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The Procurement Technical Assistance Program

The Procurement Technical Assistance Program. The Procurement Technical Assistance Program

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The Procurement Technical Assistance Program

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  1. The Procurement Technical Assistance Program The Procurement Technical Assistance Program • Ninety-eight Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) - with over 300 local offices - form a nationwide network of dedicated procurement professionals working to help local businesses compete successfully in the government marketplace. PTACs are the bridge between buyer and supplier, bringing to bear their knowledge of both government contracting and the capabilities of contractors to maximize fast, reliable service to our government with better quality and at lower costs. • The Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP) was authorized by Congress in 1985 in an effort to expand the number of businesses capable of participating in the Government Marketplace. Administered by the Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), the program provides matching funds through cooperative agreements with state and local governments and non-profit organizations for the establishment of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) to provide procurement assistance. • PTACs come in many different sizes and shapes, reflecting the needs, priorities and resources of the areas they serve. Some PTACs are administered directly by state governments; others partner with universities, community colleges, local economic development corporations or other local institutions. Some PTACs operate within Bureau of Indian Affairs areas exclusively serving Native American owned businesses. Many are affiliated in some way with Small Business Development Centers and other small business programs. All PTACs are staffed with counselors experienced in government contracting and provide a wide range of services including classes and seminars, individual counseling and easy access to bid opportunities, contract specifications, procurement histories, and other information necessary to successfully compete for government contracts. • Many PTAC consultants have backgrounds in government acquisitions and virtually all receive ongoing training to keep pace with continually evolving acquisitions procedures and policies. The Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC) provides a network that allows any PTAC consultant almost instant access to the expertise and experience of over 500 colleagues, as well as real-time information from government agencies regarding new requirements and initiatives. APTAC • APTAC is the professional organization of and for the 98 DLA-funded Procurement Technical Assistance Programs. APTAC supports the PTACs by providing them important information, professional networking, comprehensive training opportunities and a voice in national government contracting assistance and policy arenas.

  2. FIRST “FIRST” to a PTAC client and counselor means: • Find a PTAC counselor. • Investigate your market. • Research opportunities. • Submit proposals. • Take the contract when awarded.

  3. FIRST • Today we will talk about the 5 Steps to “FIRST” and what it means to you and your business. • Tara will present the “F” and “I”. • Andy will present the “R”, “S” and “T”. • This workshop starts at 9am and ends at 11am today. • Copy of all slides will be available at the NBDC website at http://nbdc.unomaha.edu/ptac/eventarchives.cfm?pab=1_3 under ”Event Archives”.

  4. Step # 1: Find a PTAC counselorBy Tara Clawson, PTAC Program Graduate Assistant

  5. Find a PTAC counselorBy Tara Clawson, PTAC Program Graduate Assistant • To find a PTAC counselor in your area of Nebraska either access Google at www.google.com and enter the letters “NBDC” , and then click on the “Nebraska Business Development Center.” • Or access the NBDC website directly at http://nbdc.unomaha.edu/home.cfm

  6. Find a PTAC counselorBy Tara Clawson, PTAC Program Graduate Assistant • Once on the NBDC website click on “Government Contracting” on the left side of the screen at http://nbdc.unomaha.edu/ptac/ • Then click on “Contact Us” at http://nbdc.unomaha.edu/ptac/contactus.cfm • Then click on the Nebraska map for the county or area in the state your business is located to find your PTAC counselor.

  7. Find a PTAC counselorBy Tara Clawson, PTAC Program Graduate Assistant

  8. Step #2: Investigate Your MarketBy Tara Clawson, PTAC Program Graduate Assistant

  9. Investigate Your MarketBy Tara Clawson, PTAC Program Graduate Assistant • Take a map of Nebraska and draw a 50 mile circle from the center of Omaha (or from the location of your business). Note: Today we will use Mammel Hall as our business location. • Then from your map add the name of each town in that circle to your list for town governments. Then add the county names, the cities, and states. • Now if we use a variable such as population we can add that to each type of government then sort them from largest to smallest and we have some order or priority to target as potential governments. • Identifying the federal government and its agencies in your area would be accomplished separately (Note: Show local telephone book and government marketing listing).

  10. Investigate Your MarketBy Tara Clawson, PTAC Program Graduate Assistant

  11. Investigate Your MarketBy Tara Clawson, PTAC Program Graduate Assistant • 50 Mile Government Marketing Listing Includes: • Towns (114) • Cities (2) • Counties (16) • States (2) • Federal Agencies (35)

  12. Investigate Your MarketBy Tara Clawson, PTAC Program Graduate Assistant “Now you have a government marketing plan to include into your business plan.” 114 towns 2 cities 16 counties 2 states 35 federal agencies 1 Air Force 2 Army

  13. Step #3: Research OpportunitiesBy Andy Alexander, PTAC Program Manager

  14. Research OpportunitiesBy Andy Alexander, PTAC Program Manager • “FIRST” determine what level of government you want to sell your goods/services to (i.e., start with a town, city, county, state then federal) • For an example to conduct business with the town of Council Bluffs, IA you would access their website at http://www.councilbluffs-ia.gov/ . • Look for “city services” then “purchasing” then “bid opportunities”. • Let’s access their website and look at some of their solicitations.

