UPDATED: Breaking OASIS News: Size Standard Announced!
UPDATE, April 2013: Please refer to our OASIS Draft RFP Series posting on the size standard NAICS “pools,” which supersedes the information contained below.
The OASIS Program Management Office announced on Thursday, November 29th that it had selected NAICS Code 541330 (Engineering Services) as the NAICS Code applicable to OASIS and OASIS SB for the purpose of determining business size. Those familiar with this particular NAICS Code know that the basic size standard under it is $14.0M; however, it also contains a special size standard exception of $35.5M for Engineering Services for Military and Aerospace Equipment and Military Weapons. Using market research as directed under FAR Part 19.102 (c-d), GSA determined that Continue reading »
SBA Increases Size Standards in 3 NAICS Sectors; 18,600 Additional Businesses Qualify As Small
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued three final rules in the Federal Register, effective Oct. 24, 2012, increasing size standards for firms in three North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Sectors: Sector 53 – Real Estate and Rental and Leasing; Sector 61 – Educational Services; and Sector 62 – Health Care and Social Assistance.
New size standards will enable more businesses in these sectors to obtain or retain small business status; will give federal agencies a larger pool of small businesses from which to choose for their procurement programs; and will make more small businesses eligible for SBA’s loan programs. Under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, Continue reading »
Your Business May be Small Again! SBA Increases NAICS Sector 54
The Small Business Administration (SBA) reviewed NAICS Sectors 54 and 81 and issued a final rule (13 CFR Part 121) substantially increasing many NAICS code small business size standards, effective March 12, 2012.
SBA establishes small business size definitions (referred to as size standards) for private sector industries using two primary measures of business size—receipts and number of employees. Over the years, SBA has received comments that its size standards have not kept up with changes in the economy – particularly that they do not reflect changes in the federal contracting marketplace and industry structure. The last comprehensive review of size standards occurred during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Continue reading »
Size Standards
UPDATE on Sectors 53 and 61! SBA Increases Size Standards in 3 NAICS Sectors; 18,600 Additional Businesses Qualify As Small
The Small Business Administration (SBA) published proposed increases for small business size standards in NAICS sectors 61 and 53. In the November 15, 2011, Federal Register:
- SBA proposes to increase small business size standards for nine industries in North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Sector 61, Educational Services, 76 Fed. Reg. 70667. Comments are due on January 17, 2012. Continue reading »
Final Rule on Proposed Small Business Size Standards Increase – Public Comments Will Factor Into Spring 2012 Update
UPDATE!! Your Business May be Small Again! SBA Increases NAICS Sector 54 effective March 12, 2012.
SBA’s proposed rule to significantly increase the size standards for the majority of NAICS codes under Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (NAICS Sector 54) closed to public comments as of June 15, 2011. SBA received more than 1,400 comments, both for and against the increase. Mr. Khem Sharma, SBA’s Chief of the Size Standards Division, indicated that a Final Rule (size standard update) will be issued and that it will take public comments into account. The final rule will likely be issued in March 2012 with the standard taking effect 30 days after that. Whether the revenue size standards increase as originally proposed, increase to a lesser degree, or remain the same is still to be seen.
SBA Proposes to Significantly Increase Many Small Business Size Standards
As part of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is required to conduct a detailed review of all size standards. As a result of its preliminary research, the SBA stated that it “recognizes that changes in industry structure and the Federal marketplace over time have rendered existing size standards for some industries no longer supportable by current data”. As a result, the SBA issued a proposed rule in the Federal Register on March 16, 2011 to significantly increase the size standards for the majority of NAICS codes under Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (NAICS Sector 54). This would be the first such increase since July, 2008. If this change is approved, many GSA Schedule Contract holders (especially those under MOBIS, AIMS, PES, HREEO, EAS, LOGWORLD, 03FAC, or FABS) are likely to be reclassified as a small business under the new standards.
A table of the proposed changes is as follows: Continue reading »
In Search Of The Lost Opportunity
With the government fiscal year winding down toward the end of this month, we took a look at the sheer number of solicitations by document type released by the federal government this calendar year. No doubt, folks find it hard sifting through myriads of text to locate the right opportunity.
