Just in time for the holidays, there is good news for WOSBs–sole source contracts are coming!
If you have followed SmallGovCon over the past week, you have seen a few posts about changes made to the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act since the bill was initially passed by the House in May. But one piece of the original House bill has remained intact: the final 2015 NDAA allows WOSBs and EDWOSBs to receive sole source contracts.
With little fanfare, Congress just passed legislation eliminating the ability of WOSBs to self-certify for purposes of WOSB set-aside contracts.
The 2015 National Defense Authorization Act rewrites the portion of the Small Business Act governing WOSB set-asides, deleting what I have called the “trust but verify” option: the ability for putative WOSBs to self-certify as such, then back up their self-certifications by submitting supporting documentation to the WOSB Document Repository. Instead, the 2015 NDAA would appear to require a formal certification in order for a small business to be awarded a WOSB set-aside contract.
Only one percent of women-owned small business contract awards have come from WOSB or EDWOSB set-asides.
This disheartening finding was part of a recent GAO report on WOSB contracting, which finds that WOSB set-asides have had a “minimal effect” on agency awards to WOSBs and attainment of agency WOSB goals. The GAO report offers some insights on program changes that might increase the use of WOSB set-asides, including one major change that may already be in the works.