The White House issued an Executive Order on August 3, 2020 titled, ““Executive Order on Aligning Federal Contracting and Hiring Practices with the Interests of American Workers”. This Executive Order calls on agency heads to review their contractors and subcontractors use of foreign labor from fiscal years 2018 and 2019. It also requires agency heads to submit a report to the Office of Management and Budget in the next 120 days summarizing what these reviews found, and to recommend corrective action, if necessary.

 

Any corrective actions could be impactful here in Maine where a shortage of STEM and IT workers are sometimes filled by employees on temporary short-term non-immigrant visas like H-1B and L-1. The White House has indicated that one of their intentions is to reduce scenarios where a contractor outsources services to H-1B workers that would have otherwise been performed by US employees of the contractor. It will be interesting to keep an eye on how what these reports reveal in the sub-tier levels, and what actions, if any, are taken.

 

Business as usual? Oh, how we wish it were true, right? The Covid-19 pandemic has certainly changed how we do business, both internally and externally; keeping track of paperwork flow, meeting appointments, social distancing, and delivery schedules. 

 

If you are looking at government solicitations, placing a bid or working on Awards that you have won, you will find that Contracting Officers (CO’s) are experiencing the same situations that you are in your place of business. Be it Federal or state, Contracting Officers are human beings too. These are equally tough times for them as well. Some are working from home. Many are stressed. Agencies have budget dollars they need to spend. They have projects that need to be moved forward. Pressure is placed on them both internally and externally to ‘pull it together and make it happen’. As the pandemic took hold of the nation in March and April, everything slowed down. Now they are working overtime to get back on track and prepare solicitations, advertise them, receive bids and make Awards. In addition, Maine PTAC has seen new CO’s starting for the State Procurement Officer and different Federal agencies, so there is now a learning curve going on.  On top of it all, typical life stresses and pressures are still affecting them due to the pandemic, just like the rest of us.

 

We encourage you to be patient and realize we are all in this together. Let’s work to make the CO’s work lives easier by being well-informed. Know as much about the agency you want to do business with before contacting them. Do your market research on products and services they buy and at what price. Who are their current clients and how do you compare? What contracting vehicles do they typically use to purchase their products and services? Make it easy for them to find you and get ahold of your company. And be responsive to their request, either directly or through solicitations, especially Sources Sought.  Between now and September 30th, federal government agencies will be working diligently to complete budget expenditures. The more you can assist contracting officers, the better position you will be in to obtain contracts. And contact your PTAC counselor for assistance, it’s what we do.

It is almost impossible to explore the possibility of selling your product or service to the government without coming across the acronym FAR. These three letters are an omnipresent staple in federal registrations as well as virtually any type of solicitation you may be interested in bidding on. But what are these three letters and why are they so important? FAR stands for Federal Acquisition Regulations.

 

Summed up, the FAR is the primary document in the Federal Acquisition Regulations System which contains uniform policies and procedures that govern acquisition activity of all federal agencies that do not have a specific exemption (BPA, FAA, Postal Service). Put simply, the FAR is a living, ever evolving set of rules and regulations for government agencies and contractors to follow when they are doing business that requires the purchase of products or services.

 

So if you are quickly skimming those dense paragraphs listed in a solicitation, you are probably missing some key information relevant to the solicitation that could really help you or hurt you in winning the contract or performing within the guidelines should you be awarded the contract. The FAR is not known for its simple verbiage and to say it’s an easy read would be an outright lie. Luckily, your trusty PTAC Counselor can help. Navigating through the FAR regulations in a solicitation is just one of the many reasons that consulting PTAC before bidding is beneficial for small business owners.  

The short answer is no, they are not. As PTAC counselors we hear this question fairly frequently. And unfortunately, PTAC doesn’t assist with our clients with grants, with one exception SBIR and STTR.

 

So, what’s the difference?

 

When the government purchases goods or services from a non-federal entity, typically a for-profit business, this is a government contract. These goods and services are things that the government needs and directly benefits the government. A grant is when a government entity gives an amount of money to help an agency or business with funding so that they can continue to build and develop the business, or for less well defined things, like research projects. Ultimately the hope is that a grant will benefit more than just a business, the hope is to have the organization carry out a public purpose.

 

The one factor that in the long run sets grants and contracts apart would be in the case of default. When it comes to a government contract, if the delivery of the end product or service does not happen or is in question at all, there will be legal ramifications. While grants don’t have the same binding obligation to deliver. The worst-case scenario if the product or service is not provided, you wouldn’t be able to apply for another grant. 

 

Check back next month to learn about SBIR & STTR grants, the only grants that PTAC DOES assist with. Until then, if you have any questions concerning this, contact your PTAC counselor. 

 BidNet Direct is company that charges a fee to view certain state agency’s bid packages (not Maine or any New England state). These solicitations will appear as a USABid on your BidMatch results, but not all USABid solicitations are BidNet solicitations.

 

BidMatch results do provide a warning that there could be a fee to access the information. A typical BidNet Direct solicitation from Texas is shown below:

 

Texas Bid System. Outreach Systems obtained this opportunity from a third-party vendor, rather than from the government agency directly. In order to obtain the complete bid package, you may have to complete a registration form and pay a fee to the referenced third-party provider who is not associated with OutreachSystems. Each contractor will need to decide if the cost to obtain the bid package is worth it. OutreachSystems' role is simply to inform the contractor of the potential business opportunity.

 

Some BidNet Direct solicitations allow the viewer to access their county site and get the solicitations directly. But unfortunately what you’ll typically find is they just direct you back to the registration page at BidNet Direct.

 

It is up to you whether to choose to pay a fee for the opportunity to bid on the solicitation. Unfortunately, this is the only way to receive solicitations for a number of State agencies. If the contract is large enough, it may be worth the fee but that needs to be a conscious decision, since it’s not only time but money. If you want, we can remove all BidNet Direct solicitations from your bid match profile.

 

If you have any questions, or wish to have us remove BidNet Direct from your search profile, please reach out to your local PTAC Counselor.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received came when I was frustrated after spending hours trying to find the answer to a problem. As I was told, we all have things we don't know (sometimes these are things that we should know). After giving it a try then it's time to swallow your pride and find someone who knows the answer or has the resources to find the answer. When it comes to government procurement, that person is your PTAC Counselor. Our team members have a wealth of experience and training and we have connections with PTAC professionals throughout the Country, within government agencies and many other resources.

 

Like Counselor Dana Delano always says: "It's what we do".

 

Contact your PTAC Counselor, go to MainePTAC.org, or call 207.942.6389 and get back to running your business.