WEBVTT

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[music playing]

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>> Teresa Lewis: Good
afternoon everyone.

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My name is Teresa Lewis.
I am the director of the

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Office of Small and Disadvantaged
Business Utilization here

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at the Department of
Health and Human Services.

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In a series in one of a
series of our small-business

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training webinars.

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Today I'm so excited that we
have with us the SBA PCR that

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services the majority of HHS,
Ms. Barbara Weaver.

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Barbara is going to share
with us on what market research

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requirements that
she needs, or SBA needs,

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as she represents them, as
well as any new laws and

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regulations that impact the
Small Business Program.

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So I'm very excited.

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We have changed how you
receive your certificates.

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At the end of this webinar,
if you complete a brief

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survey you will
automatically be given

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access to your certificate,
so you can print those with

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your CLPs on it.

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We heard what
you were saying,

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and we just want to thank
everybody for the previous

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feedback they have provided,
and let you know that we

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truly appreciate
you joining us.

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And let me just now
turn it over to Barbara.

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And you can ask
questions throughout,

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but we will have a Q&A
session at the end of the

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webinar.

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So Barbara, let me
welcome you again.

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Welcome back
to HHS, Barbara.

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>> Barbara Weaver:
[laughs] Good to be here.

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>> Teresa Lewis: Absolutely.

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So I'll just turn
it over to you.

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>> Barbara Weaver: Okay.

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Thank you very much.

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>> Teresa Lewis: All right.

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>> Barbara Weaver: The
last time I was here,

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I was quite the rookie PCR,
I didn't know HHS very well,

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and I was just on a pretty
steep learning curve,

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so a lot had
changed since then,

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and one of the things -- let
me just say -- one of the

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things is that I have such
respect for the work that

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you all do and I know that
we don't always, you know,

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agree immediately on things.

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But overall I know that
your mission is critical.

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I know how important
you are to this country,

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and to the world.

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And I think it's fascinating
work and it's just

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 -- I'm glad to be a part of it.

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So let's just go ahead and
launch into our training for

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the day.

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Some of this will
be repetitive,

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things that we've
talked about before.

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Some of it's new things,
and as Teresa said,

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when you have questions go
ahead and make note of them

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and we'll answer them at
the end of the session.

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So I always like to
start with our mission,

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SBA's mission.

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I do a lot of teaching
back in my home state,

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and one of the things that
I do is I use SBA's mission

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statement as the good
example about how to write

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one when I'm teaching small
businesses how to do that

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for themselves.

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And I love it because it
encompasses such a big

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program and I've always
appreciated that about SBA,

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and I'm in my 14th
year with the agency.

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And I have loved every
single one of those years.

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So let me just go
over that with you.

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"Our mission, at SBA, is to
maintain and strengthen the

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"economy by enabling the
establishment and viability

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"of small businesses."

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And one of the things that
I did recently is I did

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a little research on why
small businesses matter.

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You know, SBA kind of feeds
us great bullets on why

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small business are
important to the nation.

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They're very agile, they're
usually cost effective,

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they are very innovative,
a lot of things like that.

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But one of the things that
I came across was the fact

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that small businesses, in
this current environment,

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are optimistic.

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And, you know, that wasn't
on any of the SBA bullets

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that I've been receiving,
so that optimism manifests

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itself in new hires,
expenditures of capital funds,

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building new markets,
a lot of different things.

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So I consider it kind of
a privilege, if you will,

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to make sure that small
businesses stay optimistic,

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not only at this agency,
but at all the others that

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I work with.

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So as a -- this is just
going to give you a little

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bit of a picture about what
that effort might look like.

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I serve HHS as your procurement
center representative,

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as Teresa told you.

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You have others that also
operate in very distinct areas,

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but I work with
several of the co-axes and

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kind of get a good cross
picture of what's going on here.

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So what I do, as your PCR,
is review procurement

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actions over $150,000, and
what I like to think I do is

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help you make decisions
about whether something

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should be set aside
for small business,

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and any of the
sub-categories of small

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business that you
see on this slide.

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I also, at the conclusion
of your efforts,

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review subcontracting plans
before you incorporate them

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into a contract to make sure
that we're tracking on goals

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and that we really have a
good contractual instrument

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for you to help
manage that contract.

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I do some tasks as
a commercial market

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representative, but that had
been getting to be smaller

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and smaller.

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You have two commercial
market reps that operate in

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this D.C. area, and I'm
really not sure how many are

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across the nation.

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But what they do is monitor
the work of large federal

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prime contractors to make
sure that they are giving

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small businesses good
opportunities as well.

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We also have a one slide
specialist that operates in

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this area.

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He actually is out of the
King of Prussia SBA office.

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He's a great representative.

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He really knows it.

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That's a very complicated
area because of affiliation,

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joint ventures,
mentor-protégé,

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all of those
kinds of things,

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and I'm -- we're very
fortunate to have a good

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sized specialist.

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We have a brand new COC
specialist that has taken

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over some of those
responsibilities,

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and we did some
cross-training last year,

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and I got to do some
-- perform, actually,

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some COCs, so I've gathered
some slides to just kind of

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beef up that section
of the presentation,

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so you'll have a little
bit better handle on that.

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Okay, for today's training,
here's what we're going to

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cover.

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We're going to just kind
of generically look at

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socio-economic programs.

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Market research is going to
-- it's always a big area,

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it still is.

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It's probably
always going to be,

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although I will tell you
that we're seeing some

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great, actually some great
progress in that area.

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Sub-contracting
requirements,

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to try to flush that out
a little bit for you.

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Limitations on
sub-contracting.

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We always talk about that
because agencies are still

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getting their
arms around it,

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and we just want to make
sure that you have got that,

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the COC that we
talked about earlier.

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And then just kind of a
catch-all area that we're

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going to talk about.

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Okay, so starting with
socio-economic programs --

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just, and I'd like
to start here.

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What FAR 19.201 says is that
small businesses should have

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the maximum practicable
opportunities in the primary

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government arena, and that
they should also have it in

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the subcontracting arena.

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Maximum practicable
opportunities.

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So it's our job, I think, as
contracting professionals,

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to figure out
what that means.

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How we can make sure that
small businesses are well

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represented in your
programs and that they are

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progressing, if you will.

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We could look at small
business set asides.

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And as most of you know, we
start with looking at the

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NAICS codes and size and
standards that go along with

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that, and then making
decisions about whether

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something should be a total
set-aside, a partial,

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and you are
familiar with both.

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Usually, we deal
with totals,

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but we have had some partial
small business set-asides

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here.

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And the unilateral or joint
just means if you decide

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yourself within the agency
that something is going to

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be set-aside for
a small business,

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then that is unilateral.

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If you and I work together,
then we're looking at a

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joint set-aside.

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Of course, under
the rule of two,

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what we're looking for is
two or more small businesses

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that are actually
qualified to do the work.

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What FAR 19.502 says, that
the contracting officer will

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set-aside an acquisition
when it's determined to be

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in the interest of
maintaining or mobilizing

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the nation's full
productive capacity,

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and to assure that a fair
proportion of government

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contracts in each industry
go to small businesses.

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Now there's a couple of
steps that we have to take

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before we get to a small
business set-aside.

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And under FAR 19.203, one of
the things that you have to

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do as a contacting
professional is make

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decisions about whether
perhaps something would fit

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better under a HUBZone, an
8(A) service disabled vet,

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or woman-owned
business category.

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Now those are the four
categories that have a

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greater importance,
if you will,

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to the -- in the
set-aside arena,

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before you actually
consider just a generic

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small-business set-aside.

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And the interesting thing is
one doesn't have more power

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than another.

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That's why I like to
depict it on this line.

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They are equal, they are
on parity with each other,

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and you, the
contracting officer,

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have the responsibility
to determine,

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or to select whether
something should be,

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for instance, set-aside
for women-owned small

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businesses.

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And that is going to depend
on the results of the market

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research, and we're going to
talk about that more later.

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Or we're going to talk
about it right now.

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Okay, there's these
three sections of the

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federal-acquisition
regulations that talk about

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the requirements for
market research.

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And I think everybody
has bought into that,

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you understand the
importance of it.

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It really is a base-line
document for making

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decisions about
things like this.

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So as far as I can see,
everybody is doing it.

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You are complying with
all of these shalls.

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You shall conduct
market research.

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It shall be
appropriate, and so on.

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Now the interesting thing
about market research,

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and I have conducted a lot
of sessions in my market

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research, and I've attended
a lot because I wanted to

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get my -- I wanted to deepen
my understanding about what

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this was, and how
we needed to do it.

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And there's actually,
if you think about it,

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there's two different sides
to the market research

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puzzle.

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First of all, there is what
I call the strategic piece,

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and that is kind of innate
in everything you do.

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Those of you who are
supporting research that

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involves the need
for microscopes,

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you already know, who are
the primary microscope

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producers in this country
and around the world.

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So you kind of have a sense,
you know strategically who

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you need to be going
to for something.

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Now, and some of that
is open and shut,

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and over the past year, I've
come to understand how you

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operate here,
and so I get it.

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I get who the best
microscope manufacturers are.

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But then, when it comes to
an instant procurement,

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it's not always that clear.

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Let's say you're looking
for a general services,

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you're looking for I.T.

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services, then the
market expands a bit,

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and you get to look at
a larger universe of

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possibilities.

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So in that case, you're
leaving the strategic arena,

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and you're going to be
focusing on a specific

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procurement action, and
drilling down into some

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market research that's
going to make sense,

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so that the process, or the
whole action for market

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research, becomes this tool
for contracting officers,

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small-business specialists,
and the PCR to determine who

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actually needs to be playing
in this particular arena.

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There also -- and we can't
forget the history on the

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market research requirement.

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It goes back to when we were
becoming a government that

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embraced commercial items,
and so that's really where

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market research started, and
we came to realize over time

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that the small business part
of it was something we could

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add onto that, and it would
actually make the whole

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process make better sense.

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And we also use it for
making decisions about

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bundling and consolidation.

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It is important to making
sure that small businesses

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can participate in
the federal market,

00:14:22.795 --> 00:14:24.730
and the time to do
market research,

00:14:24.730 --> 00:14:28.000
for strategic research
you're doing on an ongoing,

00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:32.238
progressive basis, but the
specific market research is

00:14:32.238 --> 00:14:35.774
done before or as you're
developing new contract

00:14:35.774 --> 00:14:38.811
requirements, so
it's very timely.

00:14:38.811 --> 00:14:42.481
It's impossible to put this
kind of information up on a

00:14:42.481 --> 00:14:47.486
shelf, and keep using
it over and over.

00:14:47.486 --> 00:14:50.990
And we kind of use a
12-month limitation on

00:14:50.990 --> 00:14:55.594
information, and even then,
with the way the markets are

00:14:55.594 --> 00:14:59.965
going, I like to see some
freshening up of kind of old

00:14:59.965 --> 00:15:09.975
market research that
you might be reusing.

00:15:09.975 --> 00:15:15.247
Market research supports
the acquisition planning.

00:15:15.247 --> 00:15:19.451
One of the things that I do
think you do a good job on

00:15:19.451 --> 00:15:22.254
here is the
acquisition planning.

00:15:22.254 --> 00:15:25.090
Many of you go
into great detail,

00:15:25.090 --> 00:15:26.692
and that information
helps me,

00:15:26.692 --> 00:15:30.195
especially if I'm on the
fence about something.

00:15:30.195 --> 00:15:34.066
And not just looking
at market research and

00:15:34.066 --> 00:15:35.701
justifications, but I'm
going back actually to the

00:15:35.701 --> 00:15:39.538
acquisition plan and trying
to figure out, you know,

00:15:39.538 --> 00:15:41.240
what the whole
picture looks like.

00:15:41.240 --> 00:15:43.509
And these are some of the
things that you address in

00:15:43.509 --> 00:15:44.209
there.

00:15:44.209 --> 00:15:46.178
And you have a great
format here for that,

00:15:46.178 --> 00:15:49.948
so that's a valuable
instrument for me.

00:15:49.948 --> 00:15:52.351
Now one of the things
that I sometimes wish,

00:15:52.351 --> 00:15:57.956
in a perfect world, I
sometimes wish that market

00:15:57.956 --> 00:16:00.859
research could
just be, you know,

00:16:00.859 --> 00:16:04.396
would just exist in this
wonderful little one

00:16:04.396 --> 00:16:07.733
comprehensive document, and
it would say everything.

00:16:07.733 --> 00:16:10.002
And some of you will
actually have taken it to

00:16:10.002 --> 00:16:11.470
the point where
that's happening.

00:16:11.470 --> 00:16:15.107
You -- in fact most
of you, not everybody,

00:16:15.107 --> 00:16:18.644
but I know we're going to
keep on working on that,

00:16:18.644 --> 00:16:22.147
and actually, the reason
that I like to see one

00:16:22.147 --> 00:16:25.651
comprehensive document is I
can conduct reviews faster,

00:16:25.651 --> 00:16:28.954
and I'm doing about
1,000 reviews a year,

00:16:28.954 --> 00:16:33.726
so speed and accuracy
are very important.

00:16:33.726 --> 00:16:37.329
So the more, the clearer you
can make that information

00:16:37.329 --> 00:16:39.665
for me, the
faster I can move,

00:16:39.665 --> 00:16:41.633
the faster you can get
things on the street,

00:16:41.633 --> 00:16:45.037
and the better overall
programs that we have.

00:16:45.037 --> 00:16:47.906
So that's my little pitch
for one comprehensive

00:16:47.906 --> 00:16:49.108
document.

00:16:49.108 --> 00:16:57.349
As you can see, it's got a
full array of topics and

00:16:57.349 --> 00:17:00.419
most of you are
addressing those.

00:17:00.419 --> 00:17:08.394
My boss at SBA likes to use
FPDS-NG for market research.

00:17:08.394 --> 00:17:12.664
He finds it to be a valuable
tool for just researching,

00:17:12.664 --> 00:17:15.734
seeing what the government's
buying, what their buying,

00:17:15.734 --> 00:17:18.404
who, how much and
all of that stuff.

00:17:18.404 --> 00:17:21.507
I have many small businesses
that have really gotten into

00:17:21.507 --> 00:17:25.344
this, and they're using it
as a strategic tool for

00:17:25.344 --> 00:17:26.779
their planning process.

00:17:26.779 --> 00:17:30.215
So I invite you, if you
aren't already looking at

00:17:30.215 --> 00:17:34.453
that, to add that to
information that you might

00:17:34.453 --> 00:17:38.891
be using to help you make
decisions about things.

00:17:38.891 --> 00:17:43.529
FPDS had a good set of
information on contract

00:17:43.529 --> 00:17:50.602
history, allows you to look
back and see how your agency

00:17:50.602 --> 00:17:54.139
and how other agencies have
been doing with certain

00:17:54.139 --> 00:17:56.775
procurement buys.

00:17:56.775 --> 00:18:00.913
So that brings us
to subcontracting.

00:18:00.913 --> 00:18:04.516
And this is a pretty
involved topic.

00:18:04.516 --> 00:18:07.486
I get involved from a
couple of standpoints.

00:18:07.486 --> 00:18:14.760
First of all, I check the
information in SBRS to make

00:18:14.760 --> 00:18:16.762
sure that you are
considering a subcontracting

00:18:16.762 --> 00:18:19.731
plan, if it's over
the threshold.

00:18:19.731 --> 00:18:23.435
And secondly, I actually
review the plans.

00:18:23.435 --> 00:18:28.307
And I'd like to congratulate
you because the plans have

00:18:28.307 --> 00:18:29.975
come a long way.

00:18:29.975 --> 00:18:31.376
You know, you
have agency goals,

00:18:31.376 --> 00:18:34.480
very specific agency
goals for subcontracting,

00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:38.717
and that's what I consider
to be the baseline,

00:18:38.717 --> 00:18:42.087
where we need to be starting
on the subcontracting plans.

00:18:42.087 --> 00:18:44.756
And then if you have
something that is so

00:18:44.756 --> 00:18:50.729
complex, so difficult that
small business can't be

00:18:50.729 --> 00:18:53.732
integrated, then you
need to tell the story,

00:18:53.732 --> 00:18:58.170
and the subcontracting plan
itself are in ancillary

00:18:58.170 --> 00:19:04.576
documents that kind of
justify why you cannot reach

00:19:04.576 --> 00:19:08.480
the minimum agency goals
for subcontracting plans.

00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:13.752
And let me just say that
there's a rumor afoot that I

00:19:13.752 --> 00:19:18.123
never review -- that I never
approve anything below the

00:19:18.123 --> 00:19:20.192
agency minimum goals.

00:19:20.192 --> 00:19:22.761
And in fact, I
have done that.

00:19:22.761 --> 00:19:27.099
But in cases where the
contracting offices have

00:19:27.099 --> 00:19:31.603
been able to tell me that,
and explain so I can

00:19:31.603 --> 00:19:35.107
understand why small
business can't be integrated

00:19:35.107 --> 00:19:37.042
into a particular area.

00:19:37.042 --> 00:19:41.747
Now I know also that
universities are difficult.

00:19:41.747 --> 00:19:45.183
I deal with them also
as a commercial market

00:19:45.183 --> 00:19:49.454
representative, and I will
tell you that the education

00:19:49.454 --> 00:19:55.227
portion of my interaction
with that segment of other

00:19:55.227 --> 00:19:58.864
than small business is
intense because most

00:19:58.864 --> 00:20:02.634
universities aren't up to --
they're not going to pull a

00:20:02.634 --> 00:20:04.803
step [phonetic sp] about
subcontracting plans.

00:20:04.803 --> 00:20:07.973
And they feel like it
doesn't -- maybe it doesn't

00:20:07.973 --> 00:20:11.176
really even apply to them,
but in fact it does,

00:20:11.176 --> 00:20:15.213
and I'm working on a couple
of universities specifically

00:20:15.213 --> 00:20:19.084
to help integrate small
businesses in with them,

00:20:19.084 --> 00:20:20.419
just so they get it.

00:20:20.419 --> 00:20:22.120
You know, just so
they understand,

00:20:22.120 --> 00:20:24.156
when they do a
subcontracting plan,

00:20:24.156 --> 00:20:26.358
there's a real
intent and they,

00:20:26.358 --> 00:20:28.660
just as a segment of
the economy that is

00:20:28.660 --> 00:20:31.430
participating in
federal contracting,

00:20:31.430 --> 00:20:36.268
have a responsibility to
provide small businesses

00:20:36.268 --> 00:20:39.071
with maximum practicable
opportunity,

00:20:39.071 --> 00:20:43.675
just like you do at
the agency level.

00:20:43.675 --> 00:20:46.845
So subcontracting,
simply stated,

00:20:46.845 --> 00:20:50.048
is the process of putting in
place the sub-instrument,

00:20:50.048 --> 00:20:52.985
if you will, under a
federal prime contract.

00:20:52.985 --> 00:20:58.390
It includes any kind
of service or supply,

00:20:58.390 --> 00:21:01.460
and it can be because the
contractor doesn't want to

00:21:01.460 --> 00:21:03.829
supply it or
can't supply it.

00:21:03.829 --> 00:21:06.064
We don't really
care about that.

00:21:06.064 --> 00:21:09.968
It does include purchase
orders and any changes or

00:21:09.968 --> 00:21:12.871
modifications to
purchase orders.

00:21:12.871 --> 00:21:17.542
And the prime is
responsible for its subs,

00:21:17.542 --> 00:21:21.146
including making sure that
they take care of flow-down

00:21:21.146 --> 00:21:23.682
reporting, and the
contracting officer is

00:21:23.682 --> 00:21:26.118
responsible for making sure
that the prime is doing what

00:21:26.118 --> 00:21:27.986
they're supposed to do.

00:21:27.986 --> 00:21:30.122
Now there's some exceptions
that we're going to talk

00:21:30.122 --> 00:21:32.591
about near the end of this
presentation that you need

00:21:32.591 --> 00:21:33.825
to be aware of.

00:21:33.825 --> 00:21:38.196
But that's generally the
way subcontracting process

00:21:38.196 --> 00:21:39.564
works.

00:21:39.564 --> 00:21:45.203
Now the Jobs Act of 2010
really roiled the waters a

00:21:45.203 --> 00:21:50.208
bit, if you will, especially
in the subcontracting plan

00:21:50.208 --> 00:21:53.045
arena, small business
subcontracting.

00:21:53.045 --> 00:21:56.181
[coughs] excuse me.

00:21:56.181 --> 00:22:00.986
This plan came into being
in September of 2010,

00:22:00.986 --> 00:22:05.190
and essentially what it did
is it requires a higher

00:22:05.190 --> 00:22:10.295
level of accountability
by large federal prime

00:22:10.295 --> 00:22:12.497
contractors in the
small-business contracting

00:22:12.497 --> 00:22:13.999
arena.

00:22:13.999 --> 00:22:17.569
Now, we're going the talk
later about some changes

00:22:17.569 --> 00:22:18.570
that are happening.

00:22:18.570 --> 00:22:21.673
There are some big threshold
changes that are afoot.

00:22:21.673 --> 00:22:26.878
And one of those is in the
subcontracting plan arena.

00:22:26.878 --> 00:22:29.681
Effective 10/1,
that threshold,

00:22:29.681 --> 00:22:33.118
the minimum threshold,
is going to $700,000.

00:22:33.118 --> 00:22:37.155
Now until then we're going
to continue to work plans at

00:22:37.155 --> 00:22:44.196
the $650,000 level, but just
know that this is happening.

00:22:44.196 --> 00:22:48.400
I'm sorry, could you
get me some water?

00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:54.539
Thank you.

00:22:54.539 --> 00:22:58.810
Okay, other Jobs Act changes
-- we saw a lot of action

00:22:58.810 --> 00:23:06.318
around Section 1321, and
that overall required the

00:23:06.318 --> 00:23:17.028
government to establish --
[coughs] I apologize -- to

00:23:17.028 --> 00:23:19.798
establish policy
on small-business

00:23:19.798 --> 00:23:22.000
subcontracting compliance.

00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:24.369
So that just meant that we
were going to start looking

00:23:24.369 --> 00:23:30.742
at how prime
contractors were doing.

00:23:30.742 --> 00:23:35.514
And the assignment, the
responsibility fell between

00:23:35.514 --> 00:23:38.450
the contracting and program
offices and the Small

00:23:38.450 --> 00:23:42.521
Business Administration.

00:23:42.521 --> 00:23:46.224
And what we do as an agency,
what SBA does as an agency

00:23:46.224 --> 00:23:49.494
is provide periodic
oversight and review activities,

00:23:49.494 --> 00:23:51.997
and we trust that you
are also doing the same,

00:23:51.997 --> 00:23:54.933
just as you would manage
any other aspect of the

00:23:54.933 --> 00:23:57.402
contract.

00:23:57.402 --> 00:24:07.445
Other Jobs Act changes -- I
think that tightening the

00:24:07.445 --> 00:24:10.682
screws might be
a bad analogy,

00:24:10.682 --> 00:24:14.419
but that essentially is what
is going on with the changes

00:24:14.419 --> 00:24:17.823
in subcontracting
with this Jobs Act.

