Since October 2015, the Aviation and Missile Command has awarded 586 contract actions for more than $156 million to Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) firms, exceeding AMCOM's WOSB goal of 5 percent, coming in at 5.44 percent.
To share in understanding WOSB capabilities, Donna Ragucci, director of the AMCOM Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP), and Jayne Gold, Supervisory Logistics Management specialist with PM Cargo on a developmental assignment with the AMCOM Office of Small Business Programs, attended the first ChallengeHER women-owned small business event held at Huntsville's Redstone Federal Credit Union Atrium. There were more than 150 women-owned small business firms represented.
Besides Ragucci, other representatives of federal government in attendance at the event were NASA OSBP David Brock and Missile Defense Agency OSBP Lee Rosenberg. They facilitated a panel discussion on how their agencies can better support WOSB opportunities, how the WOSB can become better competitors, and how they can become subcontractors.
Gary Heard, a procurement center representative from the Small Business Administration, briefed the attendees on the changes related to WOSB and Economically Disadvantaged WOSB (EDWOSB). AMCOM expects to see a driving force of WOSB entering into prime contracts in FY17/18 due to the changes in the laws. The changes allow for more sole source opportunities to our WOSB/EDWOSB. On Sept. 28, James Galvin from DoD OSBP will visit AMCOM OSBP to discuss this initiative and many others that AMCOM expects to deliver in FY17.
Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB) Federal Contracting Program
The WOSB Federal Contract Program was implemented in February 2011 with the goal of expanding the number of industries where WOSB were able to compete for business with the federal government. This program enables Economically Disadvantaged WOSBs (EDWOSBs) to compete for federal contracts that are set-aside for EDWOSBs in industries where women-owned small businesses are underrepresented. It also allows set-asides for WOSBs in industries where women-owned small businesses are substantially underrepresented. SBA has designated two sets of industries according to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
Across the board, the Obama Administration and the Small Business Administration are committed to providing access and removing barriers for small, minority, women-owned, and disadvantaged businesses by changing the process and the culture surrounding federal contracting.
The ChallengeHER Campaign is an exciting new initiative that leverages the resources of the SBA, Women Impacting Public Policy, and American Express OPEN to promote the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program and bring more women-owned firms into the federal government's supply chain.
WOSB Program Changes
At the request of the SBA in 2015, the Office of the Chief Economist, at the Department of Commerce, conducted a new study on the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contracting Program. The study reevaluated the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) industry groups in which WOSBs are underrepresented and substantially underrepresented in Federal contracting. As a result of the study, the SBA has determined changes will be implemented to the WOSB Federal Contracting Program. These changes will provide expanded opportunities for WOSBs to pursue set-aside and sole source federal contracts.
As set forth in the Federal Register notice, the SBA has authorized the use of 113 new NAICS Industry groups for WOSB and EDWOSB set asides. WOSBs will now be eligible for contract participation in 92 NAICS industry groups. EDWOSBs will now be eligible for contract participation in 21 designated NAICS industry groups, along with the 92 NAICS industry groups identified for WOSB. The effective date per the notice for use of these new NAICS is 3 March 2016.
If you are interested in learning more about WOSB/EDWOSB or small business capabilities in general, please contact the AMCOM Office of Small Business Programs at (256) 876-0921. We have prepared a database you can use to find capable small business firms that match your requirements.
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