SmallGovCon
Small business federal contracting commentary.
SmallGovCon Week in Review: Nov. 27-Dec. 1
Happy December! If you haven’t started your holiday shopping, don’t panic, you still have time! It’s hard to believe that 2023 is almost over. I don’t know about you, but here at SmallGovCon, the year seemed to fly by. We hope you have a nice weekend and can get out to enjoy all
Koprince Law LLC · Dec 1, 2023
FAR Subcontracting Plan Update: Credit for Lower Tier Subcontractors Means Lower Tier No Longer Lower Value
Updates to the SBA’s Small Business Subcontracting Plan regulations in response to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020 Section 870 are changing the circumstances in which a prime contractor can receive credit for lower-tier subcontractors, effective November 13, 2023.
Koprince Law LLC · Nov 30, 2023
OHA: Respond to SBA Size Determination Questions, or Risk an Adverse Inference
SBA’s size protest rules contain a stick to force companies to respond to SBA as part of size determination. That stick is called the adverse inference rule. The adverse inference rule says that, if SBA requests specific information and a protested company refuses to provide it,
Koprince Law LLC · Nov 28, 2023
GAO: Debriefings Only Delay Filing Deadlines For GAO Protest
While losing a procurement is never easy, many contractors will learn some valuable lessons from a debriefing. On top of that, a debriefing can delay bid protest filing deadlines at GAO. However, recently, GAO clarified that the bid protest filing deadline delay for debriefings o
Koprince Law LLC · Nov 22, 2023
Room for Improvement: Statistics Suggest It is Unclear if Large Businesses are Meeting Small Business Subcontracting Goals.
Just as agencies have established goals to award a certain percentage of their procurements to small businesses and businesses participating in socio-economic programs like the 8(a) Program, large business contractors must establish goals to include small business subcontractors
Koprince Law LLC · Nov 17, 2023
SmallGovCon Week in Review: November 13-17, 2023
Happy Friday! Next week is Thanksgiving and we want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your support of SmallGovCon. We always strive to provide helpful content and we appreciate all the wonderful feedback that we have received from our readers. We hope you have a gr
Koprince Law LLC · Nov 17, 2023
Govology Webinar Event: 2023 Government Contracting Year in Review, December 7, 2023, 1:00pm EST
In this webinar, Nicole Pottroff and I will cover the most important legal developments for federal contractors in 2023. We will discuss some new small business rules, updates to the 8(a) rules and application procedures, joint venture changes, updated SDVOSB certification requir
Koprince Law LLC · Nov 16, 2023
SBA OIG Again Challenges SBA’s Revised Definition of a HUBZone Employee
This article was originally published by Steven Koprince on LinkedIn and is reprinted with permission. Steve is the founder of Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC but has retired from the practice of law to focus on other endeavors. His views do not necessarily represent those of the fi
Koprince Law LLC · Nov 15, 2023
Event: Teaming Agreements & Subcontracts Workshop hosted by The Catalyst Center for Business & Entrepreneurship, November 16, 2023, 3:00-5:00pm CST
This workshop will focus on teaming agreements and subcontracts which can be essential to winning and successfully performing federal government contracts. Greg Weber and I will explain how to develop, negotiate and administer agreements that are both compliant and effective for
Koprince Law LLC · Nov 10, 2023
SmallGovCon Week in Review, November 6-10, 2023, A Salute to Our Veterans!
