Marketing to Achieve a Small Business Set-aside Government Contract

Sculpting a government contracting business opportunity to the point where it becomes a small business set aside procurement.

___________________________________________________________________________

Marketing is one of the greatest challenges for the small business federal government contractor. We have previously discussed the federal government marketing process at the following articles:

Insights to Succeed

Small Business Government Contract Marketing

Customer Relations

Techniques for Product Development

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

Small business set-aside procurements are far more frequent than sole source contract awards.  Agencies must prepare special justifications for sole sourcing.

Small business designations are beneficial to firms who hold them by enhancing the probability of an award through agency restrictions on prime contractor bidding to only those who hold the group designation. Others may bid as subcontractors to the prime but the prime small business contractor must be capable of performing at least 51% of the total effort in terms of work scope, hours and dollars.

In either sole source or set-aside marketing, an agency making the buy must be convinced that sufficient capability exists in a single company or in the small business community to set a contract aside. The agency must be convinced early – before a formal procurement announcement is published on FEDBIZOPPS.

Federal government procurements are classified under the SBA Small Business Size Standards in terms of North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) Code, number of personnel and/or annual sales. To determine whether a firm qualifies for a given bid, note the NAICS for a given solicitation and download the SBA Small Business Size Standards the Box Net “References” Cube in the right margin of this site:

Small Business Federal Government Contracting

Part of the sole source or set aside marketing task is to suggest to the agency the NAICS Code (hence the size standard) for a prospective procurement.

Registering to bid government contacts and establish small business designation may be achieved using guidance in the below articles:

Registering Your Business For Government Contracting

The small business designation is verified by site surveys and bid vetting for each solicitation prior to contract award.

EARLY REQUIREMENT TARGETING IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS IN SET ASIDE MARKETING
Effective set aside marketing reaches the agency decision makers with technical, budget and schedule authority before a synopsis of the requirement is posted on FEDBIZOPPS.

The objective of this form of targeted marketing is to get concurrence from the government to set the program aside for small business to eliminate the prospect of full and open competition involving large business.

• Become known to targeted agency personnel by visiting their program offices and meeting the decision makers.  Bring a capability statement:

Your Capability Statement for Government Contracting

• Present your qualifications openly, objectively and specific to their needs.  You must determine what those needs are through market research, trade magazines, research on what they are buying on FEDBIZOPPS, as well as postings on their web site that are future-program oriented.
• Subscribe to periodicals like "Washington Technology" and other trade magazines.  Observe agency trends and analysis that impact your market segment.  There have been set aside programs marketed by small companies through acquainting agency management and technical personnel with capabilities they were not aware existed in the small business community or fulfillment of needs they in fact did not know they had.
• Pay particular attention to FEDBIZOPPS "Sources Sought" or “Requests for draft RFP Comment”  on programs that have yet to be formally solicited. Obtain an appointment to present your capabilities to the decision makers (not the gate keepers).  Be courteous to contracting officers but understand they are not the individuals who make source selections. Understand that once the requirement is formally published on FEDBIZOPPS the gate closes on informal visits to the customer and the competition begins in the form of proposals by competitors.  It is too late at that point to set the program aside for a sole source or a small business designation if it has not occurred by the publication stage.
• Cultivate teaming relationships with other firms in your industry and look for early opportunities in agencies, not only to prime a program but to bring a team of qualified contractors in lesser roles to fulfill them with you or join a team being led by a more experienced firm:
• Understand the small business start up past performance challenge and work to meet it:

Small Business Government Contract Teaming

Understanding the Past Performance Challenge

• Attend small business outreach events by agencies and prime contractors.  Stay attuned to who is attending and research their needs and requirements.
• Make a point to be present at bidders' conferences for existing solicitations that you may not choose to bid but which may lend insight into the agency needs and prime contractor relationships in the future.

SUMMARY

As a small business becomes known in the federal government contracting community, successful marketing of sole source or group-designated business becomes easier, but it is always a challenge due to the need for taking early action in windows of opportunity.  Find those windows and communicate capabilities to the decision makers and industry team members who can help you.

If you are eligible for any of the designations discussed in this article, make small business set asides or sole source procurement key elements in your marketing plan.

Organization Conflict of Interest (OCI) In Small Business Federal Government Contracting

 

                                       Image: purchasinginsight.com

INTRODUCTION

While planning, marketing, teaming, proposing or performing under federal government programs (particularly service contracts) the small business will encounter the term, "Organizational Conflicts of Interest" or "OCI". The term has been established by the government as part of the process to control procurement integrity.

OCI clauses in solicitations and contracts require that companies certify their organizations and personnel do not have a procurement integrity issue with regard to a pending contract award or disclose what may be deemed an issue and provide mitigating factors to still be considered.

This site has discussed procurement integrity and the law at the following article:

Procurement Integrity and the Law

Meeting OCI requirements involves strategic planning to avoid situations where your company, your management and/or your personnel are placed in potentially compromising positions while government contracting in your industry.

An apparent win can be delayed indefinitely by a competitor protest claiming OCI. Government actions after the fact if an OCI violation is uncovered will be annotated to a contractor's past performance history and in severe cases result in disbarment from government contracting.

This article will define Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI),  discuss situations under which OCI issue are likely to occur and recommend strategic planning and processes to manage the requirement. 

DEFINITION

The term "organizational conflicts of interest" means that a relationship or situation exists whereby an offer or a contractor has past, present, or currently planned interests that either directly or indirectly (through a client, contractual, financial, organizational or other relationship) may relate to the work to be performed under the forthcoming contract and:

 (a) may diminish its capacity to give impartial, technically sound, objective performance

 (b) may result in it having an unfair competitive advantage.

It includes chief executives and directors, to the extent that they will or do become involved in the performance of the contract, and proposed consultants or subcontractors where they may be performing services similar to the services provided by the prime contractor. 

It does not include the normal flow of benefits from the performance of the contract.

EXAMPLES

1. Competing for a management/services contract that might require the contracting company to evaluate its own or its competitors’ products for use by the government

2.  Competing to supply products/services for which you have designed the specifications

3.  Access to other companies’ proprietary information that has not been authorized for use in landing/performing the contract

4.  Access to other companies’ proprietary information obtained by leveraging the contract in question, which might provide an unfair competitive advantage.

The below article in the Washington Post addresses an apparent blatant example of OCI:

OCI Case Sheds Needed Light On Government Contracting

TYPICAL OCI REPRESENTATION AND DISCLOSURE

Below are exampes of typical representation certifications and disclosure statements required by OCI regulations.   For a given procurement either the Representation or the Disclosure is submitted - not both:

OCI REPRESENTATION STATEMENT

I hereby certify (or as a representative of my organization, I hereby certify) that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, no facts exist relevant to any past, present or currently planned interest or activity (financial, contractual, personal, organizational or otherwise) which relate to the proposed work; and bear on whether I have (or the organization has) a possible conflict of interest with respect to (1) being able to render impartial, technically sound, and objective assistance or advice; or (2) being given an unfair**competitive advantage.

Signature: Date:

Name : Organization:

Title :

OCI DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

I hereby certify (or as a representative of my organization, I hereby certify) that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, all relevant facts--concerning past, present or currently planned interests or activities (financial, contractual, organizational or otherwise) which relate to the proposed work and bear on whether I have (or the organization has) a possible conflict of interest with respect to (1) being able to render impartial, technically sound, and objective assistance or advice, or (2) being given and unfair**competitive advantage--are fully disclosed on the attached page(s) and formatted to show:

o For ease of presentation, divide following data into four parts: Organizational,
contractual, financial, other;

o The company, agency, organization in which you have a past, present, or currently planned interest or activity (financial, contractual, organizational, or otherwise);
 
o A brief description of relationship;

o A period of relationship;

o The extent of relationship (e.g., value of financial interest of work; percent of total holdings, total work, etc.).


Signature:


 Date:

** An unfair competitive advantage does not include the normal flow of benefits from the performance of the contract. 

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT FACTORS

When considering the implications of OCI, examine your strategic plan for the following factors:

1.   Examine your market niche and what aspects of it would be subject to OCI as a function of your company role in it or the roles of past and future  personnel and suppliers or prime contractors. 

2.   If you are considering becoming  a SETA contractor determine what portion of the market in your industry will be unavailable to you in that role.  Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) contractors are civilian employees or government contractors who are contracted to assist the government (In some areas of DOD, the acronym SETA refers to "Systems Engineering and Technical Assessment" contractors; also refers to "Systems Engineering and Technical Analysis.")  SETA contractors provide analysis and engineering services in a consulting capacity, working closely with the government's own staff members. SETA contractors provide the flexibility and quick availability of expertise without the expense and commitment of sustaining a government staff long-term.

