligibility, which was published in the Federal Register today. Once the rule becomes final, it will apply government-wide, to both VA and non-VA SDVOSB contracts.
For SDVOSBs, a uniform set of rules is a very good thing. There has been far too much chaos and confusion under the current system, in which the SBA and VA have different SDVOSB eligibility requirements. But how about the substance of the proposal itself? Well, there are certainly some things to like–and some areas that could use improvement.
GAO interprets its bid protest timeliness rules very strictly, as readers of this blog will know. These timeliness rules typically pertain to the initial protest, but are equally important when a protester files a supplemental protest. Often, supplemental protests are filed after the protester receives the agency’s response and comes to learn new information that wasn’t previously available.
If a supplemental protest raises allegations independent of those set forth in the initial protest, the supplemental protest must independently satisfy GAO’s strict timeliness rules. A recent GAO decision shows how easy it can be to slip up on these deadlines when considering a supplemental protest.
In its past performance evaluation, an agency typically can consider the past performance of an offeror’s affiliate, so long as the offeror’s proposal demonstrates that the resources of the affiliate will affect contract performance.
But, as demonstrated in a recent GAO decision involving an Alaska Native Corporation subsidiary, ordinarily there is no requirement that an agency consider an affiliate’s past performance. In other words, unless the solicitation speaks to the issue, the agency’s consideration of an affiliate’s past performance is optional.
Next week, I’m off to Nashville for the National 8(a) 2018 Small Business Conference. If you plan to attend the conference, please swing by the Koprince Law LLC booth to say hello and check out copies of Government Contracts Joint Ventures, our recently-published handbook for contractors. Before I head off to Music City we are here to bring you this edition of SmallGovCon Week In Review.
This week, Washington Technology looks at the effect of the shutdown on contractors (and what may lie ahead if it happens again in February), Lockheed Martin agrees to a $4.4 million False Claims Act settlement, an Ohio woman faces penalties in an apparent SDVOSB “rent-a-vet” scheme, the city of Huntsville, Alabama kicks off a new HUBZone accelerator program, and much more.
Because the NAICS code governs the size standard used to determine whether a company qualifies as a small business, the choice of a NAICS code can dramatically affect the competitive landscape for a set-aside acquisition.
The only legal procedure for challenging the NAICS code assigned by the contracting officer is to appeal the assignment to the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals. A NAICS code appeal can be an extraordinarily powerful tool for a business to challenge whether a contracting officer assigned the correct NAICS code in setting aside a procurement.
So how often are NAICS code appeals filed, and how often do these NAICS code appeals succeed? A recent GAO report has some answers.
GAO bid protests filed by small businesses are (statistically speaking) less likely to succeed than protests filed by large contractors, according to the RAND Corporation’s recent bid protest study.
The disparity isn’t the result of discrimination against small businesses, but rather a product of other factors: primarily, the motivation to protest, the understanding of the protest system, and access to legal counsel. RAND raises an important point, but offers no fair and easy solution. Perhaps, given that protests overall are “exceedingly uncommon,” a solution isn’t needed–but it’s wise to think about whether there are ways to help small businesses become better educated about bid protests.