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FEDERAL ACQUISITION How to position your company to receive a Government contract Lance Petteway, Director, Contract Management Division Food and Nutrition Service

Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) is a nonprofit, membership organization working to increase the economic power and public policy clout of women entrepreneurs by providing essential business skills education, leadership opportunities for business and personal growth, and a seat at the table among policymakers in Washington, D.C. WIPP was founded in 2001 and is recognized as a national, nonpartisan voice for women business owners, advocating on behalf of its coalition of 4.7 million businesswomen including 78 business organizations. WIPP identifies important trends and opportunities and provides a collaborative model for the public and private sectors to advance the economic empowerment of women.

Give Me 5 National program from WIPP & American Express OPEN designed to educate women business owners on how to apply for and secure federal procurement opportunities. Give Me 5 works to increase the representation of Women Business Owners that win government contracts. We provide accessible business education tools to assist both new and experienced federal contractors. Women Business Owners could gain more than $4 billion in annual revenues if the 5% contracting goal set by Congress was reached.

Lance Petteway Director, Contract Management Division, Food and Nutrition Service U.S. Department of Agriculture FEDERAL ACQUISITION How to position your company to receive a Government contract

Outline  Guiding principles (FAR)  Toolkit for increasing your chances of receiving Government contracts  Building relationships  Marketing your products or services  Challenges procuring with small businesses  Pre-award processes  Submitting smart proposals  Post-award  Summary

Guiding Principles FAR Statement of guiding principles for the Federal Acquisition System  The vision for the Federal Acquisition System is to deliver on a timely basis the best value product or service to the customer, while maintaining the public's trust and fulfilling public policy objectives.  Contracts is a Contact Sport.  Our goal is not to give you a contract; our goal is to maximize opportunities for small businesses. Acquisition is a contact sport, we provide opportunities, and you compete for the work.

Building Relationships Submit Smart Proposals Identify business needs Prospecting Make an appointment to meet with the Head of Contracting Activity Designee (HCAD)/or supervisor over small business program. See if the agency has opportunities for small businesses to meet with program offices. If you are in the 8(a) program, your goal is to become a HCADs go to, reliable, just in time contractor. Recommend to the HCAD to establish a roundtable program (mention USDA/FNS has a model in place). Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Prospecting Understand who your prospect customers are. Phase 1 Select one or two agencies that do a lot of work in your particular NAICS Code. Determine if SBA has designated the NAICS Code as underrepresent ed for WOSB. Identify business needsToolkit

Sign up with FEDBIZOPS to receive notifications. Attend vendor outreach programs. Get a GSA schedule or subcontract with a holder. Start small; go after projects under $150K. Subcontract with off schedule prime contractors. Contact the Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) for your targeted agencies. Build a close relationship with SBA representative. Subcontract with WOSB, HUBZone, 8(a), etc. Marketing your Products or Services

Challenges Procuring with Small Businesses  They cannot do the work  Way too much oversight  The span of control of the contract is too big for them  Poor quality  Cannot meet deadlines  Costly  Do not have the necessary skill-sets

Performance-Based vs. Sealed Bid Performance-Based vs. Sealed Bid Source Selection Process Pre-award Processes Source Selection Processes  Tradeoff  LPTA Source Selection Processes  Tradeoff  LPTA Debrief

Submitting Smart Proposals  Performance based contract is a gift to contractors  Read and follow instructions  At a minimum, ensure you meet the minimum requirements prior to elaborating on what you do better than your competition  If you identify a risk, address the solution to the risk  Don’t make assumptions based on past performance with the government  Spell check  Submit your proposals as if you will not get a second chance to resubmit (award without discussions)  Request debrief

Post-award  Post-award orientation  Timely deliverables  Timely contract completion  Contractor evaluation (Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS))

Summary  Understand the guiding principles for the Federal Acquisition System  Be proactive, network, and build effective relationships  Understand the pre-award and post-award processes  Submit smart proposals  Ensure timely deliverables and contract completion

Questions

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