3.  Bear in mind that non-disclosure agreements and OCI requirements for major programs have long term implications and expiration dates. 

4.  Keep in mind that subcontractor and prime contractor relationships also bear on OCI.  Vet your prospective teaming companies and suppliers carefully with regard to the OCI impact they may have on ventures you undertake and flow the requirement down to them in the early stages of any teaming agreement with them. 

5.  Carefully consider the following guidance from FAR Part 9.505:
 
“Each individual contracting situation should be examined on the basis of its particular facts and the nature of the proposed contract. The exercise of common sense, good judgment, and sound discretion is required in both the decision on whether a significant potential conflict exists and, if it does, the development of an appropriate means for resolving it. The two underlying principles are—
 
(a) Preventing the existence of conflicting roles that might bias a contractor’s judgment; and
 
(b) Preventing unfair competitive advantage. In addition to the other situations described in this sub-part, an unfair competitive advantage exists where a contractor competing for award of any Federal contract possesses — Proprietary information that was obtained from a Government official without proper authorization; or  Source selection information (as defined in 2.101) that is relevant to the contract but is not available to all competitors, and such information as would assist that contractor in obtaining the contract.”

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

If a potential for a conflict of interest is real, it is best to make that fact a principal factor in your bid/no bid decision.

If you feel the risk could be mitigated and an effective OCI management plan could be submitted as part of your proposal to the government then carefully establish how such practical matters as firewalls, OCI certifications and clearances at the individual worker level will be handled.

Keep careful records of all written certifications and commitments in the form of NDA's, Teaming Agreements and OCI Certifications and Disclosures.  Review them on a regular basis for renewal, expiration and in connection with bid/no bid decisions.

Be open and honest in your presentation of the facts to the government.  Your past performance rating will take a major hit if OCI is uncovered after award and you have not made full and open disclosure previously.

NOTE:  Comments at this post have been maintained from previous discussions on this topic at "Small to feds" in the interest of demonstrating the often complex nature of the OCI process.

Marketing A Small Business In The Federal Government Contracting Environment

INTRODUCTION

You have positioned your existing or start-up company for doing business with the federal government. You have registered your enterprise at the System for Award Management to include determination of your North American Industrial Classification (NAICS) Codes, applied for Small Business Set Aside Designations , if applicable, researched your HUB Zone status HUB Zone Information and developed a Capability Statement for marketing purposes.

You are embarking on the utilization of SAMContract Opportunities, the gateway for federal government agencies advertising prospective contracts on the Web. 

Now is the time to think through your marketing strategy and the various venues for contracting with the federal government. This article will discuss these venues and the opportunities they offer your small business.

WHAT TYPE OF SMALL BUSINESS ARE YOU?

A. Commercial Contracting Under FAR Part 12

Are you planning to market an existing commercial product which has been on the market, such as software, hardware, a commodity, a report, a conference, a survey or a study, sell it to meet a government specification or statement of work and bill for the end product when delivered? 

If the answer to this question is "Yes", you may be able to do business under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12, "Commercial Contracting", which is a simplified and fast form of selling to the federal government. 

The vast majority of purchases by the federal government in this category are Firm Fixed Price (FFP) with a product warranty of some type. You may be able to sell under FAR Part 12 if your product meets the definition of commercial items specified by the government.

B. Non-Commercial Contracting

Are you planning to market your services at an hourly rate, sell them by labor categories with professional job descriptions to perform the government statement of work and bill by the hour for labor and at cost for material and travel? 

Or is your product or service a development effort or not readily available to customers in the commercial marketplace. If you fall into this category for either reason it is unlikely you will be contracting under FAR Part 12 and you will be pursuing long term government contracts. 

If the above apply, much of the remainder of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) will apply to you, together with the various contract types other than FFP which are used for efforts where the contractor and the government may share the business risk in development, implementation or production of a new product, system or service.

C. Commercial and Non-Commercial Contracting

You may decide to market under both (A) and (B) above. Some small businesses sell their product commercially, but contract for product implementation and support on a service contract basis.

If you are selling under (A) and (B) or just (B) above you should examine this web site further to obtain sufficient detail to develop your business system in estimating, proposing, accounting and billing the government for contracts not qualifying under FAR Part 12.

