SBA Releases 2011 Small Business Procurement Scorecard–And The News Ain’t Good

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Steven Koprince

The SBA has released its 2011 Small Business Procurement Scorecard, and the news ain’t good. The scorecard indicates that government-wide, just 21.65% of prime contract dollars went to small businesses. The result falls well short of the government-wide 23% goal, and also represents a significant backslide from last year, in which small businesses were awarded 22.66% of contract dollars.

The SBA gives the government a “B” for its overall efforts, but I come from a family of educators, and know that a “B” is not deserved if a student is not making adequate progress. With government-wide small business prime contract spending dipping by more than a full percentage point in the last year, the government is in for some well-deserved criticism.

Proposal Ambiguity Torpedoes Contractor’s Bid

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Steven Koprince

Sometimes, unintentional ambiguities can lead to a few laughs. One website, for instance, reports funny ambiguous newspaper headlines, such as “Kids Make Nutritious Snacks” and “Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant.”

When it comes to bids and proposals, however, ambiguities are no laughing matter. As one contractor discovered in a recent GAO bid protest decision, a procuring agency may reject a contractor’s bid if it contains an ambiguity regarding a material solicitation requirement.

SBA OHA: On SBA Size Rules, We’re The Boss

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Steven Koprince

“You’re not the boss of me now” is the chorus of “Boss of Me,” a catchy tune by They Might Be Giants. But when it comes to the SBA size and affiliation rules, there is a boss: the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals.

Under the SBA size regulations, SBA OHA has the final authority to determine whether a company is small or “other than small” for purposes of a particular procurement. And,as one recent SBA OHA decision demonstrates, if a lower SBA office neglects to follow SBA OHA’s orders, SBA OHA will make sure that the lower office remembers who is the boss.

VA Replaces Annual SDVOSB Re-Verification With Two-Year System

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Steven Koprince

The VA has enacted an interim final rule changing the re-verification requirement for SDVOSBs. Currently, SDVOSBs must be re-verified annually, a process some service-disabled veterans have complained is unnecessary and unduly burdensome.

In the preamble to the rule, the VA writes that although it initially believed annual re-verification would be necessary, “in administering this program since February 2010, VA has concluded that an annual examination is not necessary to adequately maintain the integrity of the program and proposes a 2-year eligibility period.” The VA notes that although formal re-verification will only be required every two years, SDVOSBs must continue to maintain ongoing program eligibility throughout their terms.

The amendment to the VA’s system has been released as an “interim final rule,” meaning that it is effective immediately, but subject to change. Comments on the rule (which I would expect will be overwhelmingly positive) are due by August 27, 2012.

GAO: Agencies Must Consider SDVOSB Set-Asides Before Issuing Small Business Set-Aside RFPs

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Steven Koprince

One day back when I was in fourth grade, my teacher informed our class that Thomas Jefferson had never been a United States president. I marched to the back of the classroom, pulled out the Encyclopedia Britannica, and quickly proved that Mr. Jefferson had, in fact, served in our nation’s highest office, leading to a chorus of laughter among the fourth graders of Winship Elementary. After all, it’s rather amusing to find out that the person in charge got it wrong. (No wonder my teacher never liked me very much after that stunt).

In a recent GAO bid protest decision, both the procuring agency and the SBA initially got it wrong, too, by erroneously relying on outdated regulations to argue that the agency need not consider a SDVOSB set-aside before awarding a small business set-aside contract. Fortunately for SDVOSBs, the GAO set matters straight.

Thank You to The ASBC!

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Steven Koprince

I would like to give a big “thank you” to Guy Timberlake and The American Small Business Coalition for sponsoring an excellent networking and book signing event for The Small-Business Guide to Government Contracts, last night in Tysons Corner, Virginia. Thanks also to Courtney Fairchild and the team at Global Services, Inc. for co-sponsoring the event and Grace Maupin, Morgan Waston, and the wonderful folks at Carr Workplaces for hosting the event in one of their beautiful spaces. And of course, thank you to all who attended and bought the book!

Last night’s event was part of The ASBC’s monthly GovConnections networking series. If you are a small business contractor in the DC metro area, you owe it to yourself to attend one in the near future. For information on GovConnections and other events sponsored by the ASBC, visit the ASBC’s events calendar.

GAO: Agency’s SBIR Phase III Decision Not Protestable

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Steven Koprince

A procuring agency’s decision not to enter into a Small Business Innovation Research program phase III funding agreement cannot be protested to the GAO in most cases, according to a recently-released GAO bid protest decision.

In Complere, Inc., B-406553 (June 25, 2012), NASA awarded Complere SBIR phase I and phase I research contracts. After the phase II contract concluded, Complere submitted an unsolicited phase III proposal, which NASA did not accept–electing instead to do its own research on the topic in-house. Complere filed a GAO bid protest, alleging that NASA had acted improperly.