A BIG ROLE FOR SMALL BUSINESS


CONSISTENCY IS KEY


Hallock speaks at the AUSA Small Business Forum in October 2013. The Army is striving to make the best, most consistent use of a variety of tools for contracting with small businesses. (Photo by Kathie Scarrah, Office of the DASA(P))


being considered a prime for future requirements. While it is clear that each requirement is unique and may or may not be a practical candidate for a prime contract


set-aside,


requirements for products or services that small businesses can provide must be made available to the small business community for bid. In these cases, by all means consideration is given to making the specific requirement a small business set-aside. Te fact that a small business has been accomplishing some or all of the work in a subcontractor relationship should be a determining factor in the consideration of a set-aside strategy at the start of acquisition planning.


When procurements are not suitable for 100 percent set-asides for small firms, we continue to ensure maximum consideration for small businesses by including aggressive factor goals for their participation as contractors in the source


prime selection


must caution, though, that we need to be careful not to oversaturate the marketplace with IDIQ contracts that may not be a viable way to meet recurring requirements, given fund- ing cuts


and budget uncertainties.


Te use of IDIQ contracts was raised by the small businesses community during the two forums I mentioned earlier. Teir cost-to-bid versus rate of return can diminish when too many IDIQs are established, straining small business resources to participate. Tis is not to suggest that we sway our decision-making too far in the opposite direction. Rather, we should be mind- ful of potential negative impacts when determining the acquisition strat- egy for our requirements, and make sure we canvass the prevailing market


140 Army AL&T Magazine January–March 2014


conditions when deciding on our acqui- sition and small business strategies.


 Early collaboration with the customer and small business specialists, mar- ket research, notices on FedBizOpps. gov and open exchanges with small businesses are now standard. Tis has allowed us to further set aside contracts or portions of omnibus- type contracts to small businesses.


 Engaging small business special- ists


at the very capabilities outset of the


procurement strategy has facilitated our identifying potential small business


and resources.


Another concern raised by the small business community is the perception that performing as a small business subcontractor


is an obstacle to


plan and/or portions of the base award contracts. Te resulting task orders are often set aside for small business awards. DOD and Army policy ensures adherence to the “rule of two,” defined as when two small businesses are able to compete under a multiple- award IDIQ—or any requirement, for that matter—thereby setting aside the requirement for small business.


Te U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has taken a proactive stance


in awarding multiple-award


task order contracts (MATOCs) to small businesses for a variety of con- tracts


for environmental programs,


emergency response, renewable and alternative energy, and construction- related services. Some of the Corps’ billion-dollar MATOC strategies were structured to include small business


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