SmallGovCon
Small business federal contracting commentary.
GAO: No SBA Certificate of Competency Review Needed for Failure to Adequately Explain Technical Approach
For small businesses, the SBA’s Certificate of Competency process can offer a powerful “second bite at the apple,” essentially allowing a small business to appeal to the SBA if a procuring agency finds the small business non-responsible. But the SBA CoC process is limited to find
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 16, 2021
Koprince Law Discusses Teaming for Federal Contractors on Contracting Officer Podcast
I’m excited to announce that I am featured on the Contracting Officer Podcast, hosted by Kevin Jans and Paul Schauer! The episode is available here and, in it, I discuss three common forms of contractor relationships: Teaming Agreements, Joint Venture Agreements, and the federal
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 15, 2021
SmallGovCon Week in Review: Mar. 8 – Mar. 12, 2021
Happy Friday, SmallGovCon readers. The new movie Yes Day comes out today: a day where parents let kids be in charge for a day. And yes, we may be doing a similar thing at our house. For federal contractors, it may feel like it is always Yes Day when responding to government reque
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 12, 2021
8(a) Joint Venture Fraud Allegations Lead to False Claims Act Settlement
The SBA’s joint venture rules can be strict. Mistakes like failing to update a joint venture agreement, inserting ambiguous provisions in a joint venture agreement, or relying on an expired mentor-protege agreement can be costly. Good faith mistakes are one thing–the joint ventur
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 10, 2021
GAO Finds Agency’s Technical Evaluation Inadequate, but Refuses to Invalidate Award
Leasing office space in a flood plain seems like a bad idea. Most people want an office with a view, but not a view of their office desk floating down a first-floor hallway. In a recent protest decision, GAO said that the agency failed to adequately document its evaluation, despi
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 9, 2021
Happy International Women’s Day From SmallGovCon!
We at SmallGovCon just wanted to take a minute to wish all the amazing women out there a Happy International Women’s Day! And we would like to send a special shout-out to all of our WOSBs and ESWOSBs while we are at it! Here’s to commemorating women’s history of achievement and c
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 8, 2021
SBA Answers Questions on 8(a) Program Extension
For those who didn’t see it, SBA recently put out guidance on how the 8(a) program term extension will work. The guidance provides some nice examples of how the process will play out. The guidance has some straight forward scenarios for how SBA will process the 8(a) term extensio
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 8, 2021
SmallGovCon Week in Review: Mar. 1 – Mar. 5, 2021
Next week is spring break in these parts. The weather should be great and I hope all of our readers are able to enjoy it! It’s also getting down to the finals of the college basketball season. It won’t be the same as last year for the KU Jayhawks, but they should still have a goo
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 5, 2021
Event: Service Contract Act & Davis-Bacon Act “101”
The Biden administration recently announced plans to increase enforcement of the federal prevailing wage laws for contractors–the Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon Act. Non-compliance with these laws can be grounds for severe sanctions. (Heck, the DOJ just announced another Fa
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 4, 2021
FAA Updates Its Rules to Embrace HUBZone Program
Until now, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) did not participate in the SBA’s Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Contracting Program. But as of January 2021, it looks like that may be changing! Historically, the FAA did not incorporate any HUBZone goals i
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 3, 2021
GAO Concludes Expired SAM Registration in Invitation for Bid Cannot be Rejected as Nonresponsive
A company that is nonresponsive to an Invitation for Bid (IFB), or any solicitation for that matter, will usually be rejected for consideration for award. All too often, when a nonresponsive finding is made, there is no coming back. A recent decision from GAO shines light on what
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 1, 2021
SmallGovCon Week in Review: Feb. 22 – Feb. 26, 2021
This weekend will get into the 60s, so I’ll be spending some time outdoors soaking up the nice weather. Hope everyone is able to enjoy some nice weather too. As you prepare for your weekend, stay up to date with some of these key government contracting updates. This week’s storie
Koprince Law LLC · Feb 26, 2021
Agency Reasonably Accepted Awardee’s 91% Price Premium, GAO Says
When it comes to “best value” evaluations, agencies ordinarily have broad discretion to accept higher-rated, higher-priced proposals. How broad is that discretion? Well, in one recent case, the GAO held that an agency reasonably accepted the awardee’s higher-rated proposal, despi
Koprince Law LLC · Feb 25, 2021
Event: Small Business Updates at the Alliance Northwest Conference
The last few months have seen a whirlwind of changes in the government contracting rules for small businesses–everything from rules governing joint ventures to WOSB certification to the requirement for government-wide SDVOSB verification, and much more. If your head is spinning t
Koprince Law LLC · Feb 23, 2021
Koprince Law LLC’s New 8(a) Program GovCon Handbook is Live!
