SmallGovCon
Small business federal contracting commentary.
Contractor’s Creative Staffing Proposal Leads to Elimination from Competition
In the competitive federal marketplace, businesses are always looking for ways to make their proposals more competitive. With millions of dollars at stake, it is no surprise that some competitors develop clever approaches to give their proposal a competitive edge. As one competit
Koprince Law LLC · Jul 16, 2020
FAR Final Rule: Increased Micro-Purchase and Simplified Acquisition Thresholds
The Federal Acquisition Regulation has officially been updated to increase the micro-purchase threshold and the simplified acquisition threshold, effective August 31, 2020. Various federal agencies had already increased the thresholds through deviations, but this rule makes it of
Koprince Law LLC · Jul 15, 2020
YouTube Tuesday: Writing Your 8(a) Application’s Social Disadvantage Narrative- What the SBA is Looking For
One of the trickiest requirements for admission into the SBA’s 8(a) program is demonstrating social disadvantage. While some groups are presumed socially disadvantaged (as discussed here), social disadvantage can also be demonstrated based on other characteristics not specificall
Koprince Law LLC · Jul 14, 2020
Room for Improvement: GAO Reviews Agency Oversight of Small Business Subcontracting Plans
Recently, GAO published a report on small business subcontracting plan compliance, concluding that agency oversight of these plans need improvement. As many of our readers know, some federal contracts require large business prime contractors to utilize small business subcontracto
Koprince Law LLC · Jul 13, 2020
Week In Review: July 6 – July 10, 2020
Congratulations, everyone! We’ve made it through another week. Hopefully your weekend will be full of (socially-distanced) pool parties and barbecues . . . or, at the least, an afternoon couch nap. Before we log off for the weekend, it’s time for the SmallGovCon Week In Review. I
Koprince Law LLC · Jul 10, 2020
COVID-19 Lockdown No Excuse for Late Filing, GAO says
In a recent bid protest decision, GAO said being under a COVID-19 “Stay at Home Order” was no reason to miss a comments filing deadline. According to GAO, Sysco Corp. had originally filed the protest pro se—without an attorney—but had retained counsel prior to the agency’s respon
Koprince Law LLC · Jul 9, 2020
GAO Rules RFQ Requirement Unreasonably Restricted Competition
In recent GAO decision, Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., B-418449 (Comp. Gen. May 18, 2020), GAO reminded the Marine Corps to make sure its RFQ requirements were reasonable—and in line with the underlying contract. Before we jump in, a little bit of background: in May of 2018, the Navy
Koprince Law LLC · Jul 8, 2020
YouTube Tuesday: What is a WOSB?
With changes coming next week to the WOSB program certification process for women-owned small businesses (which we have discussed recently here and here), we thought we’d take a step back to look at the basics of program benefits and eligibility requirements. In this video, I lay
Koprince Law LLC · Jul 7, 2020
Removing a Price Realism Evaluation is a Material Change, Says GAO
Price realism—the evaluation of whether a proposed price is too low—is a method the government may use to evaluate fixed price offers to ensure that offerors are proposing pricing that reflects an understanding of the work required by the solicitation. Prices that are unrealistic
Koprince Law LLC · Jul 6, 2020
SmallGovCon Week In Review: June 29 – July 2, 2020
Happy Independence Day to all of our SmallGovCon readers! I hope you are able to share some time with family and friends and observe the 4th in a way that means the most to you. Stay healthy and safe. In this short week, there were still some interesting federal contracting devel
Koprince Law LLC · Jul 2, 2020
Joint Ventures: Is “Unequivocal Control” Required?
Fans of the blog know that we’re wild about joint ventures: they allow small business contractors to use their size status while, at the same time, leveraging their joint venture partner’s experience and capabilities. But joint ventures—particularly joint ventures under one of th
Koprince Law LLC · Jul 1, 2020
YouTube Tuesday: SBA and VA SDVOSB Programs- Consolidated or Still Separate?
