The Small Business Administration (SBA)’s Office of Hearings & Appeals (OHA) recently reaffirmed that SBA Area Offices are precluded from reviewing the substance of an 8(a) Mentor-Protégé’s Joint Venture Agreement (JVA), once such agreement has been approved by the servicing SBA District Office. OHA further held that, while an Area Office has the discretion to refer any concerns the Area Office…
One of the principal advantages of an approved Mentor/Protégé Agreement (MPA) is that the Mentor and Protégé can enter into a joint venture (JV) that can compete as small for any contract for which the Protégé would be eligible (see, e.g., 13 C.F.R. § 125.109(d)(1)). In turn, one of the principal advantages of a JV - now enshrined in statute and regulation - is that in evaluating experience and…
Hopewell Darneille, of the Firm’s Washington, DC office, will be a presenter at the 10th annual Dynamic Networking for Small Business (DYNET) Conference, a federal and prime contracting event in Fairmont, West Virginia, on April 11, 2019 at the Robert H. Mollohan Research Center.
Mr. Darneille will co-present a Workshop on “Negotiating and Drafting a Compliant and Workable Joint Venture Agreement…
The Small Business Administration (SBA)’s Office of Hearings & Appeals (OHA) recently reiterated that SBA Joint Venture Agreements (JVAs), including those entered into under SBA’s new All-Small Mentor-Protégé Program (ASMPP), must include adequate specific detail as to the respective responsibilities of the parties with regard to, inter alia, performance of the proposed contract, and how the…
Happy New Year! The start of a new year is the time for New Year’s Resolutions. Here are several we strongly urge you to follow-through on early in 2019.
1.Reassess Your (and Any Subcontractors’) Small Business Size Status: Most companies operate on a calendar year for tax reporting purposes. For such companies the start of a new tax year, and the end of the prior year, means a change and…
Reassess Your Size Status, Update Your DSBS and SAM Listings, Check Your Past Performance Ratings, and Update Your Employment Policies, Handbooks and Postings
Happy New Year! The start of a new year is the time for New Year’s Resolutions. Here are several we strongly urge you to follow-through on early in 2018.
1. Reassess Your (and Any Subcontractors’) Small Business Size Status: Most companies…
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has identified a number of problems in DOD’s Pilot Mentor-Protégé Program, including a lack of standard operating procedures that DOD components are required to follow to approve Mentor-Protégé Agreements (MPAs), resulting in many MPAs not including required elements necessary to ensure the Protégé's eligibility and Program compliance. GAO further…
Hopewell Darneille, of the Firm’s Washington, DC office, will be a presenter at the eighth annual Dynamic Networking for Small Business (DYNET) Conference, a federal and prime contracting event in Fairmont, West Virginia, on April 13, 2017 at the Robert H. Mollohan Research Center.
Mr. Darneille will co-present a workshop on “SBA’s NEW Joint Venture Rules,” with Melissa Loder, the principal…
Most contractors know that the consideration of past performance is an integral part of the Government’s approach to proposal evaluation. All too often, however, offerors proceed with teaming agreements and proposal preparation based on assumptions about the specific approach the Government will take – only to learn too late that that assumption was wrong. The recent Government Accountability…
Reassess Your Size Status, Update Your DSBS and SAM Listings, Check Your Past Performance Ratings, and Update Your Employment Policies, Handbooks and Postings
Happy New Year! The start of a new year is a time for New Year’s Resolutions. Here are several we strongly urge you to follow-through on early in 2017.
1. Reassess Your (and Any Subcontractors’) Small Business Size Status: Most companies…
The 8(a) set-aside program of the Small Business Administration (SBA) provides small businesses with contracting opportunities that might otherwise be far beyond their reach. An 8(a) award is ultimately between the agency and the SBA, with the successful offeror acting as a subcontractor to the SBA and performing the contractor. Significantly, the program allows 8(a) entities to combine resources…
As most federal contractors are well aware, significant contracting opportunities are routinely set aside for small businesses, to the exclusion of large businesses. Confusion remains, however, concerning the concept of affiliation -- and how it can impact whether a given company is eligble for small business set-asides. The Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA)…
