Office of Small Business Programs: The gateway to working with the government

In the world of contracting, the small business community sometimes views itself in a less dominate position when vying for contracts, which are often being pursued by larger companies. The U.S Army Contracting Command\'s Office of Small Business Programs seeks to level the playing field for those small businesses. "Our over arching mission is to promote continuous prime contract and subcontract opportunities within the ACC contracting activities world-wide for small businesses," said Alice Williams-Gray, OSBP associate director. "Providing smaller businesses with opportunities increases the Army's industrial base and at the same time helps to provide warfighters with the equipment needed to accomplish their mission. Assisting these smaller businesses also helps to stimulate the economy, as small businesses are the backbone of our nation." As part of its mission, the OSBP hosts two- hour small business training workshops at Fort Belvoir, Va. The monthly workshops are no-cost and provide participants with a better understanding of the Army Materiel Command organizational structure; the ACC organization; the mission of the ACC Small Business Office. It also provides participants a refresher on Federal acquisition rules and regulations; the process for becoming a ACC business partner; small business resources available; where to register your company to sell to the Federal government; where to look for federal business opportunities; existing contract programs within the Army; marketing strategies/techniques, networking and much more. The inaugural workshop had 18 participants representing businesses local to Fort Belvoir and from as far away as New Orleans. "We wouldn't turn anyone away from attending the workshop but it is really geared for small businesses," said Theresa Elliot-Brown, senior procurement analyst who serves as the ACC Women-Owned Small Business advocate. "Currently we hold the workshops in the ACC building, but if we start to get more attendees, we'll have to find bigger space." Companies desiring to attend the workshop must preregister via email. Due to limited seating capacity, only two participants per company per session may attend. If you need to contact to a member of the ACC Office of Small Business Program staff, email ACC-SmallBusiness@conus.army.mil