  15. Research OpportunitiesBy Andy Alexander, PTAC Program Manager • To conduct business with the city of Omaha, NE, you would access their website at http://www.ci.omaha.ne.us/. • Look for “For Business” then “Doing Business” then “Vendor Application”. Then complete the application and hand carry to their office downtown Omaha to meet your specific buyer. • Next click on “Current Bids and Proposals”, then click on the solicitation you want to learn more about. Let’s look at some of their solicitations at their site.

  16. Research OpportunitiesBy Andy Alexander, PTAC Program Manager • To conduct business with the county of Douglas County, NE, you would access their website athttp://www.douglascounty-ne.gov/. • Look for “For Business” then “Doing Business” then “Vendor Application”. Then complete the application and hand carry to their office downtown Omaha to meet our specific buyer (if you are registered with Omaha, NE then you are registered with Douglas County, NE). • Upon completion of the Vendor Application look for “Current Bids and Proposals”, then the site will convert to “Douglas County Purchasing” (because the county advertises all solicitations for the city). • Let’s look at a couple of their solicitations on their site.

  17. Research OpportunitiesBy Andy Alexander, PTAC Program Manager • To conduct business with the state of Nebraska, you would access their website at http://www.nebraska.gov/ . • Look for “All Agencies” then “Administrative Services, Department of Material Division” then “Materiel” then “Purchasing”, then “Vendor Information” then “Vendor Application”. Then complete the application and hand carry it to their office in downtown Lincoln to also meet your specific buyer. • Upon completion of submitting your vendor application click on “Purchasing”, then choose “Bid Opportunities”, then click on “Request for Proposals – Current Bid Opportunities”. • Let’s look at a couple of their solicitations on their site.

  18. Research OpportunitiesBy Andy Alexander, PTAC Program Manager • How many federal government agencies are there? Best Answer: Louisiana State University Federal Agency Directory lists over 1,300 distinct organizations across all three branches of federal government: Legislative branch (Congress); Executive branch (President and departments and independent agencies); and Judicial branch (Supreme Court and Circuit Courts) at http://www.lib.lsu.edu/gov/ • “FIRST” thing you will need to do is become registered with the federal government at their website at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/, also known as “SAM – System for Award Management”. This will involve creating a user account on the CCR and ORCA files. A PTAC counselor can assist you in this registration. The Federal government has a centralized registration system.

  19. Research OpportunitiesBy Andy Alexander, PTAC Program Manager • Next access the federal governments “Federal Business Opportunities – FBO” website at https://www.fbo.gov/(NOTE: User guide for this system can be found at https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=getstart&mode=list&tab=list&tabmode=listunder “Getting Started”, then click on “User Guides”, then “Vendor”). • Click on “Search”, and thousands of federal government opportunities will be shown. • At this point we need to discuss the differences between a “Presolicitation”, “Special”, “Sources Sought”, Combined Synopsis” and “Award” notices.

  20. Research OpportunitiesBy Andy Alexander, PTAC Program Manager • Special : Could mean anything (unless you’re GSA). Often this is a way to post a “sole source” notification which means you aren’t getting the deal. Other times it’s simply a notification of a follow on contract – again, you aren’t getting this one. In some cases (GSA in particular) it’s a Request for Quote or a notice that a RFQ is going to be issued. Still other times the description for the “Special Notice” will begin with the phrase “This is a combined synopsis/solicitation…” • Sources Sought: A Sources Sought notification almost always means “Small Business Sources Sought.” The government is loosely required to “set-aside” a certain percentage of their procurements to small businesses. (This small business “requirement” has many, many exceptions, and there are many, many workarounds, but the general idea is sound.) Sometimes the solicitation will specify explicitly that they are looking only for small businesses (or 8(a), HUBZone, …) to respond. (Even if it doesn’t say “only small businesses” it means only small businesses.) If a Sources Sought opportunity is in your wheelhouse then you’ll want to add it to your watch list to manage. Sources Sought is your chance to “get in early.” • Combined Synopsis : This is a real, live, actual deal. Most opportunities classified this way are going to actually happen. All of these should include specifications for the product or service and a due date for the proposal. A “Combined” means the agency is expecting a proposal or quote from you. • Award : Super easy to understand. This is the list you want your name on. • Presolicitation: Covers nearly everything else. In some cases, it’s really a “Special notice.” In others, it’s a Request for Information (RFI). Sometimes, the Pre-solicitation is, surprisingly, a pre-solicitation – meaning, the “real” solicitation isn’t released yet.