YOUR CUSTOMER

Although all requirements in the federal government market emanate from the US Agencies there are several ways for meeting these requirements with a business arrangement that suits your small business.

A. U.S. Government Agency As a Customer

There are many agencies or "Departments" in the Federal Government. Each of these agencies has a statutory obligation to contract from small business for 23% of everything it buys. Contracting officers must file reports annually demonstrating they have fulfilled this requirement. Not fulfilling the requirement can put the agency annual funding in jeopardy. You have a motivated customer in federal government contracting officers and buyers.

As a prime contractor to one of these agencies your small business proposes, negotiates and contracts directly with a federal government contracting officer. You may or may not have subcontractors or suppliers. 

A subcontractor is a teaming partner who agrees to accept a portion of the effort under your prime contract and abide by the prime contract terms and conditions flowed down to him from you. On competitive procurements the business arrangement is usually mutually exclusive on the part of the subcontractor and your company. 

A supplier is a purchased finished vendor or off the shelf retailer who sells you items or components necessary to produce your product but does not accept the flow-down provisions of your prime contract other than the most general terms and conditions such as US Public Law , EEO, Tax Provisions, Warranty and the like. Supplier relationships are not usually mutually exclusive arrangements.

You may be able to fulfill the entire prime contract scope of work or meet the product specification from within your company. However, major government procurements are increasingly geared to teaming arrangements involving a prime and several subcontractors. As the prime on such a procurement you normally have the lead share of the work scope, you have a product critical to the program, you know the customer the best or a combination of these factors. Your subcontractor team members are usually not your direct competitors but are involved in lines of work that complement your business and enable the team to fulfill a scope that is larger than any single member could undertake alone Your direct competition is most likely forming similar teaming arrangements in an attempt to win the larger jobs which can span a number of years in duration and mean good, solid cash flow for all participants.

A General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule is a pre-qualifying way to obtain business directly from all federal government agencies. The GSA performs the service of negotiating with you for multi-year pricing of labor, products and equipment, together with pre-established terms and conditions. Your schedule and terms are posted to the GSA Web Site and all federal agency buyers can expeditiously buy from your schedule. A GSA Schedule is normally set up for 5 years. Achieving and Utilizing a GSA Schedule

The GSA also sponsors and manages major Indefinate Delivery/Indefinate Quantity (IDIQ) procurements such as "Alliant" and "Alliant Small Business" for Information Technology. These contract vehicles pre-position large and small contractors and teams of contractors to accept competitive delivery orders under established terms and conditions and standardized solutions for technological areas in high demand across the federal government. An IDIQ procurement can span a period as long as 10 years.

B. A Government Prime Contractor As A Customer

Government Prime contractors who are large businesses (roughly defined by the SBA and the banking community as having over 500 employees and annual sales in excess of $20M) and who hold federal government contracts have the same requirement as government agencies to buy at least 23% of the supplies and services in support of those contracts from small business.

Large business, under federal procurement law, must prepare and submit annual "Small Business Contracting Plans" for approval by the local Defense Contract Management Area Office (DCMAO) nearest their headquarters. These plans must include auditable statistics regarding the previous 12 month period in terms of contracting to small businesses and the goals forecast for the next year. The federal government can legally terminate a contract in a large business for not meeting small business contracting goals. Approved small business plans must accompany large business contract proposals submitted to federal government agencies. You have a motivated customer in large business subcontract managers, administrators and buyers. A small business who becomes a prime contractor does not have to meet the annual small business contracting plan requirement until it becomes a large business.

In selling to a prime contractor you propose, negotiate and subcontract with a company who holds a contract with a US government agency and in turn flows down its provisions to you. Or you sell under purchase orders on a commercial basis (FAR Part 12) to another company who holds a federal government contract.

C. Selling Via a Joint Venture

There are occasions when two companies wish to combine their respective products or resources and form a separate entity to undertake a contract, usually a prime contract with the federal government. The marketing considerations for such a venture involve impressing the client with the resources being dedicated to the program or addressing government concerns about broadening the technology and assuring redundant capability in the industrial community. A joint venture consists of human and other resources from the participating companies. However, it stands alone as a legal entity. Joint venture agreements are difficult to craft. Protecting proprietary information, together with intellectual property is especially demanding. Dividing the contractual effort and ultimately integrating it into a final product or service is also a challenge. Complicating the scenario is the fact that the US Government reserves the right to approve joint venture agreements before a contract can be issued to the entity. One company usually assumes the lead role in the joint venture. Some joint ventures hire a joint venture administrator who is the only legal entity authorized to sign a binding document on behalf of the two companies once it has been approved by each firm through a joint venture board, with equal representation by both organizations. Administration, accounting and billing at the joint venture level is a third tier of administrative cost which must be born by both companies.

