SBA’s 2023 Update: Demonstrating 8(a) Social Disadvantage

SBA recently issued new guidance on how to demonstrate social disadvantage–one of the elements an individual must meet to be eligible for SBA’s illustrious 8(a) Business Development Program. The guidance implements a streamlined social disadvantage narrative format–limiting the number of social disadvantage instances to two and asking only for direct answers to six questions for each instance. The “new” format really just hones in on the elements SBA has always asked for 8(a) social disadvantage narratives to demonstrate, substantively, not changing a thing. Nevertheless, SBA has been quite firm in requiring this new, short and sweet, structured format–so let’s dig into it a bit.

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UPDATE: SBA Opens Certify Portal for Social Disadvantage Narrative Uploads by Current 8(a) Participants Not Pending 8(a) Award

As we have previously written about in several recent 8(a) articles and updates, which can all be found on our 8(a) landing page here, SBA had previously told all 8(a) participants not pending an 8(a) award to “sit tight” and wait for the go-ahead to submit their social disadvantage narratives. Well, according to SBA’s just-released Certify Help Desk Guidance, it appears that go-ahead was just given to all the (justifiably) anxious 8(a) participants out there hoping to confirm their continued 8(a) Program eligibility as soon as possible.

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Podcast: Understanding the 8(a) Lawsuit and Its Impact: Attorney John Holtz Reveals All

John Holtz was recently interviewed by Dr. Kizzy Parks with K. Parks Consulting, Inc. about the current 8(a) Program situation and the pause on applications. Please use this link to access this informative podcast and we invite you to visit YouTube for all of Kizzy Parks podcasts concerning federal government contracting matters.

Back to Basics: SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program

If you’re a small business owner interested in government contracts, you’ve probably heard about the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program. The 8(a) Program itself is complex, and its eligibility rules are some of stricter rules out there; but its potential benefits are tremendous. In this Back to Basics post, I’ll break down some of the very basics about the 8(a) Program. But don’t worry, not only will I follow this post up with another to unpack more of the complexities, I have also included links throughout this post to other posts doing the same.

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SBA’s Approach to Monitoring 8(a) Firms is Focused on Eligibility Rather than Business Development, Says SBA’s OIG

Last week, the SBA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report, entitled “SBA’s Business Development Assistance to 8(a) Program Participants.” The report detailed the OIG’s recent audit of the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program to “determine to what extent SBA measures and monitors an 8(a) firm’s progress toward achieving individual business development goals” and “to ensure 8(a) firms receive the help needed to meet their goals and if the program adapted during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic.” Let’s take a closer look at the details and findings.

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Koprince Law LLC’s New 8(a) Program GovCon Handbook is Live!

Well folks, the wait is finally over! The Second Edition of our popular GovCon Handbook on the SBA’s 8(a) Program is live, and it’s available here. In this revised, updated, and expanded Handbook, Steven Koprince and I give you the run-down on all things 8(a) (and as always, we do so in plain English).

Whether you are considering applying to the 8(a) Program, in the midst of the application process, already years into your 8(a) Program term, or a recent graduate/non-8(a) entity hoping to team with an 8(a) company one of these days–this book is for you. It covers everything under the 8(a) sun, including:

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Coming Next Week: Koprince Law LLC’s New 8(a) Program GovCon Handbook!

The 8(a) Program is tremendously powerful and can be a springboard to massive success in the government contracts marketplace. But the many (many!) rules surrounding the 8(a) Program are complex, and even savvy 8(a) contractors–not to mention first-time applicants–easily can become confused.

I am pleased to announce that next week, Koprince Law LLC will publish a Second Edition of our popular GovCon Handbook on the 8(a) Program. In this revised, updated and expanded Handbook, my colleague Nicole Pottroff and I will cover the 8(a) Program’s rules in detail, including:

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