There were a total of 6 solicitation document types, 3 of them making up close to 98% of all opportunities. As of this writing, the 3 opportunity document types were broken down as follows:
- 52,399 presolicitations
- 48,818 Combined Solicitations
- 9614 Sources Sought Notices
Our detailed analysis for the Top 10 NAICS category in each of those categories can be downloaded as a spreadsheet at this link:
For further details and other new reports such as this one, go to www.fedmine.us or email amehan@fedmine.us.
The Defense Eagle is Spreading Its Wings But Not Its Money
Fiscal year 2009 defense spending is soaring literally like an aeroplane! The top industry code where the Navy and the Air Force spent most of their money – NAICS Code 336411, Aircraft Manufacturing. The Army on the other hand spent most of its money so far in NAICS Code 541330, Engineering Services. But contracts are hardly being competed.
- The Navy spent over 22.78% or $ 7,915,420,099 in its top sector, and chose not to compete close to 50% of all its contracts so far amounting close to $34.7 Billion. Details…
- The Army on the other has spent $5,753,130,677 in its top industry sector amounting to 16.6% of its total spending, and chose not to compete 54% of its total spending – close to $34.5 Billion. Details...
- The Air Force spent $7,575,487,183 or 23.87% of its money in its top industry sector, and chose not to compete 44.08% of its awarded contracts, amounting to $31.7 Billion reported thus far. Details…
For further details about these numbers and linked reports, email Ashok Mehan at: amehan@fedmine.us, or visit: www.fedmine.us for more information. If you mention Aronson, you will receive a 10% discount off standard subscription rates!
Federal Business Opportunities Hidden In Plain Sight – Part II
In Part I last week I discussed how your company can augment federal business development efforts responding to solicitations from FedBizOpps by pursuing teaming and subcontracting opportunities with established prime contractors. In this article we will learn to leverage successful subcontracting and teaming relationships to respond to opportunities. You may have heard the adage that federal agencies are looking for companies specializing in core areas, but many solicitations call for solutions that span across various competencies and multiple NAICS Codes.
These opportunities get embedded under “combined solicitations“, requiring bidders to partner with another company to create a complete solution. The key is to only bid on opportunities for which your team can provide a complete and responsive proposal. A quality proposal will not go unnoticed and even if your team is not selected, you will likely fall within the “competitive range” established by the agency for the bid. This designation qualifies you to request a debriefing with the contracting officer to uncover reasons why you weren’t selected.
Debriefings help you understand agency needs, identify decision makers, get valuable face time with potential customers, see how their organization is structured, and uncover immediate opportunities within the agency. Continue reading »
Resolution #10: We Will Know Our Competition By Thinking of “ET” (Competitive Intelligence)
You are a new company entering the federal space, or an experienced government contractor with years of experience. You may have had little to no success in selling into the federal government, or may have already sold millions! You might have a GSA Schedule, a BPA, or GWAC, or maybe you are a company just happy being a subcontractor to a larger prime. You are sure that you know a thing or two about unearthing federal opportunities, deft at sifting through the web to find what you need to make your next sale, or perhaps you have just recently learned how to spell Fedbizopps.
You could even be one of those who are always confident about the company’s bright future - good economy or bad – or you could be paranoid like me despite some bright spots in the future.
You are sitting in this federal planetarium and looking up, seeing agencies and contractors as stars in your birds eye view with ease. Experienced or not, you derive a sense of comfort from being able to see the visible federal universe, but then you remember someone at work told you that the Federal Acquisition Regulations were really designed to “encourage competition”, and from what you see you cannot tell which one of these companies is a competitor! Competition usually eats your lunch you suddenly recall, like a swirling black hole can gobble up a million stars. Black holes! You shift anxiously staring at the federal dome above you, circling and craning your neck you see no signs of a black hole. Zilcho! Nada!
Enter Competitive Intelligence. The kind of extra terrestrial information needed to stave off a
liens and save your little planet, your very own company! Continue reading »
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- A Marriage of Inconvenience: GSA Schedule Contracts & The Contractor Code of Business Ethics & Conduct Clause
- Emerging Small Businesses: To Grow Your Business, You Must Plan For Growth
- Government Contracting: Look Before You Leap!
- GSA Schedules – Strategies for Success
- New Employee vs. Independent Contractor Considerations
- Pay on Display – Understanding the Executive Compensation and Subcontractor Data Reporting Requirements & Ramifications
- The GSA Schedule: Your Ticket to the Federal Market (May 2010)
- The New FAR Codes of Conduct and Compliance Program Provisions
- The Seven Deadly Sins (of contract compliance)