Your customer in the federal market is either the government itself or a prime contractor. You will sell as a prime contractor, as a commercial supplier or as a subcontractor and on occasion you may have the need to establish a joint venture with another firm.

MARKETING AVENUES

A. Small Business Certifications

Your small business designation at your SAM registration places you in the small business set-aside market for 23% of the total goods and services the federal government buys. Within small business, there are additional self-certifications and SBA certifications to which you can apply if you qualify.small business designations 

Self-certification occurs when you respond to government requests for proposals, cite you registration number and state in your proposal certifications and representations that you are a Small Business and whether or not you have set-aside designations.

Procurement contracting officers and prime contractors are responsible for verifying self-certifications. Owners claiming designations must have a major equity share in the business and must be involved in running the business operations.

The SBA certifies Small, Disadvantaged Businesses under their "8(a) Program". The application for this certification is available at the SBA Web Site for businesses who qualify by virtue of minority ownership and minority involvement in running the business operations. The SBA reviews, approves and grants 8(a) Certifications to small minority-owned businesses. Please see the following link:

SBA 8(A) Certification Program

Federal agencies and prime contractors are required to set goals and contract to achieve annual objectives for each of the above certifications within the overall 23% small business contracting mandate required by statute. Procurements are regularly "set-aside" for these designations to achieve government and prime contractor annual objectives. Procurements are also set-aside for small business in general, which includes companies who may not qualify for the additional small business certifications discussed above.

B. Capability Statement

With your small business SAM registration and additional certifications, you are ready to develop your capability statement. This document will be a promotional brochure which on paper and through the electronic media advertises who you are, what your do and why the government or prime contractors should buy from you. Major elements of your capability statement in addition to your small business designation and certifications are as follows:

(1) Company overview

(2) Supplies and services description couched utilizing your marketing ideas and strategy.

(3) Past performance of your enterprise or your personal background and qualifications (experience, education, etc.)

(4) Facilities or capabilities overview (How you perform your service couched in a manner that will appeal to your target market)

(5) Explanation of the positive results the client should expect.

(6) Points of contact and ways to contact you for meetings, placing an order and contracting your services.

Your Capability Statement

Your capability statement can be distributed on paper to your target market as a brochure, emailed as an attachment and linked into related industry web sites or partner web sites to get the word out about your product or service. The capability statement targets contracting officers and prime contractor buyers who are seeking to fulfill their small business buying goals. It is a way to get you in the door and speak to or correspond with the management and technical personnel who are the decision makers in sourcing small business buys.

C. Self-Marketing for SBA 8(a) Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB)'s and Historically Under-Utilized Business (HUB) Zone Contractors

If you qualify for a SDB Certification or can attest that you are located in a HUB Zone, these items can be valuable marketing tools. Presenting your capability statement to a prospective federal customer and meeting the management, technical and procurement decision makers puts you in a position to self market projects. All federal agencies and large business contracting to the federal government have to meet SDB and HUB Zone annual buying objectives. They have processes for competitive procurements. The processes are generally lengthy to comply with regulations governing solicitation on the open market, request for proposals, source selection, negotiation and award.

Under the 8(a) SDB Program and the HUB Zone Program if you can assist a federal agency or large business in identifying a product or service they need and that you are a qualified source to fill that need then the your customer can buy it directly from you and bypass the competitive process entirely. The key to achieving this type of targeted marketing is to contact and/or visit your customer regularly and get in front of the solicitation process. Once a project has gone to the "Sources Sought" or "Solicitation" stage you can still convince the customer to set it aside for 8(a) or HUB Zone firms, but you will be competing with other SDB's or HUB Zone contractors in your NAIC's Code for the business. The "Early Bird Gets the Worm", adage is useful for SDB and HUB Zone organizations. Some buying agencies even permit an 8(a) SDB or HUB Zone Contractor to assist in writing the product or performance specification for a project to expedite the process. Federal agencies and large businesses are motivated to use the non-compete, set-aside features of the 8(a) SDB and HUB Zone Programs. Doing so permits them to meet their small business procurement goals and enables a swift buying action of a product or service for which they may have a critical need. 