Tomorrow is Veterans Day and SmallGovCon would like to thank our veterans for their service. Here are some interesting historical facts about Veterans Day. It was on November 11, 1921, an unidentified American soldier killed in the war was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. T
Koprince Law LLC · Nov 10, 2023
Event: Encountering Innovation Conference hosted by Kansas APEX Accelerators, Nov. 13-17, 2023, Johnson County Community College
Encountering Innovation has quickly become one of the top US Pitch Events for Innovators/Inventors to present and showcase their technology to US Government Tech Scouts for special funding. Tech Scouts from the Department of Defense, Service Labs, Academia, and most US government
Koprince Law LLC · Nov 9, 2023
SBA OIG Report Shows Improvements in 8(a) and Woman-Owned Small Business Programs
The Small Business Administration Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently released its report discussing the top management and performance challenges facing the SBA in 2024. The report highlights a number of issues currently plaguing the SBA and its various programs, incl
Koprince Law LLC · Nov 7, 2023
2023 Bid Protest Report, Success Rate Up, Total Protests Up a Little Bit
One of our favorite fall traditions is back. No, not gorging on stuffing after a turkey trot. Rather, it’s time for GAO’s annual bid protest report. This report is GAO’s summary of bid protests for the previous fiscal year. It contains some key insights for how the protest number
Koprince Law LLC · Nov 3, 2023
SmallGovCon Week in Review: Oct. 30-Nov. 3, 2023
Happy Friday and welcome to November! In honor of National Veterans’ Small Business Week, Administrator Isabel Guzman, head of the SBA, hosted a roundtable with the Veteran Institute for Procurement (VIP) to discuss the Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) Program. The
Koprince Law LLC · Nov 3, 2023
DoD Proposes Updates to its Mentor-Protégé Program
Many federal contractors know of and participate in the SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program. However, there are many agency specific Mentor-Protégé Programs, including the oldest continuous program, the Department of Defense’s Mentor-Protégé Program. The DoD’s program has been operating
Koprince Law LLC · Oct 31, 2023
Event Announcement: APTAC’s 2023 Fall Training Conference
Nicole Pottroff and I are excited to attend the Fall APTAC conference in Washington DC and will be presenting on legal updates on November 6. The conference gives agencies and primes the opportunity to promote supplier diversity programs and learn how the APEX Accelerators can pa
Koprince Law LLC · Oct 27, 2023
SmallGovCon Week in Review: October 23-27, 2023
Happy Friday and happy Halloween! Nicole Pottroff enjoyed presenting at the recent ICBSSHOW this week and enjoyed talking to many of our readers. But it’s also the last weekend to prepare and to stock up on candy for those trick or treaters. Hope the federal contracting stories f
Koprince Law LLC · Oct 27, 2023
FAR Updates: Size Protests for Orders, Rules for 8(a) Follow-On Contracts
The FAR Council has released updates that will impact a couple aspects of small business contracting. One is that contractors can now file size and socioeconomic status protests for certain types of orders, under strict timelines. Second is that agencies must notify SBA when they
Koprince Law LLC · Oct 25, 2023
OHA: JV Violates Two-Year Rule, Loses Award
The joint venture two-year rule always generates a lot of questions. But it’s an important one for small business joint venture members to understand and comply with. A recent decision from the Small Business Administration Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) shows why. In the c
Koprince Law LLC · Oct 23, 2023
SmallGovCon Week in Review: October 16-20, 2023
Happy Friday! The Autumn trees are really showing off their colors this past week here in Lawrence, Kansas. We are grateful for some nice fall temperatures after the heat of summer. The city is bustling with activity and there seems to be some sort of fall festival every weekend.
Koprince Law LLC · Oct 20, 2023
SBA and Industry Leaders Reaffirm Support for 8(a) Program in Light of Recent Judicial Attacks
This week, the SBA published a press release affirming its continued support of its 8(a) Business Development Program in response to recent 8(a) Program attacks in the courts. In the press release, business industry leaders across the nation joined SBA Administrator, Isabella Cas
Koprince Law LLC · Oct 19, 2023
Conference Announcement: ICBS Show, Oklahoma City, October 23-25, 2023
Partner Nicole Pottroff will be attending and presenting at the the ICBSSHOW in Oklahoma City so please stop by our table to say hello. The ICBSSHOW, offers informational sessions featuring experts in government procurement, as well as one day of matchmaking to introduce you and
Koprince Law LLC · Oct 18, 2023
MyGovWatch Live: The B2G Roundtable with Nicole Pottroff & Greg Weber, Federal Contracts Attorneys, October 18, 2023, 12:00pm CDT
If you’re interested in winning more B2G business through the bid process, but you don’t have all the answers, join this LIVE forum and talk about this market with people who have helped hundreds of companies win BILLIONS of dollars in government contracts. The event host, Nick B
Koprince Law LLC · Oct 17, 2023
SmallGovCon Week in Review: October 9-13, 2023
Happy Friday the 13th! It seems very fitting to have a Friday the 13th fall in the month of October, right? The pumpkins are being gathered from the patches in preparation of carving and I see Halloween decorations everywhere I go. It’s also conference season at SmallGovCon.com.
Koprince Law LLC · Oct 13, 2023
Event: Meet the Buyers Fall 2023 Conference | October 17-19 | Scottsbluff, Nebraska
Please join attorney John Holtz, as he heads back to his home state of Nebraska, to the Meet the Buyers Conference. This is Nebraska’s premier government contracting conference where businesses can advance their contracting knowledge, connect with other business owners, and netwo
Koprince Law LLC · Oct 10, 2023