Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Contracting 101

I’m very pleased to report that after a long application process with the Department of Veterans Affairs and a quick status validation by the Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE), Scout Environmental Inc. is now a CVE certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB)!

In this blog I summarize (1) what our new status means; and (2) how our clients and industry partners can now more easily access Scout and meet often difficult to obtain SDVOSB contracting/subcontracting goals.

For those who are more visual, here’s a link to an engaging 5 minute video summarizing the SDVOSB certification requirements and contracting: https://youtu.be/_KZgdcdkq54

In addition, our federal SDVOSB status also means we can now qualify as the state-equivalent of an SDVOSB (e.g., California Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE)), and the equivalent at the local (e.g., City/County of San Diego), and utility (e.g., California Public Utilities Commission) level, further increasing our contracting opportunities.

The following provides more information on the federal SDVOSB program.

The SDVOSB Sole Source Vehicle provides agencies a simplified and shortened acquisition procedure:

• Reduced decision cycle required to award an SDVOSB sole source contract.
• Lowered administrative costs, procurement process and time is reduced to a minimum.
• Prices reflecting the best value. For example, the Agency negotiates with the firm directly to get the best value.
• Credit for promoting SDVOSB participation within the Agency (e.g., the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) has a 6% SDVOSB goal).
• There is no order of preference among the socioeconomic programs (SDVOSB, 8(a), HUBZone, and Woman-Owned Small Business).

What is the purpose of SDVOSB contracting?

• The Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. 657f) created the procurement program for small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans (commonly referred to as the “SDVOSB Procurement Program”)
• The purpose of the SDVOSB Program is to provide Federal contracting assistance to SDVOSB concerns.

What gives contracting officers authority to sole source or set-aside contracts to SDVOSBs?

• Per the Federal Acquisitions Regulations (subpart 19.1406), a contracting officer shall consider a contract award to a SDVOSB concern on a sole source basis (see subpart 6.302-5(b)(6)), before considering small business set-asides (see subparts 19.203 and 19.5) provided none of the exclusions of 19.1404 apply and-
  • The contracting officer does not have a reasonable expectation that offers would be received from two or more SDVOSB concerns;
  • The anticipated award price of the contract, including options, will not exceed:
    • $6,500,000 for a contract assigned a manufacturing North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, or
    • $4,000,000 for all other contracts (e.g., NAICS codes 541620 or 541330);
  • The requirement is not currently being performed by an 8(a) under the provisions of subpart 19.8 or has been accepted as a requirement by the SBA under subpart 19.8;
  • The SDVOSB concern has been determined to be a responsible contractor with respect to performance; and
  • Award can be made at a fair and reasonable price.

For Additional Information

Consult the Federal Acquisitions Regulations (FAR), Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), and talk with your contracting specialist for agency-specific requirements. For further inquiries, please also contact me at ryan.pingree@scoutenv.com