After describing the importance of taking advantage of networking opportunities in the Federal space, and Federal efforts to enhance small business contracting, EZGovOpps is excited to discuss the 2-day SMART PROC 2017 procurement conference in Frederick, MD. From November 30th to December 1st, 2017, small businesses will have the opportunity to connect with industry leaders and procurement officials who will offer valuable insight into a wide range of contracting topics and specialties. For the 15th iteration of the annual conference, SMART...

UPDATE: While MICC continues to work on the new ARPT opportunity, the original incumbent has been awarded a bridge contract for continued services. TrueTandem, LLC was awarded a 6-month task order on December 27th through its GSA Schedule contract for a currently unspecified amount, according to the released Limited-Source Justification. U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC) in Fort Sam Houston is planning a contract for full-scope services for the Army Reserve Portal Tool (ARPT) in support of the U.S....

The Federal government has continued efforts to provide contracting dollars for certified small businesses. With new rules and set-asides in place, and the final procurement numbers from FY16 published by the SBA, EZGovOpps can report on some of the successes and failures of Federal agencies in meeting their small business goals. Overall, the SBA graded Federal government small business efforts in FY16 with an “A,” with some real success evident in certain areas of procurement.  Small disadvantaged businesses, for example,...

After the election, EZGovOpps made predictions on how the FY18 budget would look in terms of contracting and how Linda McMahon would affect the SBA as it’s administrator, the damage that EPA cuts could do to small business. Our analysts have also made important guides on Federal programs supporting the success of set-aside contracts for Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) and Women-Owned Small Businesses. Now, with the release of the President’s “Budget Blueprint,” EZGovOpps will take a look at the potential...

Improvements in WOSB contracting In light of some of the recent success of Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs) in the federal contracting space, EZGovOpps has decided to take another look at other successes, opportunities, and challenges that lie ahead for WOSBs. Using data compiled by the EZGovOpps platform and federal sources, our analysts were able to put together a comprehensive picture of how far WOSBs have progressed in government procurement, and where there is room to grow. The big milestone for...

Government contracting is a business with great rewards… and great confusion. The government is unlike any other customer. Its rules, laid out in the Federal Acquisition Regulation, or FAR (sometimes called the contractor’s Bible) cover a whopping 1,925 pages. Its needs are opaque, complex, and sometimes classified. Gathering intelligence on potential bids can leave you either digging fruitlessly for information or drowning in endless solicitation appendices. Between contract hunting, bidding and compliance, there’s not a lot of time for a...

Final Ruling In June 2016, the Small Business Administration (SBA) made a final ruling on provisions first set out in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2013. In the ruling, the SBA made an important decision on the limitations of subcontracting in small business set-aside contracts. Starting June 30th, 2016, any subcontracting by a prime small business contractor to a “similarly situated entity,” a small business which meets the same standards, will not be limited by subcontracting work requirement...

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) co-founder Linda McMahon will head the Small Business Administration, President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team announced Wednesday. In a statement, Trump hailed her as “one of the country’s top female executives.” The wrestling magnate ran twice for the Senate in 2010 and 2012. Without more time in public office, McMahon’s positions on things like small business setasides are still somewhat unknown. Small women-owned government contractors, who are especially affected by the SBA, will have a lot of...

Diving into the Chief Information Officer – Solutions and Partners 3 Small Business (CIO-SP3 SB) Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) UPDATE: To read our coverage of the new CIO-SP3 SB awards, click here.  Most government contractors focus their efforts on GSA schedules or FedBizOpps solicitations. These common solutions, however, do not cover the entire contracting spectrum – you can find separate, more specialized acquisition vehicles through different agencies. One such specialized federal procurement Executive Agent is NITAAC, which runs the GWAC CIO-SP3 SB....

Conventional wisdom says that leveraging set-asides is a 4th quarter game: anyone who relies on set-asides for contracting opportunities knows that they don’t really ramp up until the end of the fiscal year, when agencies start worrying about meeting annual set-aside goals. 2nd Quarter set-asides aren’t on most businesses’ radar. But a slow quarter can be a gift. While other set-aside eligible businesses might sit back and relax for a few months, you’ll know better: There are over $2 billion...