HUBZone | The Contracting Education Academy

September 1, 2020 By cs

GSA imagines new small business GWAC

The General Services Administration gave the public a look at its next step in developing the agency’s new small business governmentwide contracting (GWAC) vehicle that will eventually replace the canceled Alliant 2 Small Business contract.

The new vehicle will emphasize Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) and woman-owned small business set-asides, streamlined pricing and contract submission processes, as well as a source for emerging artificial intelligence, machine learning, as-a-service offerings, cloud and edge computing technologies, as well as cybersecurity technology, according to GSA officials.

In an Aug. 27 webcast, GSA small business and IT category officials gave a loose outline of how they see the agency’s next-generation small business contract will develop in the coming months. They asked for industry input on how to maximize technologies, processes and ease-of-use for the new GWAC.

The agency anticipates issuing a draft solicitation “by the end of the year,” said Lee Tittle, program lead for small business GWACs in GSA’s Office of IT Category (OITC). To accommodate industry input and disseminate information on the effort, GSA opened a new category on its Interact online community.

Keep reading this article at: https://fcw.com/articles/2020/08/27/rockwell-gsa-new-gwac-smal-biz.aspx

December 23, 2019 By cs

SBA ‘beats the odds’ by finalizing several major contracting regulations

In November 2018, Federal News Network and procurement expert Larry Allen set some odds about whether certain acquisition regulations would be completed sometime in 2019.

For the most part, the odds makers were not optimistic, given the fact that during 2017 and 2018, the number of FAR rules that were either proposed or finalized were scarce.

So here we are a year later, and it’s nice to be able to report that the Small Business Administration, at least, may just have beaten the odds on several important procurement provisions.

Over the last few weeks, SBA finalized rules to improve the HUBZone program, to change the way the government calculates small business sizes based on earnings and a half dozen other rules that have been in the works since the 2015.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2019/12/sba-beats-the-odds-by-finalizing-several-major-contracting-regulations/

November 12, 2019 By cs

Academy provides customized instruction on small business certification to national association

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech provided four hours of intensive instruction to a group of 90 counselors on the topic of “Teaching Your Clients How To Obtain a Small Business Certification.”

APTAC 2019 Workshop — Representatives of PTACs across the country attended the certification workshop.

The workshop, held in Washington, DC on Nov. 10th, was conducted as a part of the semi-annual national training conference held by the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC). Members of APTAC work for procurement technical assistance centers (PTACs) across the country. PTACs provide assistance to businesses — primarily small businesses — who wish to compete for government contracts.

Guest instructor and small business expert Steven J. Koprince conducted the workshop on behalf of the Academy. He is the founder and former managing partner of Koprince Law LLC. Earlier this year, he retired from active practice of law, but he continues to be involved in government contracting as a teacher and writer. Koprince has served as an instructor for The Academy on previous engagements with APTAC and with the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA).

**Training materials included a certification handbook and a flash drive containing resources such as customizable training presentations.**

The Academy’s program manager Alexis Kirksey provided an orientation to the workshop’s training resources. Each attendee received a 100-page instruction manual on four different types of small business certifications, including fact sheets on each program, and a flash drive containing customizable PowerPoint presentations and dozens of other resource materials which PTAC counselors may use to counsel and train their clients.

The workshop’s objectives were:

Learning the eligibility requirements for each small business category.
Gaining insights into the preparation process for making a certification application.
Identifying each of the steps of the application process.
Learning how a small business can leverage certification in the federal marketplace.

The workshop provided an explanation of small business size standards, and then launched into a detailed examination of the 8(a) Business Development Program; the HUBZone Program; the Veteran-Owned and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Programs; and the Woman-Owned and Economically-Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business Programs.

Workshop participants learned about important concepts applied by the federal government in the certification process such as unconditional ownership and direct ownership. In order to be eligible for certification, the owners must be in charge of such activities as strategic policy-setting, day-to-day management, and overall administrative responsibility for business operations.

**Workshop attendees listen carefully to instruction provided by Steven J. Koprince.**

The significance of what is known as “affiliation” was also a topic of the workshop. Affiliation exists when one business controls or has the power to control another, or when a third party controls or has the power to control both businesses. Control may arise through ownership, management, or other relationships. If another business controls a certification applicant’s business, this may be a disqualifier for small business certification.

