Recently SBA has updated its rules and regulations pertaining to WOSB joint venture, which has brought a plethora of new updates in the federal procurement process. As per the new regulations, all WOSB ventures are expected to upgrade their joint venture agreements, so that no glitches crop up in the long run.
Following is a look at how a WOSB joint venture is likely to work in the following scenarios.
Small Business Parity
Equal footing was guaranteed in every type of federal procurement program, by offering certifications for 8a firms, Women-Owned, Service Disabled Veteran-Owned and HUBZone. This means that the contracting officer now has the ability to choose the small business type for set-aside opportunities as opposed to being required to focus on just only one type, such as HUBZone.
WOSB Joint venture is definitely at advantage of this situation by answering every Sources Sought Notice or Request for Information (RFI) where their products or services are required. The federal government uses RFIs as market research to evaluate if any business can deliver a task on time. For instance, if two businesses are WOSB certified, the contracting officer may then issue the opportunity as set-aside. Again if one business is 8(a) and another who is woman-owned, the set-aside may be for "small business".
Increased Dollar Thresholds
In the past, contracts of certain rates were set-aside exclusively for small business, with a few exceptions. This threshold was later increased for small businesses.
The exceptions to this new limit would be sales made on GSA Schedules or task orders on other contract vehicles such as Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) or Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts.
Savvy small business contractors will take time to contact all current contracting officers for whom they have worked and educate them about the increase in the threshold and ask for any upcoming opportunities that may fall within the new thresholds.
Women's Procurement Program
The SBA announced the publication of a final rule, called the 8(m) Program, to implement the federal procurement program for women-owned small businesses (WOSB) that has been over ten years in the making. WOSB joint venture is aimed for economic-disadvantaged-based program in which eighty-three industries have been identified where WOSBs are underrepresented among federal contractors. Thirty-eight of which the SBA has deemed WOSBs to be "substantially underrepresented." The 8(m) program seeks to open up more opportunities for WOSBs working in these 83 industries.
Bundling Limits
Recent legislation now states that no Federal agency acquisition plan can include consolidation of contract requirements (bundling of contracts) worth more than just $2 million unless consolidation is necessary and justified. WOSB Joint venture also comes under this category There is now an across-the-board policy on bundling: Agencies will be required to solicit bids from small business joint ventures and teams on solicitations above the bundling threshold.
This means that there will be many more contracts of smaller sizes up for competitive or even sole-source bids. While this is very good for small business, it will make the contracting officers' lives difficult and demanding.
Final Takeaway
The businesses who will be most successful in this market will have all of the necessary certifications, contract vehicles and full preparation with regards to the needs of the market, not to mention strong relationships built with the decision-makers.
These legislative updates can bring significant changes to the federal procurement market and either help or hurt business including WOSB joint venture. The more knowledgeable and better prepared you are, the greater the chance is that your business will benefit, increase revenues, employ more people and help rebuild our economy.
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