One of the perks of being certified in any of the SBA’s small business socioeconomic contracting programs is the fact that there is potential for a sole source award. What is a sole source award? Well, it’s a non-competitive award used when there is no expectation that two or more offerors will submit proposals, or using a dollar cap in the 8(a) program. (In this post we’re not talking about other exceptions to competition, such as only one responsible source). We most frequently see them used for contracts made to participants in the 8(a) Small Business Development Program, but the other programs (WOSB, SDVOSB, and HUBZone) have the ability to make sole source awards as well. So, let’s take a look and see what the FAR and SBA rules have to say about sole source awards in each of these programs.
Continue readingTag Archives: WOSB sole source
Back to Basics: WOSB Eligibility
To level the playing field for women business owners, the Federal Government limits competition for certain contracts to businesses participating in SBA’s Women-Owned Small Business (“WOSB”) Federal Contracting Program. Ideally, those contracts are for specific industries where WOSBs are historically underrepresented. And in fact, the Government even has certain WOSB contracting goals to encourage such set-asides. So, its easy to see why the WOSB Program can be a great opportunity for small businesses to get a leg up in the federal contracting world. But don’t let the name fool you, it takes more than just woman-ownership to get in–and stay in. Let’s take a closer look at SBA’s requirements for becoming certified under the WOSB Program.
Continue readingHouse-Passed 2022 NDAA Raises Sole Source Thresholds for 8(a), SDVOSB, HUBZone, and WOSB/EDWOSB Contracts
The sole source thresholds for the major socioeconomic preference programs would increase significantly under the House-passed version of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.
The House version of the 2022 NDAA includes an amendment that would raise the sole source caps for contracts awarded to qualified 8(a) Program participants, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, HUBZone Program participants, and woman-owned small businesses (as well as the economically disadvantaged subcagetory of WOSBs).
Continue readingNewsflash: The Final Rule Implementing SBA Certification for WOSBs Is Here!
Update 5/14/2020: Since this post was originally published, SBA’s website has clarified when SBA Certification will be available and when Self-Certification will end. The post has been updated to reflect this information.
On Monday, the Small Business Administration will publish a Final Rule updating the certification methods for businesses applying for and participating in the Women-Owned Small Business program. The new Rule will also impose new thresholds for demonstrating economic disadvantage, impacting applicants not only for the WOSB program, but also the 8(a) Business Development program.
Continue readingThe Basics: Socioeconomic Sole Source Awards
Just last week during a Govology webinar on Women-Owned Small Businesses, one of the attendees asked an insightful question about the different standards for giving sole source awards to participants in various government programs. She wanted to know the difference between how contracting officers go about offering an 8(a) sole source award and a WOSB sole source award.
So, let’s take a look, shall we?
Continue readingThis Just In! SBA Provides Updates on WOSB Certification Changes
Last May, we reported on proposed changes to the SBA’s Women Owned Small Business Program Certification Process. Now, the SBA’s website includes updated information about what those changes may mean for existing and new WOSBs.
Continue readingThe Mysterious Case of the Missing SBA Women-Owned Small Business Certification Program
On December 19, 2014, then-President Obama signed the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act into law. The 2015 NDAA eliminated the statutory basis for federal agencies to award women-owned small business set-aside contracts to self-certified companies. In essence, then, the 2015 NDAA effectively eliminated WOSB self-certification.
Flash forward almost four years, and the SBA has not yet implemented a WOSB certification program. In fact, the SBA hasn’t even proposed rules to implement such a program. Instead, although the SBA continues to license a few third-party certifiers, the SBA also continues to say that WOSBs “can self-certify directly at certify.sba.gov by answering questions and uploading documents.”
So where the heck is the mysteriously missing SBA WOSB certification program? And is it even legal for the SBA to continue allowing WOSB self-certification?