00:24:17.823 --> 00:24:21.760
And what the government
is trying to do with the

00:24:21.760 --> 00:24:24.629
changes in this act is make
large prime contractors

00:24:24.629 --> 00:24:27.465
accountable for the plans
and the goals that they put

00:24:27.465 --> 00:24:29.634
in place.

00:24:29.634 --> 00:24:33.205
So now if they aren't
meeting those goals,

00:24:33.205 --> 00:24:37.209
then -- and are not making
a good faith effort to meet

00:24:37.209 --> 00:24:40.779
them, then there has to
be some accountability.

00:24:40.779 --> 00:24:45.283
So we -- thank you so much.

00:24:55.627 --> 00:24:59.965
So, contracting officers are
checking with primes to see

00:24:59.965 --> 00:25:01.066
how that's going.

00:25:01.066 --> 00:25:05.403
So there's a higher level
of oversight, if you will.

00:25:05.403 --> 00:25:10.976
And one of the things that
this Section 1321 did is

00:25:10.976 --> 00:25:14.412
make sure that failure to
provide a good faith effort

00:25:14.412 --> 00:25:18.617
could result in assessment
of liquidated damages.

00:25:18.617 --> 00:25:22.587
So, to my knowledge that
hasn't been done yet.

00:25:22.587 --> 00:25:26.758
In most cases, you're
finding that current

00:25:26.758 --> 00:25:29.594
contractors are in fact
making the effort,

00:25:29.594 --> 00:25:41.706
and you haven't seen fit to
assess liquidated damages.

00:25:41.706 --> 00:25:45.810
There's also responsibility
paying small businesses

00:25:45.810 --> 00:25:49.281
within 90 days, and that's
something that contracting

00:25:49.281 --> 00:25:52.350
officers should
be monitoring.

00:25:52.350 --> 00:25:56.488
And it gets to be --
this is a serious matter,

00:25:56.488 --> 00:26:00.558
and it gets to be part
of the evaluation at the

00:26:00.558 --> 00:26:06.097
conclusion -- I'm sorry --
at the conclusion of the

00:26:06.097 --> 00:26:08.333
contract, it gets to be
one of the things that you

00:26:08.333 --> 00:26:12.203
evaluate them on.

00:26:12.203 --> 00:26:14.739
So a small-business
subcontracting plan is a

00:26:14.739 --> 00:26:17.776
formal plan negotiated by
the contracting officer.

00:26:17.776 --> 00:26:19.444
You all have that down pat.

00:26:19.444 --> 00:26:22.047
You have all of the
fields in place.

00:26:22.047 --> 00:26:25.350
You provide good
templates to.

00:26:25.350 --> 00:26:30.121
Your offerors, and
in almost every case,

00:26:30.121 --> 00:26:35.961
you've done a lot of the
ground work for them.

00:26:35.961 --> 00:26:38.863
The small-business
subcontracting plan should

00:26:38.863 --> 00:26:43.535
be negotiated after
evaluation and just prior to

00:26:43.535 --> 00:26:44.769
award.

00:26:44.769 --> 00:26:48.773
So in fact it
should be made,

00:26:48.773 --> 00:26:50.308
either incorporated
by reference,

00:26:50.308 --> 00:26:52.577
or actually made a part of
the contract at contract

00:26:52.577 --> 00:26:55.380
award.

00:26:55.380 --> 00:26:58.650
The subcontracting plan
is based on total dollars

00:26:58.650 --> 00:27:01.953
available for
subcontracting.

00:27:01.953 --> 00:27:05.390
And I know that agencies
sometimes get very involved

00:27:05.390 --> 00:27:09.427
in helping prime contractors
decide how much is going to

00:27:09.427 --> 00:27:10.528
be available.

00:27:10.528 --> 00:27:14.132
And I don't know exactly if
that's something that you

00:27:14.132 --> 00:27:20.405
participate in, but one of
the things that I don't get

00:27:20.405 --> 00:27:23.742
involved in is evaluating
the total dollars available

00:27:23.742 --> 00:27:25.377
for subcontracting.

00:27:25.377 --> 00:27:27.579
I think the small
business specialists do,

00:27:27.579 --> 00:27:33.685
and contracting officers do,
but as far as I know at this

00:27:33.685 --> 00:27:40.959
point in time, that's part
of your decision making.

00:27:40.959 --> 00:27:43.128
And as we already
talked, as an agency,

00:27:43.128 --> 00:27:45.597
you have distinct goals
for all small business

00:27:45.597 --> 00:27:48.767
categories in the
subcontracting arena,

00:27:48.767 --> 00:27:53.938
and you express those
in the template,

00:27:53.938 --> 00:27:56.708
you express those to
prime contractors,

00:27:56.708 --> 00:28:00.045
and I know that there's
lots of opportunity for

00:28:00.045 --> 00:28:03.415
negotiation between the
template and a living,

00:28:03.415 --> 00:28:05.817
actual plan looks like.

00:28:05.817 --> 00:28:10.755
Now compliance reviews are
handled by the government on

00:28:10.755 --> 00:28:16.628
a prime contract.

00:28:16.628 --> 00:28:20.799
You have responsibility for
looking at any corrective

00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:25.270
action plans to make sure
that a prime is compliant

00:28:25.270 --> 00:28:28.440
with the
subcontracting plan.

00:28:28.440 --> 00:28:30.542
And you should also be
asking the question -- is

00:28:30.542 --> 00:28:36.314
the prime contractor also
doing lower-level reviews on

00:28:36.314 --> 00:28:39.984
subcontracting reports that
their subcontractors are

00:28:39.984 --> 00:28:47.659
doing?

00:28:47.659 --> 00:28:50.395
So at the end
of the contract,

00:28:50.395 --> 00:28:53.865
the final evaluation by the
government would look at

00:28:53.865 --> 00:28:57.869
what has actually been
achieved relative to

00:28:57.869 --> 00:29:01.873
contract goals, and
decisions would be made if

00:29:01.873 --> 00:29:04.375
there is a lack of
good-faith effort,

00:29:04.375 --> 00:29:08.113
and there should be
liquidated damages assessed.

00:29:08.113 --> 00:29:11.449
And then there's a
documentation for the

00:29:11.449 --> 00:29:15.353
process, and I really think
that it's very effective to

00:29:15.353 --> 00:29:19.057
note this in past
performance information

00:29:19.057 --> 00:29:23.328
retrieval system if a prime
contractor wasn't able to

00:29:23.328 --> 00:29:25.330
meet those.

00:29:25.330 --> 00:29:30.001
And, you know, as I said,
the Jobs Act has kind of

00:29:30.001 --> 00:29:33.338
changed the whole
environment for how things

00:29:33.338 --> 00:29:37.675
are happening, and kind of
made it -- taken it out of

00:29:37.675 --> 00:29:41.412
the nice to have to, we
really have to be serious

00:29:41.412 --> 00:29:44.649
about this.

00:29:44.649 --> 00:29:46.651
Now I wanted to just spend
a little bit of time on

00:29:46.651 --> 00:29:50.321
small-business participation
plans because sometimes

00:29:50.321 --> 00:29:54.492
people get the two mixed up,
and this is a little bit of

00:29:54.492 --> 00:29:55.660
a different animal.

00:29:55.660 --> 00:29:58.596
It is an evaluation
provision that shows up in

00:29:58.596 --> 00:30:02.100
unrestricted, negotiated
solicitation for best value.

00:30:02.100 --> 00:30:03.668
It has to be all of those.

00:30:03.668 --> 00:30:05.436
And it requires
all offerors,

00:30:05.436 --> 00:30:09.174
large and small businesses
to address how they're going

00:30:09.174 --> 00:30:12.710
to get work into the
hands of small business.

00:30:12.710 --> 00:30:15.547
So remember this,
unrestricted,

00:30:15.547 --> 00:30:20.985
negotiated solicitation
for best value.

00:30:20.985 --> 00:30:23.454
Now, as I said, it applies
to both large and small

00:30:23.454 --> 00:30:24.455
business.

00:30:24.455 --> 00:30:26.925
The small business
participation plan comes in

00:30:26.925 --> 00:30:31.462
with the offer.

00:30:31.462 --> 00:30:34.199
It doesn't apply, it's
not a requirement under

00:30:34.199 --> 00:30:38.436
invitations for bids or
negotiated procurements that

00:30:38.436 --> 00:30:41.873
are evaluated using
LPTA, none of those,

00:30:41.873 --> 00:30:47.545
just what we talked
about earlier.

00:30:47.545 --> 00:30:50.381
Essentially, what this small
business participation plan

00:30:50.381 --> 00:30:54.185
does is, based on the total
amount of the offer -- not

00:30:54.185 --> 00:30:56.621
the amount that's expected
to be subcontracted,

00:30:56.621 --> 00:30:59.591
but the total overall value
of the contract -- it's

00:30:59.591 --> 00:31:03.761
evaluated and scored on the,
what the highest dollar

00:31:03.761 --> 00:31:08.733
amount will be that goes
to small businesses.

00:31:08.733 --> 00:31:11.369
Small business offers
can get credit for

00:31:11.369 --> 00:31:13.838
self-performance, so they
need to count their own

00:31:13.838 --> 00:31:17.909
award portion in that.

00:31:17.909 --> 00:31:27.118
And if, after evaluation,
the award goes to a large

00:31:27.118 --> 00:31:31.289
business, there -- what you
have to do is make sure that

00:31:31.289 --> 00:31:35.293
there is synchronization
between the subcontracting

00:31:35.293 --> 00:31:38.997
plan and the small-business
participation plan,

00:31:38.997 --> 00:31:41.699
and I know that is one thing
that drives small business

00:31:41.699 --> 00:31:46.037
specialists crazy is getting
documents that really don't

00:31:46.037 --> 00:31:48.106
sync up.

00:31:48.106 --> 00:31:51.743
That should be part of
your review process.

00:31:51.743 --> 00:31:54.345
A subcontracting plan
becomes, as I said earlier,

00:31:54.345 --> 00:31:57.215
a material part of
the awarded contract,

00:31:57.215 --> 00:32:00.084
but in the case of a
small-business participation

00:32:00.084 --> 00:32:01.586
plan that isn't the case.

00:32:01.586 --> 00:32:03.655
It just goes into the file.

00:32:03.655 --> 00:32:09.460
If a successful offer as a
small business, as we said,

00:32:09.460 --> 00:32:12.263
it's just part of the offer,
part of the contract file,

00:32:12.263 --> 00:32:14.932
and as you know, no
subcontracting plan is

00:32:14.932 --> 00:32:16.567
required for small business.

00:32:16.567 --> 00:32:18.169
They only have to
really worry about the

00:32:18.169 --> 00:32:22.807
participation plan.

00:32:22.807 --> 00:32:25.943
So one more reminder, if the
solicitation was set aside

00:32:25.943 --> 00:32:28.946
for small businesses
in any tier,

00:32:28.946 --> 00:32:31.683
there is no requirement to
include the small-business

00:32:31.683 --> 00:32:34.786
participation plan, and the
evaluation factor is not

00:32:34.786 --> 00:32:35.653
required.

00:32:35.653 --> 00:32:40.325
It's only on unrestricted
full and open solicitations.

00:32:40.325 --> 00:32:42.193
Now just a little
bit on limitations on

00:32:42.193 --> 00:32:43.728
subcontracting.

00:32:43.728 --> 00:32:47.665
I just came out of a
surveillance review,

00:32:47.665 --> 00:32:50.501
and I can tell you,
a couple years ago,

00:32:50.501 --> 00:32:52.303
nobody had their arms
around the limitations on

00:32:52.303 --> 00:32:58.676
subcontracting, and it
really wasn't -- no one was

00:32:58.676 --> 00:33:00.845
monitoring it, if you will.

00:33:00.845 --> 00:33:05.083
But now, I have found
tremendous improvement,

00:33:05.083 --> 00:33:10.488
so I hope that's
happening here, too.

