Evolution. Revolution. By Marcia E. Richard. The New and Improved Office of the Secretary of Defense, Office of Small Business Programs

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1 Evolution Revolution The New and Improved Office of the Secretary of Defense, Office of Small Business Programs The OSD OSBP is moving DOD small business utilization forward at an unprecedented, accelerated pace. By Marcia E. Richard 32 Contract Management December 2011

2 Upon graduation from the Naval War College in June 2003, I returned to my organization, the Defense Acquisition University (DAU), Performance Support Division the consulting division of DAU. After being there a short while, I was given my first major assignment: development of the first Department of Defense (DOD) small business course; hence, this was my first direct engagement with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Office of Small Business Programs (OSD OSBP), and the services and components small business community. Like most contracting professionals, I was aware of the statutes, regulations, policies, and guidance pertaining to small business procurement and tried to adhere as required. But also like many contracting professionals, I was not completely aware of the huge role small business could and should perform within the DOD procurement and acquisition process, and that my responsibility, as an acquisition professional, was to ensure that it happens. We, the curriculum development team, successfully developed CON 260, a hybrid consisting of 12 hours of online training (CON 260A) and three days in-resident (CON 260B) that was piloted in August 2004; and, in 2006, CON 260B was the highest-rated contracting course offered by DAU based on student surveys. Daniel Gill, formerly of the Department of the Army, and OSD small business director, was instrumental in course development and in successful classroom delivery of CON 260B through September I have remained a good friend and supporter of the OSD OSBP over the years, and admire their diligent efforts and initiatives to continuously assist and advocate for small business. Linda B. Oliver, a career senior executive, remains the consistent leader in OSD OSBP, performing as deputy director under three different political directors, and acting director in the absence of a director that has cumulatively amounted to several years of first chair small business leadership. Currently, the OSBP administers and has oversight of four programs and has dedicated staffers who manage them. The first of the four programs is the DOD Mentor Protégé Program. This program is congressionally mandated and funded and is designed to provide incentives for major DOD contractors to furnish disadvantaged small business concerns with assistance to enhance their capabilities to perform as subcontractors and viable suppliers under DOD contracts and other U.S. federal government and commercial contracts. The second and third programs are the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. The SBIR program was established by Congress in 1982 to fund research and development through small businesses of less than 500 employees. Eligible projects must serve a DOD research and development need and have the potential to develop into a product or service for commercial and/or defense markets. The DOD SBIR program is part of a larger federal SBIR program administered by 11 federal departments and agencies. Congress established the STTR program in It is similar in structure to the SBIR and funds cooperative Contract Management December

3 research and development projects with small business in partnership with not-for-profit research institutions (such as universities) to move research to the marketplace. The fourth program administered by OSBP is the Indian Incentive Program. This is a congressionally sponsored program that provides a five-percent incentive rebate back to the prime contractor on the total amount subcontracted to an Indian-owned economic enterprise or Indian organization, in accordance with Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement In accordance with the top strategic focus of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, Ashton B. Carter: I have made sustaining a high quality, high performing workforce one of my top priorities. The key to improving acquisition outcomes is our people. 1 The OSBP is focused on professionalizing and enhancing the capabilities of the small business workforce. Through OSBP s partnership with the Office of Personnel Management, a review and analysis of the current workforce has been conducted to aid the OSBP in improving and addressing workforce issues, alleviating competency gaps, and developing continuous learning modules and courses to train the small business, contracting, and program management workforce. Feedback from various levels of the small business workforce has provided the OSBP with valuable information in its pursuit to enhance its current hiring, training, retaining, and promotion of skilled workers for the mission of small business programs. It has also directed our immediate attention and consideration to develop a career field with career paths that will attract new small business professionals and allow the current small business professional to build upon his or her current career track. There is an OSBP staffer dedicated to the workforce training initiative and previously, I had the opportunity to coordinate and oversee this effort, for six months, as a collateral duty, to help maintain continuity and continue to move forward while the original OSBP project lead volunteered to serve as a contracting officer in Iraq. Also, an integral part of the OSBP workforce initiative is its partnership with DAU, which provides support to OSBP through working with OSBP to keep CON 260A and CON 260B current and up to date. DAU also provides CON 260B training for the OSBP Small Business Specialist Conference, ensures that small business topics are incorporated across the contracting career field in both the CORE (mandatory for Defense Acquisition Workforce Improve Act Training) and CORE PLUS (courses that further enhance your knowledge in specific areas or are tailored to your job, in addition to the required CORE certification courses) and ensures learning assets are available to support small business interests. Items include classroom and distance learning courses, online continuous learning modules, and the Small Business Community of Practice webpage on the Acquisition Community Connection Web site. 2 DAU works with OSBP in developing new learning assets and offers OSBP opportunities for webcasts, video on demand, and podcasts in order to disseminate training as widely as possible to the acquisition workforce. 34 Contract Management December 2011

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5 The OSBP is the focal point for development and implementation of small business policy, directives, and publications. It has oversight of the DOD departments and agencies subcontracting achievements utilizing data from reports submitted by DOD prime contractors and subcontractors via the federal government s Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (esrs). The OSBP reviews the data and reports DOD subcontracting achievements to the Small Business Administration (SBA), which in turn submits the data to Congress. The OSBP also oversees the DOD Regional Councils for Small Business Education and Advocacy, has an active member on the small business committee for both the Federal Acquisition Regulation and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement councils, and an OSBP representative participates in the acquisition strategy reviews and peer reviews requiring OSD-level approval. OSBP negotiates biannual small business goals with SBA and provides an annual small business procurement scorecard plan and an annual small business procurement progress report to SBA detailing plans and activities by OSBP and the component small business offices and contracting community to support the maximizing of contract awards and subcontracts to small businesses, including those that are socially or economically disadvantaged. The fiscal year 2012/2013 goal negotiation process is beginning and once they are set with SBA, the OSBP will negotiate small business goals with the DOD component small business offices. A major initiative of the OSBP is the development and deployment of the Maximum Practicable Opportunity Analysis Model, which is available to DOD acquisition professionals in an Excel file and allows greater insight into potential and future opportunities for small businesses by looking at small business and large business contract awards at the component level and below and comparing performance by industry. It is quite obvious that the OSBP has many important and vital functions to sustain small business. Over the past decade, the OSBP has continued to grow and prosper. However, timing is everything. In October 2010, at the DAU annual conference, I asked Shay Assad, director, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy, a question concerning small business contractors cash flow, which evolved into the authorization of accelerated payments for DOD small business prime contractors and ultimately into Quick Pay i.e., accelerated payments throughout the federal agencies and accelerated payment/quick Pay is now included in President Barack Obama s American Jobs Act proposal. Recently, at a Congressional Roundtable on September 22, 2011, held during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation s Annual Legislative Conference, convened by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), chairperson, U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, there was a great deal of discussion regarding Quick Pay. Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) stated: Quick Pay just makes sense. Until you have been responsible for a payroll, you probably cannot understand how important cash flow is to a small business Quick Pay should have happened 20 years ago. 3 With so much attention and energy throughout the country being given to job creation, the economy, and saving dollars (specifically the Better Buying initiative within DOD), support of small business continues to grow. In March 2011, Andre Gudger, an Obama appointee, began his new role as the director of the OSBP. Shortly after Gudger s arrival, he was joined by Farooq Mitha, presidential fellow and special assistant to Gudger; and in May 2011, Gudger coordinated through the acquisition, technology, and logistics leadership the opportunity for me to complete a one-year detail assignment in OSBP. My position is the associate director, special projects, which pretty much equates to duties as assigned. I feel as though I have a front row seat, witnessing and participating in the DOD small business revolution. In a very short period of time, Gudger has masterfully infused change through policy and action, a few examples being: The directors of OSBP and Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy signing the joint policy memorandum, Increase Dynamic Small Business Role in the Market Place ; The release of the secretary of defense small business memorandum, Increasing Small Business Procurement Opportunities ; An OSD OSBP staff member being an active participant on every peer review of acquisitions of $1 billion and greater 4 ; The release of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics) (OUSD (ATL)) small business memorandum SAE/ CAE Accountability in Performance Standards i.e., Senior Acquisition Leaders will have Small Business metrics as a part of their performance standards beginning in FY12 ; Senior acquisition executives/component acquisition executives small business memorandums; Small business status reviews twice per month with the deputy under secretary of defense (acquisition, technology and logistics), which include senior acquisition executives/component acquisition executives and small business directors; Accelerated payment for small business throughout the federal government is included in the American Jobs Act; and Hosting two DOD small business procurement summits, in coordination with the OUSD (ATL), in Detroit, Michigan, and Orlando, Florida, reaching over 700 small businesses. Gudger does not plan to stop with policy alone. He has forged numerous vital relationships and partnerships, both internal and external to the OUSD (ATL) and DOD. One example is the open pledge Gudger and Joseph Jordan, deputy administrator, government contracts, SBA, made during the OSD OSBP small business training 36 Contract Management December 2011

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7 conference to ensure enhanced communication and collaboration between the OSD OSBP and SBA. Similar commitments have been sealed with White House staff and Daniel Gordon, administrator, Office of Federal Procurement Policy, to name a few. Internally, Gudger recently signed a joint memorandum with Richard Ginman, director, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy; and he has personally met with each of the Service Acquisition Executives to discuss DOD-wide small business policy and execution strategies. Starting from the top the president down small business is on the forefront of many, if not most discussions. The U.S. economy and job market are on everybody s minds and DOD spends more procurement dollars, including small business dollars, than all other U.S. federal government agencies combined. Gudger and his OSBP team take this urgent and compelling responsibility very seriously and are moving forward with relationships, policy, and programs to exceed the DOD small business expectations and goals. CM About the Author MARCIA E. RICHARD is a senior acquisition professional within DOD (AT&L)/Human Capital Initiatives and previously a professor of contract management at the Defense Acquisition University. She is currently working in a oneyear detail assignment in the OSD OSBP. She has been a member of NCMA for over 20 years and can be reached at marcia.richard@osd.mil. Send comments about this article to cm@ncmahq.org. Endnotes 1. Dr. Ashton B. Carter, DOD Human Capital Strategic Plan (April 1, 2010), available at dap.dau.mil/workforce/pages/default.aspx Comments of Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Congressional Roundtable (September 22, 2011), attended by the author. 4. In a recent Department of the Army peer review, the OSBP representative was able to influence the process and raise the small business ceiling for each delivery order by 50 percent. 38 Contract Management December 2011