It is the policy of the Government that a fair portion of the purchases and contracts for supplies and services will be set aside for small business concerns.

A firm generally is considered small if it is independently owned and operated, is not dominant in the field of operations in which it is bidding, and can further qualify under the criteria set forth in the Small Business Administration (SBA) Small Business Size Standards regulation (13 CFR, 121.601). These criteria include number of employees, annual receipts, affiliates, and other applicable factors. A concern which meets the criteria in the regulation may represent or self-certify that it is a small business for the particular contract involved.

If yours is a small business concern, take advantage of the special opportunities which are provided for you in competing for CCC contracts. A purchase which is restricted to small business bidders is identified by a set-aside clause in many of our IFB's.

Small firms owned and controlled by eligible disadvantaged individuals will be assisted in their efforts to become independently competitive. For further details on this program, contact any SBA field office.

Participation in CCC programs is open to all eligible applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, or disability, personal sponsorship, or political affiliation.

A.    PRO-Net---PROCUREMENT MARKETING AND ACCESS NETWORK

PRO-Net is an electronic gateway of procurement information--for and about small businesses. It is a search engine for contracting officers, a marketing tool for small firms and a link to procurement opportunities and important information. It is designed to be a virtual one-stop-procurement-shop.

PRO-Net is an Internet-based database of information on more than 171,000 small, disadvantaged, 8(a) and women-owned businesses. It is free to Federal and State government agencies as well as prime and other contractors seeking small business contractors, subcontractors and/or partnership opportunities. PRO-Net is open to all contractors seeking Federal, State and private contracts.

Business profiles in the PRO-Net system include data from SBA's files and other available data bases, plus additional business and marketing information on individual firms. Businesses on the system will be responsible for updating their profiles and keeping information current. Profiles are structured like executive business summaries, with specific data search fields that are user-friendly and designed to meet the needs of contracting officers and other potential users. Profiles provide vendors an opportunity to put a controlled "marketing spin" on their businesses. Companies with "home-pages" can link their web site to their PRO-Net profile, creating a very powerful marketing tool.

As an electronic gateway, PRO-Net provides access and is linked to FedBizOps, agency home pages and other sources of procurement opportunities. The system is also linked to key sources of information, assistance and training. The PRO-Net project is a cooperative effort among SBA's offices of Government Contracting, Minority Enterprise Development, Advocacy, Women's Business Ownership, Field Operations, Marketing & Customer Service, the Chief Information Officer, and the National Women's Business Council.

B.    SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDES

The size of a firm is important since it has an impact on several aspects of acquisition. The major area of interest is the small business set-aside program. FAR 19.502-2 defines a set-aside as the act of reserving an entire acquisition (total set-aside for small business concerns) or a portion of an acquisition (FAR 19.502-3) (partial set-aside for small business concerns) for the exclusive participation of small business concerns.

FAR 19.502-2 states that total set-asides will be used where there is a reasonable expectation that at least two responsible small firms will enter bids or proposals so that awards will be made at reasonable prices. Where a total set-aside is not appropriate and the acquisition is separable into two or more economic production runs, or reasonable lots which can be produced by one or more small business concerns at a reasonable price, a partial set-aside is to be established. The determination to establish a set-aside may be made unilaterally by the CO or jointly with the SBA.

C.    SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED CONCERNS

Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 637(a), authorizes the Small Business Administration to enter into contracts with contracting agencies and then to subcontract the actual performance to certain small business concerns. Section 8(a) contracting procedures are covered under FAR 19.8. Whenever the SBA certifies that it is competent to perform a particular contract that is being considered, the CO is authorized in his or her discretion to award the contract to the SBA. Technically, the process is as follows: The CO and SBA must negotiate an agreement on all the terms and conditions of the contract including price; the SBA then, with the assistance of the contracting office if necessary, negotiates placement of the subcontract with the eligible concern; during performance of the contracted work, the contracting agency directly administers the subcontract and makes payment directly to the 8(a) subcontractor.

The uniqueness of 8(a) contracting emanates from the SBA's criteria for participation in the 8(a) program. SBA's policy at 13 CFR 124.103 states:

To participate in the program, an individual must be both socially and economically disadvantaged. By law socially disadvantaged individuals include: Black Americans, American Indians, Spanish-Americans, Oriental Americans, Eskimos and Aleut. The determination of whether a person is socially disadvantaged is easily made. The economic disadvantage determination requires the SBA to examine the applicant's net worth, access to capital markets, etc. The SBA's goal in this program is to assist socially and economically disadvantaged people establish businesses and helping, through the award of contracts, to become viable competitive organizations.

D.    WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS CONCERNS

On May 18, 1979, Executive Order 12138 was signed and created a National Women's Business Enterprise Policy. This policy prescribed arrangements for developing, coordinating, and implementing a national program for women's business enterprise. More specifically, each department and agency within the executive branch was directed, within the constraints of statutory authority and as otherwise permitted by law, to take appropriate action to facilitate and strengthen women's business enterprises and to ensure women's full participation in the free enterprise system. This policy is embodied in Subpart 19.9 of the FAR.