D. GSA Schedules and Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contracts

The General Services Administration (GSA) pre-qualifies contractors with a terms and conditions package and negotiated rates for products or services. Your GSA schedule is then posted to the web at:

This site is searchable by all government agencies who want to buy products and services. A GSA schedule allows you to offer a pre-existing contract vehicle with established pricing to any federal government agency or prime contractor. This shortens the procurement process considerably. In some procurements, a GSA Schedule is necessary to qualify for bidding certain jobs. You can read more about applying for a GSA Schedule by going to the General Services Administration Web Site at:  GSA Web Site

Under Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contracts, terms and conditions and labor hour pricing are agreed upon in advance with an agency for a period of time (usually a multi-year arrangement). Many large government agencies contract utilizing IDIQ contract vehicles and often make multiple awards to several companies who then compete for work on a delivery order basis thereafter. 

The GSA also manages large scale IDIQ procurements in high technology areas such as Information Technology (IT).  Individual agencies then compete and procure IT products and services against the standard with established terms and conditions and known pricing. Once qualified, winning in this type of environment is simplified to submitting the best technical solution to a given delivery order with the lowest man-hours or product pricing. It is not uncommon for competitors to offer discounts during the competition.

Under both GSA Schedules and IDIQ Contracts individual delivery orders are negotiated separately regarding the labor hours, material and travel cost necessary to complete a discrete scope of work.

E. Teaming

Because the federal government buys on such a large scale and in many acquisitions chooses to package related technologies or services, it is a necessary part of your marketing plan to consider teaming with other companies. As discussed in paragraphs II. and III., above, large businesses who are in the same line of work as you are have a requirement to subcontract to small businesses under federal government contracts. In addition, large and small companies who are in related or synergistic businesses to yours actively seek partners in the federal government market to permit access to larger packaged procurements.

Attend trade conferences, join trade organizations, get into technical blogs on the web. All large businesses contracting with the government have a small business liaison officer which you can locate at the company web site. Present your capability statement electronically or preferably in person to local large businesses engaged in federal government contracts who may need your services.

Many large businesses are willing to team as a subcontractor to a small business to get access to the small business set-aside market. A large business cannot receive an amount in excess of 50% of the dollar award of a small business set-aside, but many large businesses are willing to subcontract to multiple small businesses on federal government contracts to broaden their business base.

For SDB companies, the "Mentor - Protege' Program is available. This is a federally sponsored program whereby a large business sponsors a smaller business through active teaming and mentoring. Your can learn more about this program at:

Mentor Protege Program

The best way to approach a large business or another synergistic small business is to have a program target as a discussion vehicle. If you find a project for which you need a partner or partners, carefully research the firms you are considering, check their D&B's, see if they have entered their company in the "Interested Parties" frame of the solicitation at The System For Award Management (SAM).

When teaming with another company, most arrangements become mutually exclusive if you are subcontracting to one another and not just supplying off the shelf products. As the business relationship evolves and you begin sharing information a two way Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is usually necessary to protect proprietary information.

As the business relationship matures and the parties agree to become exclusive, a teaming agreement is also necessary. At this point you have agreed upon who will be the eventual prime contractor and who will be the subcontractor. The areas regarding work share and proposal preparation are particularly critical in terms of thorough definition to avoid future misunderstandings among the parties. If and when the prime contract is awarded, the teaming agreement is replaced by a subcontract from the prime party to the subcontracting team member.

F. Small Business Innovative Research Program

Other federally sponsored programs are the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs for high technology small business. These are competitive programs awarding small business fundng in critical high technology areas. Your can learn more about the SBIR/STTR Programs by going to:

SBIR/STTR Program

SUMMARY:

This article has offered a template of avenues for small business federal government contract marketing. You should apply the template to your business plan and explore which avenues suit your enterprise. The federal government contract customer is motivated to buy from you. Your marketing task is to target and find your customer considering the supplies and services you sell. The federal government offers competitive advantages to various types of small business, depending on ownership and size. Federal government contracts offer small purchases and long term contractual arrangements from firm fixed price purchases to cost type and time and material contracts.  The opportunities are there for small business entrepreneurs’ to pursue.