00:33:10.488 --> 00:33:13.891
Under this subcontracting
-- limitations on

00:33:13.891 --> 00:33:17.061
subcontracting
plan requirement,

00:33:17.061 --> 00:33:20.965
what it does is sets up a
minimum portion that has to

00:33:20.965 --> 00:33:26.170
be performed by small
businesses to keep it from

00:33:26.170 --> 00:33:28.106
-- to keep us out of the
world of pass-through

00:33:28.106 --> 00:33:29.907
contracts.

00:33:29.907 --> 00:33:32.110
And just to make sure
that small businesses,

00:33:32.110 --> 00:33:36.948
when they're
performing a contract,

00:33:36.948 --> 00:33:39.417
they're actually doing it.

00:33:39.417 --> 00:33:42.820
We want to have
that assurance.

00:33:42.820 --> 00:33:44.822
This is not a clause
that's applicable to large

00:33:44.822 --> 00:33:49.427
businesses, so that
doesn't enter in there.

00:33:49.427 --> 00:33:51.362
We're only interested in
what's happening with

00:33:51.362 --> 00:33:53.998
smalls.

00:33:53.998 --> 00:33:57.535
So, the clause is required
on everything over $150,000

00:33:57.535 --> 00:34:04.008
in all contracts and
solicitations for supply

00:34:04.008 --> 00:34:07.412
services and construction,
if any portion is set aside

00:34:07.412 --> 00:34:10.448
for small business.

00:34:10.448 --> 00:34:16.320
And on multiple award MATOCs
when terms require that work

00:34:16.320 --> 00:34:19.090
orders under certain dollar
amounts be set aside for

00:34:19.090 --> 00:34:20.725
small business.

00:34:20.725 --> 00:34:22.960
So that's kind of the
universe of what we're

00:34:22.960 --> 00:34:24.128
looking for.

00:34:24.128 --> 00:34:27.465
It becomes binding, that
clause becomes binding,

00:34:27.465 --> 00:34:30.601
with the submission of an
offer or a bid and the

00:34:30.601 --> 00:34:33.805
execution of the contract.

00:34:33.805 --> 00:34:37.208
So under that, let's say you
have a service contract.

00:34:37.208 --> 00:34:40.077
The contractor has to agree
to perform at least 50

00:34:40.077 --> 00:34:46.617
percent of the cost of labor
with their own employees.

00:34:46.617 --> 00:34:48.453
If it's a manufacturing
contract,

00:34:48.453 --> 00:34:52.356
the limitation is to perform
at least 50 percent of the

00:34:52.356 --> 00:34:54.625
cost of manufacturing
supplies,

00:34:54.625 --> 00:34:56.894
excluding cost of materials.

00:34:56.894 --> 00:34:59.564
It gets to sound a little
bit like Monopoly,

00:34:59.564 --> 00:35:01.933
some of the rules of
Monopoly, but these are,

00:35:01.933 --> 00:35:06.370
you know, they're very
serious levels that we think

00:35:06.370 --> 00:35:11.375
are important so that small
businesses actually are

00:35:11.375 --> 00:35:16.380
participating
in this market.

00:35:16.380 --> 00:35:19.984
Under construction projects,
it's a little bit different

00:35:19.984 --> 00:35:24.722
because the level is 15
percent of the cost of the

00:35:24.722 --> 00:35:28.493
contract for a general
construction contractor,

00:35:28.493 --> 00:35:31.229
excluding cost of
materials and equipment.

00:35:31.229 --> 00:35:35.566
So that's a low level, but
that allows a small business

00:35:35.566 --> 00:35:40.805
to serve as the contractor,
and really be responsible

00:35:40.805 --> 00:35:43.975
for most of the
subcontracting that goes on.

00:35:43.975 --> 00:35:52.049
Retaining responsibility for
program management in-house.

00:35:52.049 --> 00:35:55.152
I wanted to get on into the
specialty areas because

00:35:55.152 --> 00:35:58.956
here, under construction,
the amount goes up to 25

00:35:58.956 --> 00:36:02.994
percent because it's
assumed that a specialty

00:36:02.994 --> 00:36:06.864
construction contractor
would also be doing part,

00:36:06.864 --> 00:36:08.332
more of the labor.

00:36:08.332 --> 00:36:10.735
For instance, if it's
an electrical job,

00:36:10.735 --> 00:36:13.437
then probably it's an
electrical contractor that's

00:36:13.437 --> 00:36:16.374
participating, so the
expectation is that they

00:36:16.374 --> 00:36:20.945
would be performing
more of their work.

00:36:20.945 --> 00:36:26.117
And that's what these
bullets all say.

00:36:26.117 --> 00:36:30.121
Again, limitations on
subcontracting does not

00:36:30.121 --> 00:36:33.124
apply to unrestricted
procurement,

00:36:33.124 --> 00:36:37.662
neither does it apply to
small businesses when they're

00:36:37.662 --> 00:36:41.265
successful on an
unrestricted procurement or

00:36:41.265 --> 00:36:46.137
to a large business.

00:36:46.137 --> 00:36:48.940
They can subcontract
with no limitations,

00:36:48.940 --> 00:36:51.776
but of course they're
operating within the purview

00:36:51.776 --> 00:36:55.212
of their
subcontracting plans.

00:36:55.212 --> 00:36:57.949
Okay, now just a little
bit of information on

00:36:57.949 --> 00:37:01.152
certificate of competencies.

00:37:01.152 --> 00:37:06.090
This process kicks in when
small business has --

00:37:06.090 --> 00:37:08.893
there's been a determination
made that a small business

00:37:08.893 --> 00:37:13.531
lacks the responsibility to
perform a certain government

00:37:13.531 --> 00:37:18.536
contract, and it's just a
little bit of a check in

00:37:18.536 --> 00:37:26.210
balance to make sure that
everything has been properly

00:37:26.210 --> 00:37:29.180
considered.

00:37:29.180 --> 00:37:39.423
Under the COC process, the
SBA comes in to review,

00:37:39.423 --> 00:37:42.226
or review a responsibility
or a non-responsibility

00:37:42.226 --> 00:37:46.797
determination and
issue the COC.

00:37:46.797 --> 00:37:50.835
The process that requires
that a contacting officer

00:37:50.835 --> 00:37:55.840
sends the referral to SBA.

00:37:55.840 --> 00:38:01.445
The COC process allows that
small business just another

00:38:01.445 --> 00:38:05.216
shot at becoming a
federal contractor,

00:38:05.216 --> 00:38:11.322
and perhaps a little
bit more objectivity.

00:38:11.322 --> 00:38:14.358
It results in actual,
written certificate that the

00:38:14.358 --> 00:38:17.261
small business -- that says
that a small business has

00:38:17.261 --> 00:38:20.698
the capability to perform
on a specific government

00:38:20.698 --> 00:38:25.269
contract, so it is
contract specific.

00:38:25.269 --> 00:38:29.140
When a contracting officer
does a determination of

00:38:29.140 --> 00:38:32.743
responsibility, they'll
probably tap into one of

00:38:32.743 --> 00:38:36.847
these areas -- capability,
competency, capacity,

00:38:36.847 --> 00:38:38.049
any of those.

00:38:38.049 --> 00:38:42.486
So that -- any of these
areas would be out

00:38:42.486 --> 00:38:47.291
determined to be important
in making a responsibility

00:38:47.291 --> 00:38:49.260
determination, even
the limitation on

00:38:49.260 --> 00:38:51.195
subcontracting.

00:38:51.195 --> 00:38:58.035
And that's part of the, kind
of the sticky wicket if you

00:38:58.035 --> 00:39:00.671
will on that
particular clause,

00:39:00.671 --> 00:39:04.742
because if a small business
proposes something that

00:39:04.742 --> 00:39:10.281
isn't within the limitations
that we talked about before,

00:39:10.281 --> 00:39:13.884
then there is a possibility
that we are looking at a

00:39:13.884 --> 00:39:15.886
non-responsibility.

00:39:15.886 --> 00:39:17.955
So the referral, which
comes from the contracting

00:39:17.955 --> 00:39:20.558
officer, includes a
bunch of information.

00:39:20.558 --> 00:39:23.928
It's not a slam dunk, it's
not a real easy thing to

00:39:23.928 --> 00:39:25.062
pull together.

00:39:25.062 --> 00:39:29.233
Not for the agency that's
referring, and not for SBA,

00:39:29.233 --> 00:39:31.368
because we have a lot of
work that has to get done in

00:39:31.368 --> 00:39:34.538
a very short amount of time.

00:39:34.538 --> 00:39:38.576
So we want to see the
solicitation copy of the

00:39:38.576 --> 00:39:41.045
offer submitted by
the small business,

00:39:41.045 --> 00:39:43.748
and/or an abstract of bids.

00:39:43.748 --> 00:39:46.617
A pre-award survey,
if that's been done.

00:39:46.617 --> 00:39:48.686
The contracting officers
written determination of

00:39:48.686 --> 00:39:51.422
non-responsibility, so
you have to tell us why,

00:39:51.422 --> 00:39:53.124
what was wrong,
and so forth.

00:39:53.124 --> 00:39:56.293
There's a lot of information
that comes into the whole

00:39:56.293 --> 00:39:58.362
process.

00:39:58.362 --> 00:40:02.266
It is considered that the
burden of proof on a COC is

00:40:02.266 --> 00:40:04.135
vested in the
small business.

00:40:04.135 --> 00:40:08.139
So they are actually the
ones that, you know,

00:40:08.139 --> 00:40:11.776
they have to participate in
the determination and what

00:40:11.776 --> 00:40:15.613
SBA does is while we're
working with the agency to

00:40:15.613 --> 00:40:17.815
get the referral
information in,

00:40:17.815 --> 00:40:19.416
we're also working for
the small business,

00:40:19.416 --> 00:40:21.852
working with the small
business to make sure that

00:40:21.852 --> 00:40:24.955
they are also getting
everything in that they have

00:40:24.955 --> 00:40:30.728
to bring
into the picture.

00:40:30.728 --> 00:40:36.033
After the dust had cleared,
and everybody has sent in

00:40:36.033 --> 00:40:38.169
everything that
needs to be done,

00:40:38.169 --> 00:40:42.840
what happens at that point
is there's a meeting between

00:40:42.840 --> 00:40:46.243
an SBA attorney that
specializes in COC,

00:40:46.243 --> 00:40:50.347
the COC specialist,
sometimes an accountant,

00:40:50.347 --> 00:40:55.853
and sometimes a supervisor,
the supervisor of the COC,

00:40:55.853 --> 00:40:59.490
depending on how complicated
the situation is.

00:40:59.490 --> 00:41:02.960
And there's a vote and a
decision is made as to

00:41:02.960 --> 00:41:06.897
whether the small business
has the ability to perform

00:41:06.897 --> 00:41:08.332
the contract.

00:41:08.332 --> 00:41:10.534
At that point in
time, the SBA,

00:41:10.534 --> 00:41:13.304
usually the COC specialist,
notifies the contracting

00:41:13.304 --> 00:41:18.209
officer, in writing, saying
just so you have a heads up

00:41:18.209 --> 00:41:20.077
about what's
coming your way,

00:41:20.077 --> 00:41:23.314
and that's usually followed
within a day or two by the

00:41:23.314 --> 00:41:25.916
paperwork.

00:41:25.916 --> 00:41:29.787
The effect of a COC is
that it's conclusive as to

00:41:29.787 --> 00:41:32.656
responsibility, so if the
SBA issues a COC on behalf

00:41:32.656 --> 00:41:37.094
of the small business, and
then the contracting officer

00:41:37.094 --> 00:41:44.068
has to award that.

