SmallGovCon Week in Review: November 13-17, 2023

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Happy Friday! Next week is Thanksgiving and we want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your support of SmallGovCon. We always strive to provide helpful content and we appreciate all the wonderful feedback that we have received from our readers. We hope you have a great Thanksgiving and are able to spend some time with friends and family.

This week in federal government contracting news include a plan to fund the government (hear that one before?), AI and its effect on government, and new GSA acquisitions.

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SBA OIG Again Challenges SBA’s Revised Definition of a HUBZone Employee

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The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General isn’t mincing words–OIG thinks that SBA has strayed from Congressional intent with its expansive definition of who qualifies as a HUBZone employee for purposes of satisfying the HUBZone Program’s eligibility requirements. In a recent report, SBA OIG points out that SBA’s broad definition could result in a company becoming HUBZone-eligible even if none of the company’s employees currently live in HUBZones.

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Event: Teaming Agreements & Subcontracts Workshop hosted by The Catalyst Center for Business & Entrepreneurship, November 16, 2023, 3:00-5:00pm CST

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This workshop will focus on teaming agreements and subcontracts which can be essential to winning and successfully performing federal government contracts. Greg Weber and I will explain how to develop, negotiate and administer agreements that are both compliant and effective for both small and large contractors. The presentations will cover both the key rules (such as flow-downs and ostensible subcontractor affiliation) and best practices for agreements that go beyond the bare minimum legal requirements. Please join us! Register here.

SmallGovCon Week in Review, November 6-10, 2023, A Salute to Our Veterans!

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Tomorrow is Veterans Day and SmallGovCon would like to thank our veterans for their service.

Here are some interesting historical facts about Veterans Day. It was on November 11, 1921, an unidentified American soldier killed in the war was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The US Department of Veterans Affairs holds a ceremony each year in Arlington National cemetery, to honor and thank all who served in the US Armed Forces. The first celebration using the term Veterans Day occurred in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1947. You can read more about the history of Veterans Day here.

If you are not a veteran, please reach out and take a moment to thank those veterans in your life. We hope you will consider attending a Veterans Day event in your area to thank them for their service and honor their sacrifice.

And now, this week in federal government contracting news included a new contracting initative, increased use of AI, and cyber security updates.

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Event: Encountering Innovation Conference hosted by Kansas APEX Accelerators, Nov. 13-17, 2023, Johnson County Community College

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Encountering Innovation has quickly become one of the top US Pitch Events for Innovators/Inventors to present and showcase their technology to US Government Tech Scouts for special funding.  Tech Scouts from the Department of Defense, Service Labs, Academia, and most US government agencies prioritize attending this week-long event to listen to pitches, examine poster board displays, discuss government needs, and chat with innovators from 8+ states during lunches and evening networking events. 

Our very own, Nicole Pottroff, will be presenting at this conference on teaming agreements, November 14. Please join her for this informative presentation.

Also, DoD Tech Scouts and Prime Contractors will be looking for innovation and manufacturing capability solutions through intentional matched private pitch sessions. Register and find out more about this conference here.

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SBA OIG Report Shows Improvements in 8(a) and Woman-Owned Small Business Programs

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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.

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