March 31: Free SBA Monthly Web Chat to Focus on New Contracting Program for Women-Owned Small Businesses

Are you a woman business owner seeking federal contracts? The U.S. Small Business Administration’s March Web chat will focus on a new Women-Owned Small Business [WOSB] Federal Contract Program aimed at bringing more WOSBs into the federal contracting arena.

From 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 31, Michele Chang [pictured], senior advisor in the SBA's Office of Government Contracting and Business Development, will host the free monthly Web chat, "SBA’s New Federal Contract Program for Women." Chang will answer questions for the full hour.

Participants can join the live Web chat by going online to www.sba.gov, and clicking on the Web chat event under "What’s New." Web chat participants may also post questions before the March 31st chat by visiting http://bit.ly/WebChatWOSB.

Federal contracts can provide women entrepreneurs with the financial oxygen they need in order to take their business to the next level. Celebrate Women’s History Month and visit http://1.usa.gov/ContractsWOSB to get information about the new contract program.

About SBA's Monthly Web Chats
SBA’s Web chat series provides small-business owners with an opportunity to discuss relevant business issues online with experts, industry leaders and successful entrepreneurs. Chat participants have direct, real-time access to the Web chats via questions they submit online in advance, and during the live session.

Participants will gain valuable information on how to participate in the program to gain increased access to government contracting opportunities.

To review archives of past Web chats, visit online at http://1.usa.gov/MonthlyWebChat.

SOURCE: U.S. Small Business Administration
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SBA Releases Final Women-Owned Small Business Rule to Expand Access to Federal Contracting Opportunities

With today's publication of a final rule in the Federal Register, the U.S. Small Business Administration will begin implementation of its women-owned small business [WOSB] contracting program. The agency expects the program to be available for WOSBs in early 2011.

The rule is part of the Obama Administration’s overall commitment to expanding opportunities for small businesses to compete for federal contracts -- in particular, those owned by women, socially and economically disadvantaged persons, and veterans.

This rule identifies 83 industries in which WOSBs are under-represented, or substantially under-represented, in the federal contract marketplace. In addition to opening up more opportunities for WOSBs, the rule is also another tool to help achieve the statutory goal that five percent of federal contracting dollars go to women-owned small businesses.

"Women-owned businesses are one of the fastest-growing sectors of our nation’s economy, and even during the economic downturn of the last few years, have been one of the key job-creation engines in communities across the country," said SBA Administrator Karen Mills [pictured].

"Federal contracts provide critical opportunities for owners of small firms to take their business to the next level and create good-paying jobs," Mills added. "Despite their growth and the fact that women lead some of the strongest and most innovative companies, women-owned firms continue to be under-represented in the federal contracting marketplace. This rule will be a platform for changing that by providing greater opportunities for women-owned small businesses to compete for, and win, federal contracts.”

With the publication today of the final rule, SBA -- in conjunction with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council -- will begin a 120-day implementation of the WOSB contracting program, including building the technology and program infrastructure to support the certification process and ongoing oversight. With implementation expected to take several months, the agency expects that federal agencies’ contracting officers will be able to start making contracts available to WOSBs under the program in early 2011.

The creation of a rule to increase federal contracting opportunities for WOSBs was authorized by Congress in 2000. Since that time, SBA took a number of steps to study and analyze the market -- including looking at participation by women-owned small businesses across all industries.

Various draft rules were made available for public comment in prior years, but shortly after taking office, the Obama Administration drafted a new, comprehensive rule, based on the analysis of the prior studies and on all the questions and comments previously received. The proposed rule was published for public comment on March 2, 2010, for 60 days. SBA received over 1,000 comments during that time.

Some of the components of the Women-Owned Small Business rule include:

* To be eligible, a firm must be 51 percent owned and controlled by one or more women, and primarily managed by one or more women. The women must be U.S. citizens. The firm must be "small" in its primary industry, in accordance with SBA’s size standards for that industry. In order for a WOSB to be deemed "economically disadvantaged," its owners must demonstrate economic disadvantage in accordance with the requirements set forth in the final rule.

* Based upon the analysis in a study commissioned by the SBA from the Kauffman-RAND Institute for Entrepreneurship Public Policy, the final rule identifies 83 industries [identified by "NAICS" codes] in which women-owned small businesses are under-represented or substantially under-represented in federal procurements.

* The SBA has identified eligible industries based upon the combination of both the "share of contracting dollars" analysis, as well as the "share of number of contracts awarded" analysis used in the RAND study. This differs from an earlier proposed version of the rule, which identified only four industries in which women-owned small businesses were under-represented. This earlier version proposed to identify eligible industries based solely on the "share of contracting dollars" analysis used in the RAND study.

* In accordance with the statute, the final rule authorizes a set-aside of federal contracts for WOSBs where the anticipated contract price does not exceed $5 million in the case of manufacturing contracts, and $3 million in the case of other contracts. Contracts with values in excess of these limits are not subject to set-aside under this program.