  21. Research OpportunitiesBy Andy Alexander, PTAC Program Manager Now What? “In general, you’ll want to concentrate on Synopsis /Solicitation, Sources Sought, Pre-solicitation, and Special Notice. You need to keep “Special Notice” in your list, especially if you sell to GSA, even though many of these are really “sole source” notices. GSA has a fondness for Special Notices, and their website can found at http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/100000

  22. Research OpportunitiesBy Andy Alexander, PTAC Program Manager • While in www.fbo.gov click on the blue font colored solicitation title to access and read the opportunity. • Review the Type of Notice, the Synopsis, the General Information, Interested Vendors List, and Packages. • As you read keep in mind What, Where, Why, Who, When and How to begin developing a draft proposal timeline and outline in your head. So when you do select a solicitation you want to develop a proposal you will be prepare yourself mentally in writing your proposal.

  23. Research OpportunitiesBy Andy Alexander, PTAC Program Manager • Another option in researching opportunities is to access the federal government’s sites at www.usaspending.gov and www.fpds.gov for contract awards. • The best and easiest way to find town, city, county, state and federal government opportunities is to meet with a PTAC counselor and request our “BidMatch” services (Note: BidMatchis an automated system that makes daily search's of new federal, state, and local government opportunities and emails matching opportunities to you. We begin by creating a detailed profile of your company. There is no charge for this service). • Read more about BidMatch at the NBDC Website at http://nbdc.unomaha.edu/ptac/services.cfm?pab=1_2

  24. Step #4: Submit ProposalsBy Andy Alexander, PTAC Program Manager

  25. Submit ProposalsBy Andy Alexander, PTAC Program Manager • Business Development Lifecycle Guide (Note: Show BD lifecycle guide chart). • Sources for developing a government proposal include: • Shipley Business Development Lifecycle Guide by Larry Newman • Government Proposals by Rebecca Shannon • Winning Government Business by Steve R. Osborne • Win Government Contracts for Your Small Business by John DiGiacomo • Federal Contracting Made Easy by Scott A. Stanberry • SWOT & SWAG by Andy Alexander

  26. Submit ProposalsBy Andy Alexander, PTAC Program Manager There are three basic types of government solicitations: Invitation For Bids (IFBs), Request For Quotes (RFQs), and Request For Proposals (RFPs). Invitation For Bids (IFBs) can be quite short and relatively simple to prepare. They can contain as few as 15 pages or as many as 100. Their complexity depends on the project or the commodity. These types of solicitations are usually awarded primarily on price. Competitive pricing here is a key factor. Request For Proposals (RFPs) are usually more complex than (IFBs). They tend to be issued for service oriented contracts with large staffing requirements or complex operations involved. In many cases they are looking for comprehensive project management plans, a past performance section, a quality control plan spelled out in detail, and a separate volume on costing broken down line by line. Every contract is broken down into sections. Address each section in order and let them be your guide to preparing the proposal. Request For Quotes (RFQs). These are generally the easiest to prepare. and it is usually just a question of filling in the blanks. Like IFBs, they are most often evaluated and awarded solely on price. IFB & RFQs = ProjectsRPF = ProgramsConversion 4 for 1

  27. Submit ProposalsBy Andy Alexander, PTAC Program Manager • While IFBs and RFQs are generally awarded solely on the basis price, RFPs tend to be weighted differently. Past Performance and technical capabilities may often count more than price. A strong presentation, or proposal, can be decisive. • Note: Show “Whale” RFP and draft timeline and outline (handout in class). • SWOT vs SWAG. Read the solicitation and determine your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as if you were to submit a proposal and win the contract (to include implementing the program/project). You must visualize your proposal prior to developing your proposal. • Let’s review the draft proposal timeline and outline, then let’s go back and find a solicitation to develop a proposal from. Use chalkboard to outline proposal.

  28. Step #5: Take the contract when awardedBy Andy Alexander, PTAC Program Manager

  29. Take the Contract When AwardedBy Andy Alexander, PTAC Program Manager • Meet with your PTAC Counselor and compare the solicitation against your proposal against the contract. • If there are no discrepancies, then develop your project/program to implement the contract and ensure you understand how to invoice the government for your goods/services (Note: Invoicing is normally described within the solicitation or contract). • If there are discrepancies between any of those source documents, identify the differences, then meet with the government contracting officer to adjudicate those issues. • Appeals & Debriefs (discussion).

  30. Open Forum

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