SmallGovCon Week In Review: January 31-February 4, 2022

Happy February, Readers! We had some excitement this week when a winter snowstorm moved into our neck of the woods. I’m happy to report that all is well and the streets have been cleared by our vigilant city road crews whom we are very grateful for. It sure was a beautiful, snowy site.

Continue reading

SmallGovCon Week in Review: January 10-14, 2022

Greetings, Readers. We hope your 2022 is off to a great start and your new year resolutions haven’t been kicked to the curb, as of yet. We are excited about the Wild Card Playoff game this weekend between our Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s been a wild ride this season but the Chiefs are playing very well and we hope to see them return to another super bowl.

There was a lot of news in federal government contracting, this week and we are excited that our very own, Kevin Wickliffe was quoted in an article about the changes from Indian Health Service that strengthen support for native Americans and Alaskan natives. You can read the full article below as well as other news in federal government contracting.

Have a great weekend and go Chiefs!!!

Continue reading

SmallGovCon Week in Review: November 15-19, 2021

Happy Friday, Readers! Next week is Thanksgiving and we have a lot to be thankful for here at Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC, especially with everyone remaining healthy this year. It’s time to break out the stretchy pants and feast on the traditional turkey and pumpkin pie along with watching a few football games, a parade or two and, if we are lucky, we might just get in a nap, as well.

There was a lot of news in federal government contracting, this week. Here are some articles we found particularly interesting, including updates on cybersecurity (including CMMC), some new GSA GWACs, and a potential Stopgap Spending Bill.

Have a great weekend.

Continue reading

SmallGovCon Week in Review: October 25-29, 2021

Happy Friday and Happy Halloween! As always, there was a lot of news in the federal government contracting world this week including an announcement from the SBA concerning a new community navigator pilot program which will provide $100 million in funding to 51 organizations to help support local community entrepreneurs. Also, the GSA announced it will be making revisions to its commercial platform initiative. You can read more about these and other federal government contracting related topics in the articles below.

Have a great weekend!

Continue reading

Recent Task Force Meeting Underscores Challenges Facing SDVOSB Transfer from VA to SBA

Sometimes, task force meetings are held just for the sake of having meetings. However, on June 2nd and 3rd the Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development (IATF) and Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs (ACVBA) met to discuss important issues facing small businesses. This shed much needed light on the issues fast approaching and what steps the SBA needs to take.

The main topic of discussion was the pending CVE transfer. The transfer, as I soon found out, is deceptively complex. In a separate point, SBA noted that the Biden Administration announced it will use the purchase power of the federal government to make more awards to disadvantaged businesses, raising the target from 5% to 10%.

The star of the show, however, was the CVE transfer. So, what does this mean for you?

Continue reading

GAO: No SBA Certificate of Competency Review Needed for Failure to Adequately Explain Technical Approach

For small businesses, the SBA’s Certificate of Competency process can offer a powerful “second bite at the apple,” essentially allowing a small business to appeal to the SBA if a procuring agency finds the small business non-responsible.

But the SBA CoC process is limited to findings of non-responsibility under FAR Part 9. As GAO recently held, there is no right to appeal to SBA if the proposal was rejected for failing to adequately explain the small business’s technical approach.

Continue reading

Event: SBA Training Webinar on 8(a) Joint Ventures

8(a) joint ventures are a powerful tool–both for non-8(a)s to participate in 8(a) contract opportunities and for 8(a) companies to gain valuable experience in their industries. But it is crucial that 8(a) joint ventures follow all of SBA’s requirements if they want to get (and keep) 8(a) awards.

Some of those requirements underwent significant revisions this past year. Join Shane McCall and me on February 9 for the SBA Training Webinar: 8(a) Joint Ventures, where we will discuss the ins and outs of 8(a) joint ventures and keep you up-to-date on all of SBA’s requirements.

Please register here. Hope to see you there!