BONDING & ACCESS TO CAPITAL SMALL CONTRACTORS INITIATIVE

SESSION 2 MARKETING

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration INTRODUCTION −Federal agencies and their funding programs present many business opportunities −Session 2 explains type of work available, when bonding is required, and how small contractors can best qualify to do work −First part focuses on finding right opportunities, second part on improving prospects through partnering 3

4 U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration PART A: BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1.Become familiar with how federally funded agencies award contracts 2.Understand when bonds are necessary 3.Identify opportunities and competitive advantages 5

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration WHAT TYPES OF WORK ARE AVAILABLE? −HUD and other Federal Agencies provide funding for contract awards covering wide range −Contracts awarded by agencies as well as their grantees ○ Local governments (city and county governments) ○ States ○ Independent authorities (PHAs) ○ Developers and other entities 6

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration −Possible services include: ○ Construction and rehabilitation of structures (residential, commercial, and industrial uses) ○ Demolition activities ○ Improvement of public infrastructure Street and drainage Sewer/water systems Recreational facilities Parks ○ Operation and maintenance (e.g., public housing) CONTRACTED SERVICES 7 U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration PROCUREMENT −Construction projects developed with government funding almost always require: ○ Competitive bidding ○ Bonding ○ Compliance with labor and other regulations ○ Preferences or set-aside for certified disadvantaged business −See SBA presentation “How to Prepare Government Contract Proposals” 8

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration LEARNING ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES 9 −Notification through variety of means ○ Public notices: solicitations and special invitations ○ BusinessUSA ○ ListServe notifications from agencies Open registrations Qualified listings (e.g., FedBizOps and System for Award Management (SAM) ○ Trade publications −Note that registration starts with D-U-N-S #

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration QUALIFYING FOR OPPORTUNITIES −Professional credentials ○ Establishing your capacity to work ○ Meeting basic requirements for each opportunity −Special preferences ○ Previously mentioned “disadvantaged business” opportunities 10 U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration 11 SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration PREFERENCES Small/disadvantaged businesses 12 −SBA Certified 8(a) Program Participant −SBA Certified HUBZone Firm −HUD Section 3 −Small Disadvantaged Businesses −Women-Owned Small Businesses −Minority-Owned Small Business −Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses −Specific Agency Preferences U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration PREFERENCES OR SET-ASIDE −Most contracts include preferences for contractors certified in one of above categories −Typically “goals” or “guidelines” favor bids showing participation of such certified businesses −In some cases, agencies require set-aside of percentage of contract awards for preference categories −Local governments can target Section 3 hiring or require a greater percentage of Section 3 business participation 13

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration MINORITY- AND WOMEN- OWNED BUSINESS −Affirmative requirement to reach out to minority- and women-owned (MBE/WBE) businesses ○ Applies to agencies, contractors and sub- contractors −Policy of the agency originating the contract applies. Generally includes: ○ Minimum advertising requirements ○ Use of MBE/WBE local, state, or national databases ○ Documentation of outreach efforts 14

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration MBE & WBE ADVANTAGES −Certification increases visibility in market ○ Name appears in databases −Numerous entry points to certification ○ SBA 8(a) program assistance ○ National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) ○ State governments −Resource: SBA Business TypesSBA Business Types 15

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration WHEN IS A BOND REQUIRED? 16 All federally funded construction projects over $150,000 per Federal Acquisition Regulations (originally required under Miller Act) All HUD- funded contracts over $100,000 Many states and local governments have lower thresholds (e.g., California requires bonds for all construction contracts over $25,000) Privately funded construction projects also often require bonding

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration IF BONDING IS REQUIRED −Prime contractor must be bonded for full value of contract (typically the General Contractor) −Subcontractors are covered by GC’s bond −Single-trade prime contractors must be bonded −Some GC’s require their subs to be bonded also 17 U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration

BEST OPPORTUNITIES HUD-funded agencies −State/local governments receiving Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and HOME grants, including particularly: ○ Disaster Recovery ○ Economic Development Initiatives −Public Housing Authorities and Indian tribes provided with similar grants and operating funds −Private developers building and renovating housing financed by HUD-funded agency or other Federal agency 18 U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration SELF-EVALUATION −Take 10 minutes to review the opportunity checklist −How can your firm benefit from Federally funding procurement? −Report out; two potential prospects 19

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration NEXT STEPS −Link session material to Action Plan elements as necessary 20

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration RESOURCES These attachments provide more information on Business Opportunities: −“How to Prepare Government Contract Proposals”, SBA (2014) −Procurement “Basically CDBG”, Chapter 14 (2007) 21

22 U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration PART B: PARTNERING

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration INTRODUCTION −To pursue opportunities, firms must effectively qualify and present offer −This means forming strong teams or finding strategic partners, plus developing capability statements −Part B of the session examines those strategies

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1.Assessing your firm’s capacity 2.Determining the need for a partner 3.Understanding various partnership structures 4.Presenting your capacity 24 U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration WHAT ARE NEEDS & STRENGTHS −Assessment 1.Determine what the agency is looking for 2.Outline capabilities to perform on chosen contract services 3.Outline capabilities to perform Construction - skilled trades and management Business and financial management Financial strength and working capital −Gaps: What capabilities does the firm lack?

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration FORMING TEAM & ADDING PARTNERS −Strategies ○ Identifying prospective partners Where can they be found? How to make yourself an attractive partner −Models ○ Subcontracting ○ Joint ventures ○ Forming new corporate entity (e.g., LLC) 26 U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration CAPABILITY STATEMENT ○ Written one-page description of contractor’s services and capabilities ○ Demonstrate enhanced capacity with added partner 27 −As part of bid preparation, you must describe capabilities

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration 28 EXERCISE Take 20 minutes to: −Describe capabilities to perform work identified for firm −Incorporate team or partnering strategy −Identify incomplete elements for Action Plan U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration NEXT STEPS −Consider obtaining technical assistance ○ Procurement Technical Assistance Centers PTAC- Federal Agencies ○ SBA ○ HUD Small Contractor Office ○ BusinessUSA ○ Contractor mentoring programs 29

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - Community Planning and Development U.S. Small Business Administration RESOURCES This attachment provides more information on Partnering: −Sample Capability Statement −“How to Prepare Government Contract Proposals,” SBA (2014) −“Partnering to Get Work – A Partnering Strategies Guide” (2010) 30