00:41:44.068 --> 00:41:45.870
There is an app
[phonetic sp],

00:41:45.870 --> 00:41:47.738
and that's covered
by this next bullet.

00:41:47.738 --> 00:41:51.842
If anything else would
happen with this award,

00:41:51.842 --> 00:41:55.412
let's say the funding
got retracted,

00:41:55.412 --> 00:41:58.582
the requirement went away,
the contracting officer

00:41:58.582 --> 00:42:01.585
doesn't have to award
something in that case,

00:42:01.585 --> 00:42:04.455
though we try to be a little
bit reasonable, if you will,

00:42:04.455 --> 00:42:07.892
relative to those
requirements.

00:42:07.892 --> 00:42:10.294
The effect of a
denial of a COC,

00:42:10.294 --> 00:42:12.696
if we find that in fact
the small business isn't

00:42:12.696 --> 00:42:18.602
responsible, also, then
you have the option.

00:42:18.602 --> 00:42:22.373
You may either go ahead
and make the award,

00:42:22.373 --> 00:42:28.946
if you want to, or you don't
necessarily have to do that.

00:42:28.946 --> 00:42:35.619
The decision is on you.

00:42:35.619 --> 00:42:38.756
Okay, relative to
the generic topics,

00:42:38.756 --> 00:42:41.625
let's talk about, just kind
of the catch-all section,

00:42:41.625 --> 00:42:46.163
if you will.

00:42:46.163 --> 00:42:48.732
There have been some things
that have hit recently and I

00:42:48.732 --> 00:42:52.836
added those to
this presentation.

00:42:52.836 --> 00:42:59.343
First of all, there's a FAR
Case 2014-022 that addresses

00:42:59.343 --> 00:43:03.580
the adjustment of
acquisition thresholds.

00:43:03.580 --> 00:43:06.750
I will make that information
available to Teresa and

00:43:06.750 --> 00:43:09.820
Shanta, so they can
get that out to you.

00:43:09.820 --> 00:43:12.890
It is kind of
all-encompassing.

00:43:12.890 --> 00:43:15.960
There are probably 50
thresholds that are

00:43:15.960 --> 00:43:18.729
addressed, and I just hit
the larger ones here,

00:43:18.729 --> 00:43:21.265
the ones I thought you would
be most interested in.

00:43:21.265 --> 00:43:24.635
First of all, micro
purchases $3,500.

00:43:24.635 --> 00:43:27.104
As we told you earlier,
the small business

00:43:27.104 --> 00:43:29.039
subcontracting plan
threshold is going to

00:43:29.039 --> 00:43:30.341
$700,000.

00:43:30.341 --> 00:43:33.444
All this is
effective on 10/1.

00:43:33.444 --> 00:43:37.581
The commercial items
simplified acquisition

00:43:37.581 --> 00:43:44.221
threshold went from $6.5
million to $7 million.

00:43:44.221 --> 00:43:46.423
The cost of pricing data
requirement went from

00:43:46.423 --> 00:43:51.729
$700,000 to $750,000, and as
I said, there are many more.

00:43:51.729 --> 00:43:55.065
So, it's probably going to
be very intense as you get

00:43:55.065 --> 00:44:00.504
all that information
integrated into your process

00:44:00.504 --> 00:44:03.807
and your information, but
you need to be aware of

00:44:03.807 --> 00:44:04.408
those.

00:44:04.408 --> 00:44:09.413
We still have a month
or two to get ready.

00:44:09.413 --> 00:44:13.851
This FAR case, 003 was
published in the federal

00:44:13.851 --> 00:44:16.286
register just on 6/10.

00:44:16.286 --> 00:44:18.222
It, again, is coming
out of the Jobs Act.

00:44:18.222 --> 00:44:20.424
The comments
are due on 8/10,

00:44:20.424 --> 00:44:21.825
so if you have an
interest in this,

00:44:21.825 --> 00:44:25.863
you might want to weigh in.

00:44:25.863 --> 00:44:28.832
And this kind of changes
-- it kind of, well,

00:44:28.832 --> 00:44:31.568
I think it closes many
gaps, if you will,

00:44:31.568 --> 00:44:34.605
about what to do if.

00:44:34.605 --> 00:44:37.908
So, if the size of a
prime contractor changes,

00:44:37.908 --> 00:44:41.712
let's say it goes from a
small business to a large

00:44:41.712 --> 00:44:44.181
business, sometimes that
happens with an instant

00:44:44.181 --> 00:44:48.285
award, then a subcontracting
plan needs to be addressed

00:44:48.285 --> 00:44:51.021
when that happens.

00:44:51.021 --> 00:44:56.326
If a plan is required,
let's say you have a $650,000

00:44:56.326 --> 00:45:00.464
award, it's
November of this year,

00:45:00.464 --> 00:45:05.102
and there's a modification
that increases that award to

00:45:05.102 --> 00:45:08.439
$725,000, then at
that point in time,

00:45:08.439 --> 00:45:11.075
you have to negotiate
a small business

00:45:11.075 --> 00:45:15.779
subcontracting plan
to make that happen.

00:45:15.779 --> 00:45:18.949
We are kind of tightening
the belt a little bit with

00:45:18.949 --> 00:45:21.118
prime contractors to
have them use NAICS.

00:45:21.118 --> 00:45:23.120
That has not always
been the case.

00:45:23.120 --> 00:45:26.523
That was a surprise to me
when I started doing CMR

00:45:26.523 --> 00:45:29.893
reviews to find out the
primes weren't doing that.

00:45:29.893 --> 00:45:33.297
And as I said, we did a lot
of educating to make sure

00:45:33.297 --> 00:45:34.798
that they were
ready for that.

00:45:34.798 --> 00:45:37.401
So, you need to be aware
that that might not be

00:45:37.401 --> 00:45:40.070
happening and provide some
guidance to your prime

00:45:40.070 --> 00:45:43.240
contractors.

00:45:43.240 --> 00:45:45.542
Here is the exception
I mentioned earlier.

00:45:45.542 --> 00:45:49.046
A subcontractor now has the
ability to address payment

00:45:49.046 --> 00:45:51.882
and utilization issues
directly with the

00:45:51.882 --> 00:45:55.619
contracting officer, and
that's not considered a

00:45:55.619 --> 00:45:57.488
breach of privity
of contract.

00:45:57.488 --> 00:46:01.024
So just a provision that's
in there that makes it a

00:46:01.024 --> 00:46:03.160
little bit fairer, I think,
for small businesses who

00:46:03.160 --> 00:46:06.497
might get in a bind with a
prime contractor that's less

00:46:06.497 --> 00:46:10.000
than forthcoming
or straight-up,

00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:15.205
and so just know that that
might be a possibility in

00:46:15.205 --> 00:46:18.108
the near future.

00:46:18.108 --> 00:46:22.980
Subcontracting reports that
show up in ESRS now have to

00:46:22.980 --> 00:46:26.016
be corrected within 30 days.

00:46:26.016 --> 00:46:28.051
We talked about this
in the next bullet,

00:46:28.051 --> 00:46:30.821
failure to comply and good
faith efforts are now

00:46:30.821 --> 00:46:32.756
considered a material
breach of contract,

00:46:32.756 --> 00:46:35.692
so that makes it more
serious and subject to a lot

00:46:35.692 --> 00:46:40.264
of other ramifications,
so be aware of that.

00:46:40.264 --> 00:46:44.601
And I think this, I have
some agencies that do

00:46:44.601 --> 00:46:47.070
franchise contracting
operations,

00:46:47.070 --> 00:46:50.140
so they are scrambling to
get their arms around this

00:46:50.140 --> 00:46:53.377
next bullet, and that is
credit for awards under the

00:46:53.377 --> 00:46:56.613
Economy Act will vest
and the funding agency,

00:46:56.613 --> 00:46:59.349
not the awarding agency.

00:46:59.349 --> 00:47:03.654
I don't think you handle
Economy Act procurements

00:47:03.654 --> 00:47:08.358
here, but I think you
do send some out to be

00:47:08.358 --> 00:47:10.794
processed by other
franchise organizations.

00:47:10.794 --> 00:47:14.298
So just know that the
funding credit for that --

00:47:14.298 --> 00:47:17.935
the credit for this award,
is going to come to you

00:47:17.935 --> 00:47:25.008
now, and not to the agency
that's doing the work.

00:47:25.008 --> 00:47:30.647
The next change, again,
we're looking for comments

00:47:30.647 --> 00:47:35.886
that are going to close
on August the 3rd,

00:47:35.886 --> 00:47:40.557
and it addresses
several changes on the

00:47:40.557 --> 00:47:43.727
government-wide policy on
consolidation and bundling

00:47:43.727 --> 00:47:45.062
requirements.

00:47:45.062 --> 00:47:48.031
And it's an extensive
bit of information.

00:47:48.031 --> 00:47:52.769
I did not provide a
lot of data on this,

00:47:52.769 --> 00:47:56.039
but just I wanted you to be
aware that that conversation

00:47:56.039 --> 00:47:59.243
is going on, and if this is
an area that you have an

00:47:59.243 --> 00:48:02.746
interest in, you
might look at that.

00:48:02.746 --> 00:48:03.947
Okay, I participate,
actually,

00:48:03.947 --> 00:48:06.316
all PCR's participate
every year in surveillance

00:48:06.316 --> 00:48:08.452
reviews.

00:48:08.452 --> 00:48:12.823
Now, I just led a team
a couple of weeks ago.

00:48:12.823 --> 00:48:17.427
Every PCR gets -- it's part
of the rite of passage,

00:48:17.427 --> 00:48:20.163
if you will -- it's one
of the things that we do.

00:48:20.163 --> 00:48:24.668
It's a good process for us
because we get to see things

00:48:24.668 --> 00:48:30.240
that we don't necessarily
see in just doing the PCR

00:48:30.240 --> 00:48:31.541
reviews.

00:48:31.541 --> 00:48:35.045
So we get to delve a little
bit deeper into your

00:48:35.045 --> 00:48:38.348
business and make some
recommendations on changes

00:48:38.348 --> 00:48:43.453
that we think would help
your small business program.

00:48:43.453 --> 00:48:47.824
So here's just some notes
from those 2015 surveillance

00:48:47.824 --> 00:48:49.493
reviews.

00:48:49.493 --> 00:48:51.828
One of the things
that always shows up,

00:48:51.828 --> 00:48:55.399
especially when we interview
procurement personnel,

00:48:55.399 --> 00:48:58.368
and that is yes, we could
use some more small business

00:48:58.368 --> 00:48:59.303
training.

00:48:59.303 --> 00:49:01.938
So, that's almost
always a finding,

00:49:01.938 --> 00:49:05.509
and I know that Teresa and
Shanta actually work very

00:49:05.509 --> 00:49:11.982
hard to manage an aggressive
training program,

00:49:11.982 --> 00:49:16.286
so that might not be
applicable to you.

00:49:16.286 --> 00:49:19.156
Market research -- we find
market research to be

00:49:19.156 --> 00:49:20.891
missing.

00:49:20.891 --> 00:49:23.360
We find sometimes that
there's no process or

00:49:23.360 --> 00:49:25.996
procedures in that.

00:49:25.996 --> 00:49:28.131
No comprehensive documents.

00:49:28.131 --> 00:49:29.666
Remember we mentioned
that earlier,

00:49:29.666 --> 00:49:33.770
that's my new area that I'm
going to be more comfortable

00:49:33.770 --> 00:49:36.039
with, if we can get to
the point where we have a

00:49:36.039 --> 00:49:40.977
comprehensive document.

00:49:40.977 --> 00:49:44.014
Another thing, and this
actually was applicable to

00:49:44.014 --> 00:49:46.516
the surveillance
review that I was on,

00:49:46.516 --> 00:49:49.686
and that is the authority
and placement of small

00:49:49.686 --> 00:49:53.623
business specialists,
small business staff.