* The final rule removes the requirement, set forth in a prior proposed version, that each federal agency certify that it had engaged in discrimination against women-owned small businesses in order for the program to apply to contracting by that agency.

* The proposed rule allows women-owned small businesses to self-certify as "WOSBs" or to be certified by third-party certifiers, including government entities and private certification groups.

* The final rule requires WOSBs which self-certify to submit a robust certification verification, to complete the certifications at the federal Online Representation and Certification Application ["ORCA"] Web site, and also to submit a core set of eligibility-related documents to an online "document repository" to be maintained by the SBA. Each agency’s contracting officers will have full access to this repository.

* The SBA intends to engage in a significant number of program examinations to confirm eligibility of individual WOSBs.

* In the event of a contract protest or program review, the SBA has the authority to request substantial additional documentation from the WOSB to establish eligibility.

* SBA intends to pursue vigorously punitive action against ineligible firms that seek to take advantage of this program and, in so doing, to deny its benefits to the intended legitimate WOSBs.

* * *

GoodBiz113's Take: After languishing for eight long years during the Bush Administration, this rule in favor of WOSBs couldn't be more timely. Hats off to Administrator Mills and her team for finally making it happen for women-owned small businesses and our stakeholders.

SOURCE: U.S. Small Business Administration
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SBA Announces Changes to Small Business Procurement Scorecard Format

The U.S. Small Business Administration [SBA] just announced that it is revising the format of the annual Small Business Procurement Scorecard to provide more clarity and transparency on the federal government’s performance in meeting its small-business contracting goals. The revised scorecard will be based on an A through F letter grade system, as opposed to the previous red, yellow and green ratings.

"This revision to the Scorecard will provide greater clarity and transparency on how well each agency is doing in meeting its small-business prime contracting goals," said SBA Administrator Karen Mills [pictured]. "Federal contracts provide critical opportunities for small businesses to grow and create jobs. This revision builds on our ongoing efforts to strengthen the integrity of the overall process for small-business contracting, while also expanding opportunities for small businesses to compete for, and win, federal contracts.”

The revisions will appear when SBA issues its report later this year for federal contracting in fiscal year 2009. Over the past year, SBA has worked collaboratively with contracting and small-business officials to develop the new system. The revised methodology better reflects the unique needs of individual agencies, while maintaining a focus on achieving the statutory small-business contracting goals.

The overall small-business prime contracting goals have been established by Congress to ensure that small businesses get their fair share of federal contracts. The government-wide goal for prime contracts to small businesses is 23 percent of total qualified contract dollars -- with additional goals of five percent for small disadvantaged businesses [SDBs]; five percent for women-owned businesses [WOSBs]; three percent for HUBZone small businesses; and three percent for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses [SDVOSBs].

SBA negotiates individual goals for each agency, while ensuring that, when combined, they meet the overall statutory goals for the federal government. SBA’s small-business procurement goal, for example, is 67.05 percent. While Scorecards will measure subcontracting activity, that information is not factored into the determination of whether the federal government meets the statutory small-business prime contracting goals.

The new Scorecard holistically assesses an agency’s entire small-business procurement performance. An agency’s overall grade will be comprised of three quantitative measures: prime contracts [80 percent], subcontracts [10 percent], and its progress plan for meeting goals [10 percent].

The letter grades for prime contracting and subcontracting will show an A+ for agencies that meet or exceed 120 percent of their goals; an A for those between 100 percent and 119 percent; a B for 90 to 99 percent; a C for 80 to 89 percent; a D for 70 to 79 percent; and an F for less than 70 percent.

In last year’s Scorecard rating performance for the FY 2008 contracting year, small businesses won 21.5 percent of contract dollars, or about $93.3 billion out of a small-business-eligible base of about $434 billion. More than half of all agencies met their individual goals. The small-business-eligible base for FY2009 was about $437 billion.

An example of the new Scorecard format can be accessed at http://bit.ly/NewProcurementScorecard.

About SBA
The U.S. Small Business Administration [SBA] was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small-business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise, and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation.

SBA recognizes that small business is critical to our economic recovery and strength -- to building America's future, and to helping the United States compete in today's global marketplace.

GoodBiz113's Take
Kudos to Administrator Mills and her team for overhauling SBA's Small Business Procurement Scorecard. From all appearances, the new system delivers more meaningful, at-a-glance information, and is infinitely superior to that used by the Bush administration -- which, despite its lip service to small businesses, was far more intent on awarding multibillion-dollar bundled contracts to its corporate buddies [e.g., Halliburton] than in helping small-business owners and entrepreneurs grow the U.S. economy.

Indeed, we've come a long way since Jan. 20, 2009. And things just keep getting better...

SOURCES: Acquisition Central, U.S. Small Business Administration
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SBA Proposes New Women's Procurement Rule; Landrieu Says 'It's a Step in the Right Direction'

The U.S. Small Business Administration today released a proposed rule aimed at expanding federal contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses [WOSBs]. The proposed rule is available for public comment for 60 days.

