News
COVID-19
- Urgent Message from GSA - COVID-19 PPE Sources Sought!
- Resources for Connecting Industry Capabilities to Requirements in Support of COVID-19 Response
- Practical Advice for Uncertain Times - Surviving COVID-19
- Manufacturing Changes & Medical Supply Donation in response to COVID-19
- Network Resources
- State Resources
- Raising the Roofs...and Floors: Acquisition Thresholds in the Time of Emergency
SBA ISSUES NEW REGULATIONS FOR WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS FEDERAL CONTRACTING PROGRAM
The U.S. Small Business Administration published Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting program regulations that will provide a free, online certification and eligibility application process for women-owned small businesses and economically-disadvantaged women-owned small businesses. The timeline for implementation of changes to SBA’s WOSB program has been delayed to accommodate those affected by the current pandemic. Learn more.
CYBERSECURITY
DOD SIGNED MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH CMMC ACCREDITATION BOARD
On March 23, 2020, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Ms. Ellen Lord, and Mr. Ty Schieber, Chairman of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Accreditation Board (CMMC-AB), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that established the roles, responsibilities, and authorities of each organization to help ensure a cyber-safe, cyber-secure and cyber-resilient defense industrial base. Read more.
NEW CMMC RULES FOR DEFENSE CONTRACTORS TO COME IN NOVEMBER
Defense contractors should expect to see new Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification version 1.0 requirements in requests for proposals released in November, Katie Arrington, chief information security officer in the office of the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said May 11. Read more.
NEW CYBERSECURITY STANDARDS POST CHALLENGES FOR INDUSTRY
The Defense Department in late January released its highly anticipated new set of cybersecurity standards that companies must eventually adhere to if they want to do business with the Pentagon. But important issues have yet to be resolved, including how much it will cost contractors to comply. Read more.
PREPARING FOR CMMC? WHY COMPANIES SHOULD START NOW
It's a new year -- and a new cybersecurity regime for vendors working on defense contracts is coming.
The Defense Department has been steadily working on its new unified standard, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), and is expected to release a final version and a list of accrediting bodies in January. But while companies shouldn't wait until things are finalized to prep for certification, many are stuck. Keep reading.
CYBERSECURITY 'HAS TO BE IN YOUR DNA' TO FEND OFF HACKING THREATS
Small- to mid-sized businesses may not face the tens of thousands of daily cyber attacks directed at big corporations or governments, but that doesn’t mean that there aren't hackers happy to take a crack at your computer system to pry out trade secrets or customer or employee data you're trying to protect. Read more.
BETA.SAM NEWS
FEDERAL CONTRACT AWARD DATA FROM FPDS WILL BE ON SAM BEFORE SPRING
With the FedBizOpps transition done, the Federal Procurement Data System reporting tool—one of the main functions of the website—will be the next to migrate to GSA’s central contracting site. Learn more.
NEW FUNCTIONALITY ON THE WAY FOR FEDBIZOPPS REPLACEMENT
The transition from the standalone Federal Business Opportunities—better known as FedBizOpps or FBO—was a rough one for users of the federal contracting website. But program managers at the General Services Administration say they’re working through the problems and plan to launch new capabilities in the near future. Read more.
GSA ISSUES MASS MODIFICATION FOR CURRENT SCHEDULE CONTRACTORS
The GSA has begun issuing a Mass Modification (Mass Mod) to current Schedule contractors. The Mass Mod will update current contracts to conform with the terms and conditions of the new consolidated Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) that was released on Oct. 1, 2019. Contractors must accept this Mass Mod by July 31, 2020 - failure to do so will result in their offerings no longer being accessible on GSA eTools. Current contracts will be moved to GSA’s new single Schedule solicitation for products, services, and solutions after the Mass Mod is accepted. Read more.
SBREA FINAL RULE
SBA issues a final rule to modify its method for calculating annual average revenues.
On December 5, 2019, SBA issued a final rule changing its method for calculating the average annual receipts used to prescribe size standards for small businesses.
For all of SBA’s receipts-based size standards, and for other agencies’ proposed receipts-based size standards, SBA will calculate the average annual receipts using a 5-year averaging period (rather than the previous 3-year averaging period). This change is in accordance with the Small Business Runway Extension Act (SBREA) passed in December 2018. Read more from news release or the official Code of Federal Regulations.