00:49:53.623 --> 00:49:59.596
You know, we believe at SBA
that those people need to

00:49:59.596 --> 00:50:02.566
have as much
autonomy as possible,

00:50:02.566 --> 00:50:05.168
so we don't like to see them
integrated in contracting

00:50:05.168 --> 00:50:07.471
activities.

00:50:07.471 --> 00:50:09.840
It may actually need
to kind of stand apart.

00:50:09.840 --> 00:50:14.811
So, on their report
that I took care of,

00:50:14.811 --> 00:50:17.381
that was one of
the findings.

00:50:17.381 --> 00:50:20.117
Now in your case, your small
business specialist has

00:50:20.117 --> 00:50:24.254
worked for the Office of
Small and Disadvantaged

00:50:24.254 --> 00:50:26.390
Business, so you don't
have that problem.

00:50:26.390 --> 00:50:29.860
Aren't you glad that
wasn't from yours?

00:50:29.860 --> 00:50:32.295
The SBA's been promoting
the use of social media,

00:50:32.295 --> 00:50:34.331
just as a means to
advertise small business

00:50:34.331 --> 00:50:37.300
opportunities, so we always
look at that area to see how

00:50:37.300 --> 00:50:39.136
you're doing.

00:50:39.136 --> 00:50:41.471
In the area of
subcontracting plans,

00:50:41.471 --> 00:50:44.608
we found low and
unsupported goals.

00:50:44.608 --> 00:50:48.011
We found plans -- oh no --
that hadn't been reviewed by

00:50:48.011 --> 00:50:54.918
the SBA PCR, plans that
had not been given to us,

00:50:54.918 --> 00:50:57.220
and no process for
reviewing reports,

00:50:57.220 --> 00:51:01.124
so kind of a whole
mixed bag of things.

00:51:01.124 --> 00:51:06.263
And we always comment on
the quality control that an

00:51:06.263 --> 00:51:10.934
office uses to make sure
that all the steps are being

00:51:10.934 --> 00:51:14.171
addressed, all the forms
are handled correctly,

00:51:14.171 --> 00:51:16.773
determinations are made,
everything makes sense.

00:51:16.773 --> 00:51:19.676
So we almost always
comment on that.

00:51:19.676 --> 00:51:23.647
So I just leave you
with a few bullets,

00:51:23.647 --> 00:51:26.817
just to make you aware
that in your future,

00:51:26.817 --> 00:51:29.820
not this year, but
maybe next or the next,

00:51:29.820 --> 00:51:33.990
there will be surveillance
team coming to look at you,

00:51:33.990 --> 00:51:37.394
and they're likely to be
looking at these areas.

00:51:37.394 --> 00:51:40.363
So that concludes
my presentation.

00:51:40.363 --> 00:51:42.699
I think we're ready for
some questions, Teresa.

00:51:42.699 --> 00:51:43.667
>> Teresa Lewis:
Okay, fantastic.

00:51:43.667 --> 00:51:47.304
Well, thank you, Barbara, as
always extremely helpful,

00:51:47.304 --> 00:51:49.506
so thank you so much.

00:51:49.506 --> 00:51:52.943
And it's also good to hear
what's coming down the pike,

00:51:52.943 --> 00:51:54.578
so thank you for that.

00:51:54.578 --> 00:51:58.048
And so, while we pull
up the questions,

00:51:58.048 --> 00:52:02.185
let me just ask on the
comments that you just made,

00:52:02.185 --> 00:52:05.121
those are primarily
general comments from the

00:52:05.121 --> 00:52:10.060
surveillance reviews,
or for HHS specifically?

00:52:10.060 --> 00:52:11.995
>> Barbara Weaver: That
was about three of four

00:52:11.995 --> 00:52:14.831
surveillance reviews that
I could get my hands on.

00:52:14.831 --> 00:52:16.967
>> Teresa Lewis: Oh,
okay, but not HHS?

00:52:16.967 --> 00:52:18.001
>> Barbara Weaver:
That's right. Not HHS specific.

00:52:18.001 --> 00:52:20.704
>> Teresa Lewis: Okay, okay.

00:52:20.704 --> 00:52:22.205
Fantastic. Fantastic

00:52:22.205 --> 00:52:24.875
Okay. So, here's a question
that we get all

00:52:24.875 --> 00:52:27.377
the time, and that is will
we get the slides,

00:52:27.377 --> 00:52:32.482
and the slides are to --
if you're looking at your

00:52:32.482 --> 00:52:36.620
screen, the slides are to
the right of the screen,

00:52:36.620 --> 00:52:41.091
so you can just open them up
and save them from there.

00:52:41.091 --> 00:52:42.993
And if you're not
able to do so,

00:52:42.993 --> 00:52:47.631
just email
linda.waters@hhs.gov,

00:52:47.631 --> 00:52:51.434
or sbmail@hhs.gov, and we'll
certainly make sure that you

00:52:51.434 --> 00:52:52.702
get them.

00:52:52.702 --> 00:52:55.972
All right, so
here's the question.

00:52:55.972 --> 00:52:57.307
Okay, same question.

00:52:57.307 --> 00:53:04.047
All right, so question on
the subcontracting plan.

00:53:04.047 --> 00:53:08.552
All right, "I'm currently in
the process of awarding a

00:53:08.552 --> 00:53:14.491
pain consortium contract to
a university that only has

00:53:14.491 --> 00:53:19.729
video production services
as their other direct cost.

00:53:19.729 --> 00:53:22.832
And that will be
done in house.

00:53:22.832 --> 00:53:26.970
They'll have zero goals,"
how do they have zero goals --

00:53:26.970 --> 00:53:29.739
"What do you suggest the
contractor should include in

00:53:29.739 --> 00:53:33.109
his justification on why
small businesses can't be

00:53:33.109 --> 00:53:34.311
integrated?"

00:53:34.311 --> 00:53:36.813
Okay, so I'll go ahead
and let you start,

00:53:36.813 --> 00:53:38.515
and I'll tell you how
I feel about that,

00:53:38.515 --> 00:53:42.419
because I think the law and
the regs are very clear that

00:53:42.419 --> 00:53:49.225
all subcontracting plans
need to have goals.

00:53:49.225 --> 00:53:52.462
So what's you take on it
from SBA's perspective?

00:53:52.462 --> 00:53:54.898
>> Barbara Weaver: Well in
this case where it doesn't

00:53:54.898 --> 00:53:57.667
sound like there's
any opportunity,

00:53:57.667 --> 00:54:02.138
and that happens,
notwithstanding those two

00:54:02.138 --> 00:54:04.741
clauses that I showed you
earlier that said even

00:54:04.741 --> 00:54:10.246
primes have to make sure
that small businesses have

00:54:10.246 --> 00:54:12.349
maximum practicable
opportunities.

00:54:12.349 --> 00:54:13.383
>> Teresa Lewis: Yes.

00:54:13.383 --> 00:54:14.517
>> Barbara Weaver: But I
know that sometimes it

00:54:14.517 --> 00:54:17.153
doesn't happen, and in that
case where there isn't any

00:54:17.153 --> 00:54:20.290
opportunity, then the
plan needs to be waived.

00:54:20.290 --> 00:54:23.126
Now, you know, the magic is
that it's going to take a

00:54:23.126 --> 00:54:25.395
level above the contracting
officer to make that

00:54:25.395 --> 00:54:26.496
decision.

00:54:26.496 --> 00:54:28.465
So it should not
be done lightly.

00:54:28.465 --> 00:54:33.503
We think that the check and
balance is built into the

00:54:33.503 --> 00:54:37.741
requirement to have somebody
higher than the contracting

00:54:37.741 --> 00:54:39.042
officer to look at it.

00:54:39.042 --> 00:54:40.910
>> Teresa Lewis: Okay.

00:54:40.910 --> 00:54:41.945
Okay.

00:54:41.945 --> 00:54:42.846
>> Barbara Weaver:
So, and that happens.

00:54:42.846 --> 00:54:44.748
It doesn't happen a lot,
but it happens sometimes.

00:54:44.748 --> 00:54:46.650
>> Teresa Lewis:
Okay, so in essence,

00:54:46.650 --> 00:54:49.352
if that does happen, they
have to get that higher

00:54:49.352 --> 00:54:54.724
level review, and then
document the contract folder --

00:54:54.724 --> 00:54:55.925
>> Barbara Weaver: Correct.

00:54:55.925 --> 00:54:56.960
>> Teresa Lewis: -- the
contract file so, okay,

00:54:56.960 --> 00:54:57.961
very good.

00:54:57.961 --> 00:55:01.231
So someone wants to know --
does a line of large prime

00:55:01.231 --> 00:55:04.367
offer include universities?

00:55:04.367 --> 00:55:05.168
>> Barbara Weaver: Yes.

00:55:05.168 --> 00:55:06.536
>> Teresa Lewis:
The answer is yes.

00:55:06.536 --> 00:55:07.537
All right.

00:55:07.537 --> 00:55:09.439
>> Barbara Weaver: And
universities are tough,

00:55:09.439 --> 00:55:13.810
and let me just say that I
think that it's okay for

00:55:13.810 --> 00:55:16.680
you, when you're dealing
with your universities to

00:55:16.680 --> 00:55:20.684
say to them, "You need to
get some training on this,"

00:55:20.684 --> 00:55:23.820
because they're
resisting, and, you know,

00:55:23.820 --> 00:55:26.956
they have some
responsibility here to be

00:55:26.956 --> 00:55:29.325
working with
small businesses.

00:55:29.325 --> 00:55:34.597
So, you know, if that's
something that we need to

00:55:34.597 --> 00:55:36.766
participate in, we're
happy to do that.

00:55:36.766 --> 00:55:37.500
>> Teresa Lewis: Thank you.

00:55:37.500 --> 00:55:39.569
>> Barbara Weaver: The
two CMRs in this area are

00:55:39.569 --> 00:55:40.437
excellent.

00:55:40.437 --> 00:55:43.973
They do great training, and
I work with them a lot.

00:55:43.973 --> 00:55:46.176
So we're happy to help you.

00:55:46.176 --> 00:55:49.612
I have presentations that I
can make available to you.

00:55:49.612 --> 00:55:50.447
>> Teresa Lewis: Fantastic.

00:55:50.447 --> 00:55:51.815
>> Barbara Weaver: I
have a small business,

00:55:51.815 --> 00:55:55.785
the SBLO handbook, just a
lot of tools are out there

00:55:55.785 --> 00:55:57.754
to bring universities
up to speed.

00:55:57.754 --> 00:55:59.456
>> Teresa Lewis: To assist
our contract officers,

00:55:59.456 --> 00:56:03.293
because we at HHS do
a lot of work with the

00:56:03.293 --> 00:56:05.729
universities, so I
think that's important.

00:56:05.729 --> 00:56:07.564
>> Barbara Weaver: And I
think it's a cultural shift --

00:56:07.564 --> 00:56:08.398
>> Teresa Lewis: I do, too.

00:56:08.398 --> 00:56:09.933
>> Barbara Weaver: -- that
you're looking for here.

00:56:09.933 --> 00:56:11.234
>> Teresa Lewis: Yeah.

00:56:11.234 --> 00:56:12.802
>> Barbara Weaver: And one
of the things that I told

00:56:12.802 --> 00:56:16.906
Teresa before we started
the presentation is my

00:56:16.906 --> 00:56:20.977
experience is that as
contracting officers -- and

00:56:20.977 --> 00:56:24.647
I really appreciate this --
I think that you really are

00:56:24.647 --> 00:56:27.350
starting to see
that, you know,

00:56:27.350 --> 00:56:30.520
we have tools and we have
responsibilities and kind of

00:56:30.520 --> 00:56:35.358
a very distinct
mission at SBA,

00:56:35.358 --> 00:56:37.293
and we want to work with
you to make it happen.