With July 4th around the corner, we wanted to remind everyone of the government contracting opportunities available to our nation’s veterans, including the SDVOSB Program. In this video, I cover how the SDVOSB Program has changed over time and how it works now: If you are a veter
Koprince Law LLC · Jun 30, 2020
New GovCon Handbook Arriving July 28! Procedures and Pitfalls of Size Protests and Appeals
I’m pleased to announce that my forthcoming Koprince Law LLC GovCon Handbook, entitled Procedures and Pitfalls of Size Protests and Appeals, will be published through Amazon on July 28! In addition, I’ll be hosting an accompanying webinar through Koprince Law on August 5. If you’
Koprince Law LLC · Jun 29, 2020
SmallGovCon Week In Review: June 22 – June 26, 2020
This week, the dust cloud coming to US shores could bring some negative impacts to certain parts of the country, but it could also result in more vivid sunsets and sunrises. There’s often a silver lining but it can take a while to figure out what it is sometimes. There were also
Koprince Law LLC · Jun 26, 2020
Thank You to the House Contracting and Infrastructure Subcommittee
Participating as a witness in a Congressional hearing is among the highlights of my career. It was an honor to be selected to provide insight on the Defense Production Act and its utilization of America’s small business base. A few weeks ago, I was contacted by the Subcommittee o
Koprince Law LLC · Jun 25, 2020
GAO Holds that Protest Was Late Despite Post-Debriefing Questions
Some contractors mistakenly believe that debriefings or post-debriefing questions always extend the deadline for filing a protest with GAO. In some cases they do, but in others they don’t. In cases where they don’t, a protester must file its protest within 10 days of knowing the
Koprince Law LLC · Jun 24, 2020
YouTube Tuesday: The Trade Agreements Act
The Trade Agreements Act (or TAA) is applicable to a wide array of federal government contracts. Wondering how it might apply to you? In this video, I describe the TAA and how it applies to federal contractors: View the full article
Koprince Law LLC · Jun 23, 2020
Clean-Up on Aisle “FAR”: Joint Venture and Subcontracting Plan Rules Get Modernized
Joint ventures and small business subcontracting are two issues near and dear to the hearts of many small business federal contractors. Well, the Federal Acquisition Regulation will soon be updated with respect to both of these topics. The new rules will align with SBA’s rules an
Koprince Law LLC · Jun 22, 2020
SmallGovCon Week In Review: June 15 – June 19, 2020
Happy Juneteenth to our SmallGovCon readers! And Happy Father’s Day as well. The next few days can be a time to reflect on the state of our nation. And to say thanks to a father or father figure. If you need a new podcast to check out, my colleague Haley Claxton was recently feat
Koprince Law LLC · Jun 19, 2020
Back to Basics: SBA’s OHA Reminds Area Offices How to Apply the Ostensible Subcontractor Rule
We’ve discussed the “ostensible subcontractor rule” quite a few times on the blog (including most recently here and here) because it is one of the most frequent grounds for size protests. It’s also frequently misunderstood. A recent SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals decision, Co
Koprince Law LLC · Jun 18, 2020
Ian Patterson to Testify Before Congress on Defense Production Act and Small Business
All of us Koprince Law are experts in the field of government contracting. But Senior Associate Ian Patterson has now been recognized by Congress for his prowess in the field, as he will testify before Congress on June 24. Read on for the details on this exciting event. Ian will
Koprince Law LLC · Jun 17, 2020
YouTube Tuesday: Why Should You File Bid Protests at GAO?
We here at Koprince Law have been seeing a lot of GAO bid protests lately, but for those of you unfamiliar with the Government Accountability Office and what it means to file a bid protest, this video is for you: For more information, check out our helpful Handbook or, if you nee
Koprince Law LLC · Jun 16, 2020
GAO Awards Costs After Agency Unduly Delays Corrective Action
GAO recently awarded the reasonable costs of filing and pursuing a protest to an agency’s evaluation and award decision, after finding that the agency unduly delayed corrective action in response to a clearly meritorious protest. Let’s take a look. Markit! Forestry Management, LL
Koprince Law LLC · Jun 15, 2020
SmallGovCon Week In Review: June 8 – June 12, 2020
Happy Friday and welcome to another addition of the SmallGovCon Week in Review. Mark your calendars as my colleagues will be providing government contracting insights in multiple forums in the next few weeks. And, of course, there are some interesting updates from the world of fe
Koprince Law LLC · Jun 12, 2020
GAO: Single Instance of Disparate Treatment Prejudiced Protester
A GAO protest can rest on a number of different grounds. One of the most fertile, however, is disparate treatment. That is, GAO is particularly sensitive to arguments that a procuring agency wasn’t even-handed in evaluating the same features or omissions in competing proposals. D
Koprince Law LLC · Jun 11, 2020