Editor’s note: For more information, check out our updated post on SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program.
In late 2016, the SBA rolled out a fantastic tool to help small business grow in the marketplace.
Here are five things you should know about the SBA All Small Mentor-Protégé Program:
I am back in Lawrence after a great trip to San Diego for the 2017 Department of the Navy Gold Coast Small Business Procurement Event. I gave a session at Gold Coast on the SBA’s new All Small Mentor-Protege Program, and enjoyed speaking with contractors, government representatives, and others on the trade show floor.
Thank you very much to the San Diego chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association for sponsoring this fantastic event and inviting me to speak. Thank you also to the fine folks of the San Diego Contracting Opportunities Center and American Indian Chamber Education Fund PTAC for sharing their booth. And a big thank you to the many contractors who attended the session and asked great questions–so many, in fact, that some people stuck around 30 minutes after the session ended to chat.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of attending Gold Coast, I strongly encourage you to put it on your radar screen for 2018. As for me, I’ll be hitting the road again soon: I will be in Norman, Oklahoma next week for the annual Indian Country Business Summit, one of my favorite procurement events each year. Hope to see you there!
The SBA is considering making changes to improve its socioeconomic programs–particularly the 8(a) and HUBZone Programs.
In a talk yesterday at the 2017 Navy Gold Coast Procurement Conference, Robb Wong, the SBA’s recently-appointed Associate Administrator, Office of Government Contracting and Business Development, discussed some of the big changes the SBA is considering. And to my ears, at least, a lot of what Mr. Wong said makes good sense.
The SBA’s All Small Mentor-Protege Program office has issued its annual evaluation forms for ASMPP participants. The purpose of the reports is to “determine whether the business is eligible to continue to participate in the All Small Business Mentor-Protege Program.”
The annual evaluation process requires participants to complete two forms: a nine-page protege evaluation report, and a separate five-page mentor evaluation addendum.
I am back in Lawrence after a great trip to the Pacific Northwest for the SAME 2017 Small Business Symposium, hosted by the SAME Seattle Post. I gave two talks at the Symposium: the first focused on the legal requirements for joint ventures and prime/subcontractor teaming arrangements, and the second on the SBA’s new All Small Mentor-Protege Program.
A big “thank you” to Julie Erickson for organizing the event and inviting me to speak, and thanks also to Thomas Nichols for his kind introductions at both talks. And of course, thank you to all of the contractors, government officials and clients who attended the sessions and asked such insightful questions.
I’ll be sticking around Kansas for the next several weeks, but that doesn’t mean that I’ll be taking a break from speaking about government contracts. Please join me and the Kansas PTAC for in-depth sessions on the government’s four major socioeconomic programs: 8(a), SDVOSB, HUBZone, and WOSB. These sessions will be held in Wichita and Overland Park; click here for details and to register. Hope to see you there!
The GAO estimates that 27 percent of DoD mentor-protege agreements are deficient.
In a comprehensive new report, the GAO says that many active DoD mentor-protege agreements are missing basic (and necessary) information, like the protege’s primary NAICS code. Also missing, in some cases: the parties’ signatures.
The SBA has published a list of active All Small mentor-protege agreements. The list, which is available on the SBA’s website, is dated April 5, 2017. It’s not clear how often the SBA intends to update the list.
The April 5 list reveals that there are approximately 90 active All Small mentor-protege agreements, covering a wide variety of primary industry classifications. All major socioeconomic categories (small business, 8(a), SDVOSB, HUBZone, EDWOSB and WOSB) are represented.
There’s no reason why mentor-protege pairings should be a secret. Kudos to the SBA for publishing the list, which will be useful to contracting officers and industry alike (as well as those of us who are simply curious by nature).