00:56:37.293 --> 00:56:40.230
So when I talk about
a cultural shift,

00:56:40.230 --> 00:56:42.365
that's actually what
we're talking about here.

00:56:42.365 --> 00:56:46.002
And it's, you know, it's
going to be slow but it has

00:56:46.002 --> 00:56:49.005
to happen, and somebody's
got to open the door to get

00:56:49.005 --> 00:56:50.306
these universities going.

00:56:50.306 --> 00:56:51.708
>> Teresa Lewis: Absolutely.

00:56:51.708 --> 00:56:53.243
So okay, very good.

00:56:53.243 --> 00:56:57.514
So next question, can
you go over the $700,000

00:56:57.514 --> 00:57:02.552
subcontracting requirement
effective 1 October?

00:57:02.552 --> 00:57:04.387
They said they
missed what you said.

00:57:04.387 --> 00:57:05.355
>> Barbara Weaver: Okay.

00:57:05.355 --> 00:57:09.259
What happens on 10/1,
subject to that FAR case,

00:57:09.259 --> 00:57:17.066
is that the subcontracting
plan threshold just goes

00:57:17.066 --> 00:57:21.538
from $650,000 to $700,000.

00:57:21.538 --> 00:57:23.506
So if you have a
contract for 683,

00:57:23.506 --> 00:57:25.942
you don't have to be looking
at a subcontracting plan.

00:57:25.942 --> 00:57:27.377
>> Teresa Lewis:
[affirmative] Well that's

00:57:27.377 --> 00:57:29.712
going to help us, especially
since the contracts were

00:57:29.712 --> 00:57:31.714
getting larger and larger,
so that's going to help a

00:57:31.714 --> 00:57:32.382
lot.

00:57:32.382 --> 00:57:33.783
>> Barbara Weaver:
About every five years,

00:57:33.783 --> 00:57:37.053
SBA or somebody on the FAR
council looks at those,

00:57:37.053 --> 00:57:38.888
and there's always
a big shuffle.

00:57:38.888 --> 00:57:40.890
>> Teresa Lewis: Okay, thank
you Barbara, very good.

00:57:40.890 --> 00:57:43.960
All right, after a small
business is initially

00:57:43.960 --> 00:57:50.433
determined to be a HUBZone,
what steps does SBA take to

00:57:50.433 --> 00:57:55.405
ensure that it remains
qualified as a HUBZone after

00:57:55.405 --> 00:57:58.007
the initial determination?

00:57:58.007 --> 00:57:59.142
>> Barbara Weaver:
Well, I will tell you,

00:57:59.142 --> 00:58:03.713
that as an agency,
that that is monitored.

00:58:03.713 --> 00:58:06.583
And the reason I know that,
it's usually monitored at

00:58:06.583 --> 00:58:09.986
the regional level, down
to district offices,

00:58:09.986 --> 00:58:14.891
and personnel are tasked
with going out to and

00:58:14.891 --> 00:58:18.628
reviewing sites
and companies,

00:58:18.628 --> 00:58:21.631
and making sure that
they really are HUBZone

00:58:21.631 --> 00:58:23.099
companies.

00:58:23.099 --> 00:58:26.469
And I spend some time
with business opportunity

00:58:26.469 --> 00:58:29.472
specialists in two
district offices,

00:58:29.472 --> 00:58:33.476
so I have been on some
of those shakedowns.

00:58:33.476 --> 00:58:34.210
>> Teresa Lewis:
Oh, you have?

00:58:34.210 --> 00:58:35.278
>> Barbara Weaver:
Yeah, I have.

00:58:35.278 --> 00:58:37.247
>> Teresa Lewis:
[laughs] And how was it?

00:58:37.247 --> 00:58:40.450
>> Barbara Weaver: Well,
the last one I went on,

00:58:40.450 --> 00:58:45.188
there were signs, nice signs
for this small business.

00:58:45.188 --> 00:58:50.660
We went in, there
was no furniture,

00:58:50.660 --> 00:58:52.362
there was a pile of mail --

00:58:52.362 --> 00:58:53.196
>> Teresa Lewis: Oh, no.

00:58:53.196 --> 00:58:56.032
>> Barbara Weaver: -- in
the middle of the floor,

00:58:56.032 --> 00:59:00.236
so that HUBZone small
business isn't --

00:59:00.236 --> 00:59:01.938
>> Teresa Lewis: It is no
longer in the program.

00:59:01.938 --> 00:59:04.307
>> Barbara Weaver: -- so and
those kind of reviews are,

00:59:04.307 --> 00:59:07.410
I think they're doing like,
in West Virginia they do

00:59:07.410 --> 00:59:08.678
like 30 a year.

00:59:08.678 --> 00:59:09.712
I might be overstating that.

00:59:09.712 --> 00:59:10.713
>> Teresa Lewis: Yeah.

00:59:10.713 --> 00:59:11.948
>> Barbara Weaver: The
don't take it lightly.

00:59:11.948 --> 00:59:15.051
>> Teresa Lewis: The SBA not
only has those site visits

00:59:15.051 --> 00:59:18.688
and reviews, but they also
have recertification as

00:59:18.688 --> 00:59:20.089
well, is my understanding.

00:59:20.089 --> 00:59:22.725
So SBA is truly
monitoring them,

00:59:22.725 --> 00:59:27.497
and also the HUBZone
community monitors one and

00:59:27.497 --> 00:59:29.699
other as well, police
one and other as well,

00:59:29.699 --> 00:59:31.267
so that's always a big help.

00:59:31.267 --> 00:59:32.835
>> Barbara Weaver: I say
small businesses really are

00:59:32.835 --> 00:59:34.203
the best.

00:59:34.203 --> 00:59:36.639
They do the best job
of self-policing.

00:59:36.639 --> 00:59:37.774
It's wonderful.

00:59:37.774 --> 00:59:39.542
>> Teresa Lewis:
Yeah, I think so, too.

00:59:39.542 --> 00:59:42.312
So does the -- next
question -- does the

00:59:42.312 --> 00:59:47.717
$150,000 threshold apply
to GSA task force?

00:59:47.717 --> 00:59:50.320
We get that question
all the time.

00:59:50.320 --> 00:59:55.124
>> Barbara Weaver: Well, and
what I say [laughs] is it

00:59:55.124 --> 00:59:58.294
goes -- the requirements
in -- I think what you're

00:59:58.294 --> 01:00:01.164
asking for, is
it a PCR review?

01:00:01.164 --> 01:00:02.732
>> Teresa Lewis: Yes.

01:00:02.732 --> 01:00:06.903
>> Barbara Weaver: It
actually goes to what the

01:00:06.903 --> 01:00:09.806
annual plan of
operation requires.

01:00:09.806 --> 01:00:14.043
So, whatever it
is for the year --

01:00:14.043 --> 01:00:14.911
>> Teresa Lewis: Okay.

01:00:14.911 --> 01:00:17.747
>> Barbara Weaver: -- and I
don't think it's $150,000,

01:00:17.747 --> 01:00:18.915
I think it's a higher level.

01:00:18.915 --> 01:00:22.418
I think it's
maybe a million.

01:00:22.418 --> 01:00:24.053
>> Teresa Lewis: Well the
one thing that we do though

01:00:24.053 --> 01:00:28.124
is, we do require that
all actions over $25,000

01:00:28.124 --> 01:00:30.026
are entered into the
small business review

01:00:30.026 --> 01:00:32.962
system, and then based
on the plan of ops,

01:00:32.962 --> 01:00:36.733
we then forward
it to the PCR.

01:00:36.733 --> 01:00:37.700
>> Barbara Weaver: Yes.

01:00:37.700 --> 01:00:41.871
And one of the things that
I've done is in those -- I

01:00:41.871 --> 01:00:45.174
review anything that
I see in in SBRS,

01:00:45.174 --> 01:00:48.077
just because it's easier
just to review it and get it

01:00:48.077 --> 01:00:48.711
going --

01:00:48.711 --> 01:00:49.445
>> Teresa Lewis: Yes.

01:00:49.445 --> 01:00:51.280
>> Barbara Weaver: -- than
to question it and say, "Oh,

01:00:51.280 --> 01:00:52.582
this really isn't my job."

01:00:52.582 --> 01:00:54.117
>> Teresa Lewis: To review.

01:00:54.117 --> 01:00:54.917
Okay.

01:00:54.917 --> 01:00:55.752
>> Barbara Weaver: Yeah.

01:00:55.752 --> 01:00:57.687
So I just try to lump it
all together and get things

01:00:57.687 --> 01:00:58.521
going as fast as I can.

01:00:58.521 --> 01:00:59.689
>> Teresa Lewis:
Okay, very good.

01:00:59.689 --> 01:01:03.092
So next question --
do Ebola-related,

01:01:03.092 --> 01:01:06.729
urgent and compelling
overseas requirements in

01:01:06.729 --> 01:01:13.536
West Africa need
subcontracting plans?

01:01:13.536 --> 01:01:16.205
>> Barbara Weaver: And that
is not -- that is one of

01:01:16.205 --> 01:01:17.774
those it depends.

01:01:17.774 --> 01:01:18.641
>> Teresa Lewis:
[affirmative]

01:01:18.641 --> 01:01:20.543
>> Barbara Weaver: And what
it depends on is if there's

01:01:20.543 --> 01:01:23.146
any portion of the work
that's being performed in

01:01:23.146 --> 01:01:24.547
the U.S.

01:01:24.547 --> 01:01:30.620
So if everything is being
performed overseas,

01:01:30.620 --> 01:01:34.057
then probably not.

01:01:34.057 --> 01:01:35.158
And that happens.

01:01:35.158 --> 01:01:36.292
>> Teresa Lewis: Well, not
for then [phonetic sp],

01:01:36.292 --> 01:01:43.199
my understanding is that
SBA is now requiring the

01:01:43.199 --> 01:01:46.836
overseas contracts to be
considered in the base for

01:01:46.836 --> 01:01:48.871
small business
consideration.

01:01:48.871 --> 01:01:51.874
And so I think that
change is coming soon,

01:01:51.874 --> 01:01:56.479
so the answer is not
now, but stay tuned.

01:01:56.479 --> 01:01:57.847
>> Barbara Weaver: Well
that wasn't in my research,

01:01:57.847 --> 01:01:59.816
so I learned something here.

01:01:59.816 --> 01:02:03.719
>> Teresa Lewis: Yeah, yeah,
that's been a major bone of

01:02:03.719 --> 01:02:07.857
contention with some of the
agencies that do primarily

01:02:07.857 --> 01:02:10.126
overseas
contracting, so yeah.

01:02:10.126 --> 01:02:12.528
>> Barbara Weaver:
[affirmative] Well,

01:02:12.528 --> 01:02:15.231
and I haven't run
into, with my agencies,

01:02:15.231 --> 01:02:18.601
but in the surveillance
reviews with like State and

01:02:18.601 --> 01:02:20.570
Interior.

01:02:20.570 --> 01:02:21.604
>> Teresa Lewis:
USAID interior?

01:02:21.604 --> 01:02:22.705
>> Barbara Weaver: Yeah.

01:02:22.705 --> 01:02:24.640
I have -- we
ran across that,

01:02:24.640 --> 01:02:27.610
and so I had the opportunity
to get into the research a

01:02:27.610 --> 01:02:35.318
bit, and found out that if
a company is based here,

01:02:35.318 --> 01:02:37.086
performing some
of the work here,

01:02:37.086 --> 01:02:39.021
then there has to be a
subcontracting plan.

01:02:39.021 --> 01:02:41.958
>> Teresa Lewis: Yeah. Okay. Very good.