The proposed rule is part of the Obama administration’s overall commitment to expanding opportunities for small businesses to compete for federal contracts -- in particular, those owned by women, minorities and veterans. This proposed rule identifies 83 industries in which WOSBs are under-represented or substantially under-represented in the federal contracting marketplace. This rule is aimed at providing greater opportunities for WOSBs to compete for federal contracts, while achieving the existing statutory goal that five percent of federal contracting dollars go to women-owned small businesses.

"Women-owned small businesses are one of the fastest-growing segments of our economy, yet they continue to be under-represented when it comes to federal contracting," said SBA Administrator Karen Mills [pictured]. "Across the country, women are leading strong, innovative companies, and we know that securing federal contracts can be the opportunity that helps them take their businesses to the next level, expand their volume, and create good-paying jobs. This proposed rule is a step forward in helping ensure greater access for women-owned small businesses in the federal marketplace.”

The creation of a rule to increase federal contracting opportunities for WOSBs was authorized by Congress in 2000. Since that time, SBA took a number of steps to study and analyze the market, including looking at participation bywomen-owned small businesses across all industries. Various draft rules were made available for public comment in prior years, but the Obama administration chose last year to draft a new, comprehensive rule, based on the analysis of the prior studies and on all the questions and comments previously received.

Some of the components of the proposed Women-Owned Small-Business Rule include:

* To be eligible, a firm must be 51 percent owned and controlled by one or more women, and primarily managed by one or more women. The women mus tbe U.S. citizens. The firm must be "small" in its primary industry, in accordance with SBA’s size standards for that industry. In order for a WOSB to be deemed "economically disadvantaged," its owners must demonstrate economic disadvantage in accordance with the requirements set forth in the proposed rule.

* Based upon the analysis in a study commissioned by the SBA from the Kauffman-RAND Institute for Entrepreneurship Public Policy, the proposed rule identifies 83 industries [identified by NAICS codes] in which women-owned small businesses are under-represented or substantially under-represented.

==> The SBA has identified eligible industries based upon the combination of both the "share of contracting dollars" analysis, as well as the "share of number of contracts awarded" analysis used in the RAND study. This differs from an earlier proposed version of the rule which identified only four industries in which women-owned small businesses were under-represented. This earlier version proposed to identify eligible industries based solely on the "share of contracting dollars" analysis used in the RAND study.

* In accordance with the statute, the proposed rule authorizes a set-aside of federal contracts for WOSBs, where the anticipated contract price does not exceed $5 million in the case of manufacturing contracts, and $3 million in the case of other contracts. Contracts with values in excess of these limits are not subject to set-aside under this program.

* The proposed rule removes the requirement, set forth in a prior proposed version, that each federal agency certify that it had engaged in discrimination against women-owned small businesses in order for the program to apply to contracting by that agency.

* The proposed rule allows women-owned small businesses to self-certify as "WOSBs" or to be certified by third-party certifiers, including government entities and private certification groups.

==> The proposed rule requires WOSBs which self-certify to submit a robust certification at the federal ORCA website, and also to submit a core set of eligibility-related documents to an online "document repository" to be maintained by the SBA. Each agency’s contracting officers will have full access to this repository.

==> The SBA intends to engage in a significant number of program examinations to confirm eligibility of individual WOSBs.

==> In the event of a contract protest or program review, the SBA will be entitled to request substantial additional documentation from the WOSB to establish eligibility.

==> SBA intends vigorously to pursue ineligible firms which seek to take advantage of this program and, in so doing, to deny its benefits to the intended legitimate WOSBs.

Landrieu Comments on Changes to Women-Owned Small-Business Contracting Rule
United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu [D-La.], chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, today made the following comment on the Obama administrations changes to the Women-Owned Small Business [WOSB] Rule:

"The proposed changes to the Women-Owned Small-Business Contracting Rule is a step in the right direction for small businesses looking to compete for, and win, federal contracts, especially those women-owned small businesses," said Sen. Landrieu.

"By law, five percent of all federal contracts should be awarded to women-owned small businesses," Landrieu noted. "This proposed rule specifically targets 83 industries that WOSB’s are under-represented in federal procurement -- up from the four industries that were proposed during the Bush administration. Our goal is to far exceed this requirement, and the new rule clears the way for that to happen. This rule gives WOSBs greater access to federal contracts and allows them to increase their competitiveness in the global economy."

The public may submit comments to this proposed rule up until close of business on May 3, 2010, to http://www.regulations.gov/, where they will be posted. Or, comments may be mailed to Dean Koppel, Assistant Director, Office of Policy and Research, Office of Government Contracting, U.S. Small Business Administration, 409 3rd St. SW, Washington, DC 20416. Please reference RIN 3245-AG06 when submitting comments.

SOURCES: U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, U.S. Small Business Administration
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