1. Doing Business with the Department of Veterans Affairs
October 20, 2016
USPAAC Government Contracting 101 Webinar
Chanel Bankston-Carter, Director
Strategic Outreach and Communications

2. Overview Vision/Mission Veterans Hierarchy
Be Prepared/Procurement Readiness
Differentiators
Kingdomware Inc. vs. United States
Small Business Tips of the trade
2016 National Veterans Small Business Engagement (NVSBE) November 1-3rd, 2016 Minneapolis, Minnesota.

3. Vision and Mission of VA OSDBU
Within the next five years, OSDBU will transform how procurement ready small businesses gain access to economic opportunity through increased awareness reduced risk, enhanced access, improved procurement mechanisms and better performance in order to enable Veterans to gain access to economic opportunity and promote Veteran employment.
Mission
Enable Veterans to gain access to economic opportunity by leveraging the federal procurement system and expanding participation of procurement ready small businesses.

4. VETS FIRST Hierarchy
A new procurement hierarchy within VA for open market procurements was created which places highest priority with SDVOSB then VOSB.  These small business groups are followed by 8(a), HUBZone, Women-Owned Small Business, then all other small businesses. 
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has special authority for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business and Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB and VOSB) set-aside and sole source contracts.

5. Procurement Ready Checklist
Be Prepared
The Key to Success is being prepared….
Procurement Ready Checklist
What does it mean for you?
Register --
Do Your Homework- what does VA need-how can I solve their needs
Polish your elevator speech
Target your audience now –check social media and NVSBE website
Understand what procurement ready means to potential customers
Past performance - do you have any? How’d ya do?
Current Performance – what you doing now and for whom?
Fill out schedule and agenda
Ask questions
Procurement Ready Checklist
Performance history
Capability statement
SAM registration
D-U-N-S Number
FPDS account
Apply for a GSA Schedule, if eligible
NAICS Codes and size
DSBS
Corporate Website
Certifications for small business
Credit card acceptance
Contact information including telephone number and address
Licenses
Bonding capacity
Industry/procurement specific certifications
Products must meet 19 U.S.C 2501: Trade Agreements Act
Knowledge about the customer within the federal marketplace

6. VOSBs: What are your Differentiators ?
Differentiators is defined as unique features and/or benefits of a product, or aspects of a brand (your business), that set you apart from competing products or brands (other businesses).
Past Performance
Small Business Certificates
Vets First Verification Program
Certificates of Competency (SBA)
ISO 9000/9001 certification
Industry Awards

7. Supreme Court of the United States Decision on Kingdomware Technologies, Inc. v. United States
Released: June 16, 2016
Determined that the “Rule of Two” must be applied to all competitive VA contract awards
Background: VA and lower courts previously interpreted the rule as limited to open market acquisitions only
What is the “rule of two”
“…provides that a contracting officer “shall award contracts” by restricting competition to veteran-owned small businesses if the officer reasonably expects that at least two such businesses will submit offers and that the award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States.”
38 U. S. C.§8127(d).
“…provides that a contracting officer “shall award contracts” by restricting competition to veteran-owned small businesses if the officer reasonably expects that at least two such businesses will submit offers and that the award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States.”
38 U. S. C.§8127(d).

8. Small Business Tips of the Trade
BE VERIFIED !
VA Business Intelligence Tool (VA BIT)
Website (BrightCloud)
VA’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (VA OSDBU) has received inquiries VA verified small businesses and VA Procurement Decision Makers (PDMs) – including Contracting Officers (COs) - about not being able to access websites through VA’s Network. This hampers the COs and other VA PDMs’ ability to conduct market research.
In nearly all cases, we determined the blocked sites were not properly categorized. VA utilizes the BrightCloud Web Classification Service to determine the categorization of URLs across 83+ categories. BrightCloud does not block sites, they simply classify them. The VA security firewall checks the outgoing URL against BrightCloud before allowing access to the site and will block URL that are not properly categorized. It is recommended that firms submit a request to have its URL re-categorized. Firms can accomplish this by visiting BrightCloud’s website.
Visit the BrightCloud website at to submit a categorization change request
10 Key Elements to Building a Web-site
Visit VA OSDBU’s Fact Sheets’ library Web page at to learn more about Small Business Websites’ and VA’s Network
VA Business Intelligence Tool (VA BIT)
VA BIT is a 24/7/365 tool that allows small businesses to connect with Procurement Decision Makers (PDMs), view their posted opportunities and create compatibility scoring as well as register for any DAP (Direct Access Program) event.
Benefits
Find procurement ready vendors at a quick glance
See which one of your matching vendors or PDMs are participating in the organization’ event. Please visit for more information

9. November 1-3rd, 2016 in Minneapolis, MN
2016 National Veterans Small Business Engagement (NVSBE)
November 1-3rd, 2016 in Minneapolis, MN
VA Attendees: Program Managers- 350 , Contracting Officers- 400, Other VA- 50
Additional Events for VA Staff: Acquisition Innovation Symposium, SECVA Awards Ceremony
What is NVSBE?
The National Veterans Small Business Engagement (NVSBE) is the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VAs) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization’s (OSDBUs) premier event for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs).
Why Attend?
Build relationships with potential customers and business partners
Maximize proposal opportunities to compete for and win contract awards
Demonstrate your business capability to meet mission needs of customers

10. Small Business Resources
Learn more about VA at:
Learn more about VA OSBDU at:
Conferences, Events, and Webinars:
Public Law (P.L) :
Vets First Contracting:
National Veterans Small Business Engagement:
Download a copy of Doing Business with VA and Procurement Readiness Reference guides at: