Alexandria
         Small Business Development Center (SBDC)
                         Sponsors 
                       A Seminar On
      Federal Business Development – A 
            Focus on Identifying and 
                Developing Clients
                         August 24, 2017
                       Agenda
        • Some background and current trends in Federal contracting
        • General comments on Federal business development
        • Research focused on client identification
        • Meetings with agency staff
        • Developing Federal clients
        • Some do’s and don’ts
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       Some Background and Current Trends in 
                 Federal Contracting
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                   Some Background in Federal Contracting
       Some Terms:
         o Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR): gov’t procurement policies; not agency specific
         o Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS): DoD-specific procurement 
             policies 
         o Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): policies and regulations on 50 subject areas (e.g., 
             energy, food & drugs, highways, shipping, housing)
         o Micro-purchase Threshold: purchases under $3,500; for DoD under $5,000
         o Simplified Acquisition Procedures (SAP) Threshold:
                Under $150,000 in US
                Under $750,000 in US for emergencies
                Under $1,500,000 outside US for emergencies
         o Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ); indefinite quantity of supplies/services
         o Request for Quotation (RFQ): usually requires an abbreviated response
         o Request for Proposal (RFP): requires a written technical and price proposal
         o Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA): method of deciding Federal contract winner
         o Federal Program Manager (PM): usually GS 14 or 15; has budget for a program
         o Knowledge Trust Respect (KTR): my term for dealing with government client
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       Some Background in Federal Contracting (Cont’d)
    Some Procedures:
      o Micro-purchase: always by Federal Purchase Card (Credit Card)
      o SAP: Reserved for small businesses; can be advertised in fbo.gov or by RFP/RFQ
      o Federal PM – “Ensures appropriate communication takes place with vendors to keep 
       abreast of industry trends and learn of current products and services available to fulfill 
       requirements as well as available sources and means of acquisition”
      o Federal Purchase Card Program: 
        • Managed by GSA
        • Limited to micro purchase threshold – except in emergencies & for contracting officers
        • Government card holders vary – GS15 and above in VA 
      o Rule of Two: FAR 19.502-2 Total Small Business Set-asides says: “Each acquisition of 
       supplies or services that has an anticipated dollar value exceeding $3,500 but not over 
       $150,000 is automatically reserved exclusively for small business concerns and shall 
       be set aside for small business (unless the contracting officer determines there is not a 
       reasonable expectation of obtaining offers from two or more responsible small 
       business concerns that are competitive in terms of market prices, quality, and 
       delivery.)” 
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