01:02:41.958 --> 01:02:45.962
Next question -- can you
talk about best practices

01:02:45.962 --> 01:02:49.065
for large firms to
demonstrate attempts to

01:02:49.065 --> 01:02:51.534
locate small firms?

01:02:51.534 --> 01:02:55.638
Part two is, do you consider
a search in DSBS as

01:02:55.638 --> 01:02:59.675
adequate?

01:02:59.675 --> 01:03:02.812
>> Barbara Weaver:
Well, you know,

01:03:02.812 --> 01:03:08.251
that is a full-blown market
research question, you know.

01:03:08.251 --> 01:03:11.354
First of all, what are
you doing strategically?

01:03:11.354 --> 01:03:13.589
What are they doing
strategically,

01:03:13.589 --> 01:03:16.125
to find out what's
in the market?

01:03:16.125 --> 01:03:20.263
And are they attending
your vendor days?

01:03:20.263 --> 01:03:25.801
Are they coming -- are they
going to the big networking

01:03:25.801 --> 01:03:26.936
conferences?

01:03:26.936 --> 01:03:28.771
I think all of that
stuff is important,

01:03:28.771 --> 01:03:32.475
and I support a few of those
myself and participate

01:03:32.475 --> 01:03:37.813
within the planning of them,
and I do it with the sincere

01:03:37.813 --> 01:03:40.850
understanding that we're
actually looking for

01:03:40.850 --> 01:03:42.351
opportunities with
small business.

01:03:42.351 --> 01:03:46.923
It is not, you know, just
a show that we put on.

01:03:46.923 --> 01:03:50.760
And one of the things that I
do on my end is follow back

01:03:50.760 --> 01:03:53.129
to make sure, you know,
did you find anybody?

01:03:53.129 --> 01:03:55.665
Did you find
anybody that time?

01:03:55.665 --> 01:04:00.670
So I think that, you know,
you have to be looking at

01:04:00.670 --> 01:04:04.473
the heart of the prime,
and one -- I gave a talk

01:04:04.473 --> 01:04:06.709
recently to prime
contractors,

01:04:06.709 --> 01:04:13.049
and I challenged them to be
as optimistic in actually

01:04:13.049 --> 01:04:15.885
finding small
businesses to work with,

01:04:15.885 --> 01:04:19.789
as small businesses are
optimistic in finding them.

01:04:19.789 --> 01:04:21.157
>> Teresa Lewis: And that's
a great way to put that.

01:04:21.157 --> 01:04:22.725
>> Barbara Weaver: Because
a lot of times I'd look at

01:04:22.725 --> 01:04:26.729
market research and or
subcontracting plans,

01:04:26.729 --> 01:04:29.265
and it's apparent to me that
there's just this little

01:04:29.265 --> 01:04:31.567
closed mind about
small business.

01:04:31.567 --> 01:04:33.736
I mean, it just
blares at me.

01:04:33.736 --> 01:04:36.639
It's not difficult to see.

01:04:36.639 --> 01:04:41.410
So I almost always, and it's
always reflected in the

01:04:41.410 --> 01:04:45.448
goal, so it just kind of
tells the whole tale.

01:04:45.448 --> 01:04:46.282
>> Teresa Lewis:
That's right.

01:04:46.282 --> 01:04:48.184
>> Barbara Weaver: I would
just encourage your prime

01:04:48.184 --> 01:04:51.020
contractors to open their
minds and their hearts a

01:04:51.020 --> 01:04:54.924
little bit and then find
these businesses that are

01:04:54.924 --> 01:05:00.596
just so hungry to be part
of the game [laughs].

01:05:00.596 --> 01:05:04.400
>> Teresa Lewis: And other
than the large businesses or

01:05:04.400 --> 01:05:07.169
other than small businesses,
when they submit their

01:05:07.169 --> 01:05:09.972
annual reports, or
semi-annual reports,

01:05:09.972 --> 01:05:13.976
they're required to provide
an explanation on what

01:05:13.976 --> 01:05:17.613
process they use to conduct
their market research for

01:05:17.613 --> 01:05:20.650
small businesses, and you
as the contracting officer,

01:05:20.650 --> 01:05:23.252
when you review those, you
need to ensure that they

01:05:23.252 --> 01:05:24.920
have done their
due diligence.

01:05:24.920 --> 01:05:26.422
There are quite
a few who don't,

01:05:26.422 --> 01:05:29.825
but I have to tell you that
at a lot of our events,

01:05:29.825 --> 01:05:34.630
we have 15 to 20 large
primes of our major primes

01:05:34.630 --> 01:05:37.633
that come out and, you know,
they support the small

01:05:37.633 --> 01:05:40.870
business programs, and many
of them also host their own

01:05:40.870 --> 01:05:42.171
small businesses events.

01:05:42.171 --> 01:05:45.141
So to me, if they're
making that effort,

01:05:45.141 --> 01:05:47.677
then that is enough.

01:05:47.677 --> 01:05:50.613
It takes more than just
going into Sam and saying,

01:05:50.613 --> 01:05:52.014
"Okay, I can't find any."

01:05:52.014 --> 01:05:53.149
>> Barbara Weaver: Right.

01:05:53.149 --> 01:05:55.051
>> Teresa Lewis: Or DSBS.

01:05:55.051 --> 01:05:55.951
>> Barbara Weaver: Yes.

01:05:55.951 --> 01:05:57.086
So investigate their hearts.

01:05:57.086 --> 01:05:57.987
>> Teresa Lewis: Absolutely.

01:05:57.987 --> 01:05:59.455
I like the way you put that.

01:05:59.455 --> 01:06:01.257
All right, so next question.

01:06:01.257 --> 01:06:05.661
In what -- this is related
to changes coming up -- in

01:06:05.661 --> 01:06:09.565
what context can
subcontractors address

01:06:09.565 --> 01:06:13.436
payment and utilization
issues directly with the

01:06:13.436 --> 01:06:16.439
contracting officer?

01:06:16.439 --> 01:06:21.410
>> Barbara Weaver: That
would happen when a prime

01:06:21.410 --> 01:06:26.549
was not paying a sub, and
they could come to you and

01:06:26.549 --> 01:06:28.317
you could get
involved in that.

01:06:28.317 --> 01:06:31.921
And, you know, find out, try
to get to the bottom of it.

01:06:31.921 --> 01:06:33.989
Involve SBA if you have to.

01:06:33.989 --> 01:06:37.827
I've worked a couple
of cases like that.

01:06:37.827 --> 01:06:42.365
And as far as utilization,
that addresses whether,

01:06:42.365 --> 01:06:45.801
you know, if negotiate
a contract with a small

01:06:45.801 --> 01:06:49.438
business to be part
of a larger deal,

01:06:49.438 --> 01:06:54.243
and it's $250,000 contract,
and it ends up being a

01:06:54.243 --> 01:06:58.080
$50,000 contract, then
that, you know what,

01:06:58.080 --> 01:07:00.483
I would think that you would
want to be checking that out

01:07:00.483 --> 01:07:01.350
as well.

01:07:01.350 --> 01:07:03.986
And that's really what
the Jobs Act was after,

01:07:03.986 --> 01:07:06.088
in that Section 1321.

01:07:06.088 --> 01:07:06.956
>> Teresa Lewis:
[affirmative]

01:07:06.956 --> 01:07:08.190
>> Barbara Weaver:
And, you know,

01:07:08.190 --> 01:07:11.827
I have dealt with the heart
break of small businesses

01:07:11.827 --> 01:07:12.595
for years --

01:07:12.595 --> 01:07:13.262
>> Teresa Lewis: Yes.

01:07:13.262 --> 01:07:15.164
>> Barbara Weaver: -- who
get rolled into these big

01:07:15.164 --> 01:07:17.633
actions, and never see
a dollar from them.

01:07:17.633 --> 01:07:18.401
>> Teresa Lewis: Yes.

01:07:18.401 --> 01:07:21.003
>> Barbara Weaver: You know,
they hire, they prepare,

01:07:21.003 --> 01:07:24.206
they do clearances, they
jump through every hoop

01:07:24.206 --> 01:07:26.509
there is, and nothing
ever comes of it.

01:07:26.509 --> 01:07:26.842
>> Teresa Lewis:
That's right.

01:07:26.842 --> 01:07:28.344
>> Barbara Weaver: And
that's what the Jobs Act was

01:07:28.344 --> 01:07:29.612
designed to stop.

01:07:29.612 --> 01:07:30.479
>> Teresa Lewis: Yes.

01:07:30.479 --> 01:07:31.947
Yeah.

01:07:31.947 --> 01:07:35.184
And also, what has typically
happened in the past --

01:07:35.184 --> 01:07:36.685
well, for some.

01:07:36.685 --> 01:07:40.856
Some subs have contacted the
Small Business Office and

01:07:40.856 --> 01:07:45.060
we have assisted as well with
intervening between the

01:07:45.060 --> 01:07:47.196
prime and the
federal government.

01:07:47.196 --> 01:07:49.298
So I actually think
it's a good thing,

01:07:49.298 --> 01:07:51.066
so we'll see what happens.

01:07:51.066 --> 01:07:54.403
I think the true purpose of
that, the new requirement,

01:07:54.403 --> 01:07:57.306
is to encourage prime
contractors to do the right

01:07:57.306 --> 01:07:58.007
thing.

01:07:58.007 --> 01:07:58.774
>> Barbara Weaver: Right.

01:07:58.774 --> 01:08:01.222
>> Teresa Lewis: So, okay,
fantastic.

01:08:01.222 --> 01:08:03.500
Are there any other
questions while Barbara

01:08:03.500 --> 01:08:04.000
is here?

01:08:04.000 --> 01:08:07.222
She's traveled all the way
from West Virginia to assist us,

01:08:07.222 --> 01:08:12.323
and to answer any
questions that you may have.

01:08:14.323 --> 01:08:15.591
Okay.

01:08:15.591 --> 01:08:20.763
So I have received several
questions again on how

01:08:20.763 --> 01:08:23.566
to get your training certificate.

01:08:23.566 --> 01:08:28.471
So again, at the
end of this webinar,

01:08:28.471 --> 01:08:31.740
you will receive a
questionnaire within the

01:08:31.740 --> 01:08:34.477
next 24 hours, you'll
get a questionnaire,

01:08:34.477 --> 01:08:36.946
and just customer
satisfaction to give us

01:08:36.946 --> 01:08:39.849
an opportunity to improve the
service that we're providing

01:08:39.849 --> 01:08:41.116
to you.

01:08:41.116 --> 01:08:43.385
Once you complete
that survey,

01:08:43.385 --> 01:08:48.557
then you will get a copy
of your certificate.

01:08:48.557 --> 01:08:49.258
Okay?

01:08:49.258 --> 01:08:50.192
>> Barbara Weaver:
[affirmative]

01:08:50.192 --> 01:08:51.393
>> Teresa Lewis: All right.

01:08:51.393 --> 01:08:56.332
So, any other questions?

01:08:56.332 --> 01:08:58.033
>> Barbara Weaver:
That was way too easy.

01:08:58.033 --> 01:08:59.435
>> Teresa Lewis: [laughs]
That means you did a great

01:08:59.435 --> 01:09:00.102
job.

01:09:00.102 --> 01:09:01.904
>> Barbara Weaver: Oh,
I hope so [laughs].

01:09:01.904 --> 01:09:03.205
>> Teresa Lewis: All right,
well thank you everybody,

01:09:03.205 --> 01:09:05.975
and if you have additional
questions, please go,

01:09:05.975 --> 01:09:09.879
please email us at
sbmail@hhs.gov.

01:09:09.879 --> 01:09:11.046
Thank you.

01:09:11.046 --> 01:09:12.515
>> Barbara Weaver: Thanks.