Tag Archives: WOSB

WOSB Program Changes: My “Game Changers” Podcast

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The woman-owned small business program is in the midst of major changes: from the addition of sole source authority, to lingering questions about what the heck the SBA’s plan is to address the elimination of WOSB self-certification.

I recently joined host “Game Changers” podcast host Michael LeJune of Federal Access for an in-depth discussion of recent WOSB program changes, and where the WOSB program goes from here.  Click here to listen to the podcast, and visit the Game Changers SoundCloud page for more great discussions with government contracting thought leaders.

GovConVoices: Women-Owned Small Businesses Still Underrepresented On Government’s Biggest Contracts

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Taken as a whole, the Government-wide performance metrics for small business utilization are encouraging.

The Small Business Administration’s FY2015 report card shows that the Government exceeded its prime contracting goals across four of the five socioeconomic categories measured. Moreover, the amount of federal spend going to small businesses reached an all-time high of over 25%.

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SmallGovCon Week In Review: October 31-November 4, 2016

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Wow!  After 108 years, my Chicago Cubs are the World Series champions!  I was in Minneapolis for this year’s National Veterans Small Business Engagement (which was an amazing event), and split my Game 7 viewing between the hotel bar and my room.  I wish I could have been at Wrigley Field, and I wish that my grandfather (who really started the family on the whole Cubs thing) could have been alive to see it.  But I am sure somewhere he is smiling along with all the other Cubs fans who couldn’t see this moment.

While my week consisted mostly of convention halls and Cubs, there was no shortage of news in the world of government contracting.  In this week’s SmallGovCon Week In Review, a company was able to continue contracting with the VA even after it was indicted and convicted of fraud, a new report indicates that WOSBs are still being shut out of opportunities to earn major government contracts, a look ahead to the election and what changes may lie for federal contractors, a contractor gave a high-ranking government official free living space–and didn’t violate the ethics rules–and much more.

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SmallGovCon Week In Review: July 5-8, 2016

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Welcome back after a hopefully enjoyable long 4th of July weekend! Although this week is a shortened one, there was no shortage of government contracting news floating around the county.

This week’s SmallGovCon Week In Review looks at the number of suspensions and debarments of government contractors, a proposed penalty for Pentagon contractors trying to game the system, a case of procurement fraud and much more.

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SBA Doubles Down On WOSB Self-Certification With New Website

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The SBA has launched a new WOSB portal to help women-owned businesses better manage the WOSB self-certification process–even though Congress eliminated the statutory authority for self-certification more than a year ago.

The SBA apparently was caught off guard by Congress’s action, but I don’t understand why the SBA is spending time and resources to improve a prohibited self-certification mechanism.  While the SBA continues to state that WOSB self-certification remains valid indefinitely, the SBA has yet to answer what should be a simple question: what the heck is the legal justification for continuing to promote a self-certification mechanism that Congress has explicitly eliminated?

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SmallGovCon Week In Review: March 21-25, 2016

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As a Duke alum living in Kansas, March Madness is particularly exciting for me.  Last night, my defending champion Blue Devils got bounced from the tourney, but KU’s journey continues to the Elite Eight.  The win was especially sweet for me because it came against Maryland–a team whose fans (back when the Terps were in the ACC) kept insisting that Duke was their arch-rival.  I lost count of how many times I had to remind a Maryland fan that Duke already has an arch-rival.

While I await Saturday’s basketball excitement, it’s time for our weekly roundup of what’s new in the world of government contracts.  In this week’s SmallGovCon Week In Review, the Navy has been rocked by a bribery scheme, the DoD enlists a supercomputer to untangle its procurement system, some insightful commentary on recent changes to the WOSB program, and much more.

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SmallGovCon Week In Review: March 14-18, 2016

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With much of the country on spring break this week, it has allowed us to slow down a little bit to enjoy the weather and more importantly spend some time working on our March Madness picks. (That Little Rock win was amazing, but blew up my brackets).

So while I no longer have to worry about a perfect bracket, I do have to make sure that the weekend doesn’t arrive without a dose of SmallGovCon Week In Review. This installment looks at alleged procurement fraud in upstate New York, a deeper look at why it took the SBA so long to reach its WOSB contracting goals, a new online database that was launched to help small business gain federal contracts, and much more.

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