Well folks, the wait is finally over! The Second Edition of our popular GovCon Handbook on the SBA’s 8(a) Program is live, and it’s available here. In this revised, updated, and expanded Handbook, Steven Koprince and I give you the run-down on all things 8(a) (and as always, we d
Koprince Law LLC · Feb 23, 2021
Update: FAR Final Rule Puts Limits on LPTA Procurements
Lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) source selection has been on the decline lately. A recent final rule from the FAR Council, effective February 16, 2021, continues this trend. In the rule, the FAR Council implemented additional restrictions on the use of LPTA for non-DoD
Koprince Law LLC · Feb 22, 2021
Coming Next Week: Koprince Law LLC’s New 8(a) Program GovCon Handbook!
The 8(a) Program is tremendously powerful and can be a springboard to massive success in the government contracts marketplace. But the many (many!) rules surrounding the 8(a) Program are complex, and even savvy 8(a) contractors–not to mention first-time applicants–easily can beco
Koprince Law LLC · Feb 19, 2021
SmallGovCon Week in Review: Feb. 15 – Feb. 19, 2021
It looks like the cold snap over most of the country has finally thawed and spring is right around the corner. Hope everyone is recovering from the effects of the cold. The recent Mars rover landing reminded me of the important and exciting work that the government and contractor
Koprince Law LLC · Feb 19, 2021
Reminder: If Pricing is Too High, VA Rule of Two Might Not Apply
The VA Rule of Two, while a powerful motivator for setting procurements aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, does have its limits. One of those exceptions was discussed in a recent ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The c
Koprince Law LLC · Feb 18, 2021
No Protests of SBA Mentor-Protégé Agreements, Says OHA
The SBA’s mentor-protégé program offers powerful benefits. To help ensure that only legitimate small businesses take advantage of the program, the SBA asks applicants a series of questions about potential affiliation between the prospective mentor and protégé. But once the SBA si
Koprince Law LLC · Feb 16, 2021
SmallGovCon Week in Review: Feb. 8 – Feb. 12, 2021
Hello SmallGovCon readers. Here at HQ, we’ve been hit with both a Super Bowl loss from the Chiefs, as well as temperatures topping out in the single digits this week. We’re really looking forward to spring! But in the meantime, enjoy some of these hot federal contracting updates
Koprince Law LLC · Feb 12, 2021
Buy American Act Domestic Component Threshold Gets A Raise
A new FAR final rule recently went into effect that has increased the percentage for the domestic component requirement under the Buy American Act, a percentage that had been in place for nearly 70 years before this recent change. Originally passed in 1933, in simple terms, the B
Koprince Law LLC · Feb 11, 2021
CPARS Challenges: No Appeals Without Contracting Officer Claim
Ask many government contractors, and they’ll tell you that even a single negative report in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System can have a powerful adverse impact on winning future prime contracts. Given the importance of these performance reports, it’s little
Koprince Law LLC · Feb 10, 2021
GAO: Small Business Rule of Two Doesn’t Require Set-Aside for Task Order
Generally, the small business Rule of Two requires an agency to set aside contracts for small business, assuming that there are at least two small businesses with competitive prices who will bid on the contract. But does the small business Rule of Two apply to orders under a mult
Koprince Law LLC · Feb 9, 2021
Event: SBA Training Webinar on 8(a) Joint Ventures
8(a) joint ventures are a powerful tool–both for non-8(a)s to participate in 8(a) contract opportunities and for 8(a) companies to gain valuable experience in their industries. But it is crucial that 8(a) joint ventures follow all of SBA’s requirements if they want to get (and ke
Koprince Law LLC · Feb 5, 2021