Attendees also learned about all of the documentation requirements associated with each type of small business certification. In addition, the workshop addressed what is called the “presumption-of-loss” rule, which provides that if a business misrepresents its small business size or status, there is a presumption of loss to the government equal to the entire value of any contract or subcontract received as a result of the misrepresentation.

Multiple paths exist for submitting certification applications. Workshop participants learned about self-certification within the System for Award Management, certification through the Small Business Administration’s on-line portals, and certification through the Veterans Administration.

The workshop concluded with advice PTAC counselors can give to their clients about following-up on their certification applications and how to leverage their small business certifications once granted. Tips included the need to research both federal spending and contract forecasts, the importance of responding to Requests for Information, and the roles played by Procurement Center Representatives, Small Business Officers, and Small Business Liaison Officers. Also discussed was the use of certification branding, teaming and joint venturing, how to keep certifications updated, and participation in outreach events.

The Academy is available to conduct this and other customized training workshops on any topic associated with government contracting. Contact us by email at info@ContractingAcademy.gatech.edu for further information.

December 31, 2018 By AMK

Manufacturer agrees to pay $400,000 to settle False Claims Act violations

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has announced that Arvco Container Corporation of Kalamazoo, MI has agreed to pay $400,000 to settle False Claims Act allegations in connection with a contract with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) in New Cumberland, PA.

Arvco Container Corporation (Arvco) violated subcontract limitations imposed by federal regulations and the terms of a contract to provide corrugated boxes to the federal government from August 3, 2010 through August 3, 2014. The contract was awarded by the DLA to Fibre Technologies LLC (Fibre) located in Reading, PA.

The contract was set-aside for eligible HUBZone small businesses in accordance with program requirements administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Federal regulations and the terms of the contract limited Fibre’s ability to subcontract the manufacturing of the boxes to no more than 50 percent. Arvco performed 100 percent of the manufacturing requirement.

Arvco’s gross profits for the performance of the contract total $246,682 which will be returned to DLA. Arvco also agreed to pay a civil penalty amount of $153,318.

Limitations on subcontracting provisions in federal contracts are designed to ensure that otherwise ineligible businesses do not use small or disadvantaged businesses merely as vehicles to access set-aside contracts.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the SBA’s Office of Inspector General, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

Readers are reminded that the claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/michigan-corrugated-manufacturer-agrees-pay-400000-settle-false-claims-act-violations

October 30, 2015 By AMK

SBA watchdog warns of IT security risks, poor data in contracting goals

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has made solid headway in addressing most of its 10 major management and performance challenges, but took a step backward on information technology security, its inspector general reported.

SBA also falls short in verifying data and toughening enforcement to curb the number of large companies that improperly win contracts intended for small businesses, according to a report and score card released Oct. 15.

Noting that recent governmentwide security breaches have “heightened the importance of continuously monitoring networks and software applications,” the IG and an external auditor identified IT security “weaknesses when on-boarding and separating SBA personnel,” the report said. The agency lost ground over the past year in implementing such recommendations as reporting IT security weaknesses, segregating duty controls and assuring that “access controls are in place and operating effectively, and contractors are not granted system access until they have obtained the required background investigations and/or security clearances.”

On the SBA-led governmentwide effort to award 23 percent of all prime contracts to qualified small businesses, the score card provides ammunition to outside critics who argue that too many large firms are siphoning off contract set-asides.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/oversight/2015/10/sba-watchdog-warns-it-security-risks-poor-data-contracting-goals/122919

The General Services Administration gave the public a look at its next step in developing the agency’s new small business governmentwide contracting (GWAC) vehicle that will eventually replace the canceled Alliant 2 Small Business contract.

In November 2018, Federal News Network and procurement expert Larry Allen set some odds about whether certain acquisition regulations would be completed sometime in 2019.

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech provided four hours of intensive instruction to a group of 90 counselors on the topic of “Teaching Your Clients How To Obtain a Small Business Certification.”

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has made solid headway in addressing most of its 10 major management and performance challenges, but took a step backward on information technology security, its inspector general reported.

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