Vital Tips for Project Management in Small Business Federal Government Contracting

Effective small business project management focuses the resources on a plan for contract execution, the schedule, budget and customer requirements baseline and the status of a given effort among other concurrent projects to give visibility into problem solving and management trade offs.

If you are a small enterprise selling off-the-shelf commercial items under FAR Part 12 or marketing commercial products on a GSA schedule, you may be initially challenged by the government contracting venue. With persistence you will establish selling relationships through agencies and prime contractors. Your project management challenge is minimal.

A service contractor faces a far greater challenge in understanding the nature of government contact project management and succeeding at it
.
PLANNING IS KEY

Strategic thinking must be applied to structuring a government service contract project management capability in your company. It must involve long term planning and designing a business system as well as establishing rates and factors to bid new work and control it while interfacing with the customer.

A Framework For Small Business Federal Government Contracting Business Systrems

When one plans in detail to define the product or the service one reduces performance risk

The project management challenge is not to launch significant and costly resources before the specification for the product is sufficiently defined, obviating the need for costly revisions or abandonment, yet knowing when the product definition and plan are suitable for release.
Good project management starts early.

Without a well written Statement of Work (SOW) and associated supplies  and services specifications there is unacceptable risk in the future  contract and is it exceptionally high risk to bid or contract the job. 
Both the contractor and the customer must come to an understanding regarding the scope of effort to be performed. That understanding is conveyed in the Statement of Work (SOW) and confirmed in the specifications referenced therein.  A good SOW should have the following principal attributes:

* Clear identification of the products, services, skills, materials and performance factors required to complete the contract

* A description of the conditions under which the contractor will be required to perform and any related environmental or location factors

* Specific references to product specifications that govern an acceptable product or services performance outcome and delivery  acceptance

* A schedule for the contract that identifies discrete delivery dates for products and specific start and end dates for supporting labor.

* A precise description of customer furnished material or facilities required and when it will be made available to the contractor.

If your customer does not provide the above, offer the document during the comments period, during your proposal or during negotiations that represents a version to which your company will commit. 

Do not let the fact the program is competitive sway you from the facts. Signing off on a poorly written SOW results in a difficult contract to manage, a high probability for disputes during the  contracting period and a poor past performance record you will have to  deal with in the future on other jobs.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT RULES OF THUMB

A secondary and related challenge is managing the baseline for the product or service to avoid scope creep, superfluous bells and whistles and other diversions that risk the basic completion objectives. 

Set a baseline for what can and cannot be achieved for the resources and time that have been committed to the job and present to the client.  Use it as a bench mark for discussion to establish a plan going forward. Then control it using sound baseline management. 

Stay away from "Scope Creep" that can kill a contract, a customer relationship and a past performance record, all of which are important to your business. Stay in front of "Scope Creep" by communicating positively with the customer to control the baseline, keeping cost, schedule and technical performance integrated and synchronous.

Use the below rules of Thumb to control "Scope Creep":

KNOW - The contract value and its ceiling amount

KNOW - The incurred cost to date and commitments

KNOW - The scope of work and whether or not your current efforts are supporting it or some other objectives

KNOW - The estimated cost at completion based on where you are at today

KNOW - Your customer and who among the customer population is prone to direct out of scope effort.

 KNOW - WHEN TO SAY "NO" to "Scope Creep" and say it officially in   writing to the contracting officer specified in your contract.

For baseline management and earned value techniques in achieving the above, please see the articles linked below:

Baseline Management In Small Business Contracting

Earned Value Management Systems

CAREFULLY SELECT YOUR PROJECT MANAGER(S) OR PERFORM THE ROLE YOURSELF

The following are the more esoteric project manager attributes necessary in the government contracting industry:

DEVELOPING the ability to cross organizational lines and make disparate groups or functional organizations work together with only a power of persuasion and a contract.

EVOLVING the art of directing resources without having them as direct reports while keeping home departments and functional bosses happy at the same time.

MANAGING to convince the executives in the company that specific project (s) are the most important in the firm.

LIVING with the prospect that if the project is late, fails or otherwise disappoints the powers that be, replacing the project manager will be the designated corrective action.


GROWING to crave the satisfaction that comes from succeeding at the above challenges and you would not have any other job because no other pursuit makes your day go as fast, grows you skills as sharp and totally occupies your intellect.