Description: 

Small businesses are the backbone of our society and the federal supply chain. However, since 2017 more than 40% of small firms have left the federal marketplace. In a 2022 DoD report, the state of the Defense Industrial Base was deemed a “national security risk.” This is happening even as opportunities for small businesses (SBs) to win government contracts are increasing. As small business engagement is an increasingly important consideration for our profession, join us for an interactive discussion as we share ways for practitioners to increase SB utilization. 

Led by Jennifer Hanks, a former contracting officer turned small business owner, we will discuss ways to bring more firms into the market and ensure they are ready to successfully compete. This session will look at standard and innovative procurement strategies (including set-asides, category management, and soles source authorities) that can advance this cause. 

•  Contracting, technical/program, industry professionals, and small business professionals

Level of Difficulty: 

• Intermediate

Learning Outcomes: 

• Obtain a better understanding of small business goals, prime contractor SB utilization plans, market research requirements, and changes created by the PRICE Act 2021. 
• Learn about tools to reduce the administrative burden of small business engagement and market research efforts while creating more competition for set-asides. 
• Help buyers shorten PALT times and share innovative techniques to rapidly award small business contracts that help meet our agencies’ missions and goals. 
  

• B.1 Business Management
• 2.1 Plan Solicitation
• 3.3 Select Source
  

• Jennifer Hanks, CFCM, Fellow, Founder & CEO, MMC Consulting
• Richard Hanks, Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder, MMC Consulting
• Calvin Mitchell Jr., CFCM, Director Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (Senior Executive Service) at U.S. Department of Education

• 1.5 CPE/CLP credits for participation

Cost: 

• $55 member/ $69 non-member

Course Access:

• After registration, to access your course, visit My Virtual Training. 
• *Note: you must be logged into your NCMA profile to access your courses on My Virtual Training.
• The Join button will become active 30 minutes before the start of the event.

Connectivity Requirements: 

• This training is conducted through My Virtual Training and presented via Zoom. 
• *Note: Ensure all pop off blockers are disabled.
• To have all the Zoom features available during the live virtual training, we recommend using the most up-to-date version of Zoom for your system. System Requirements can be found here.