How to Participate in DoD's Mentor-Protégé Program

1. Look for your partner.

The task of looking for a suitable partner falls on the mentor and the protégé as the DoD Offices of Small Business Programs (OSBP) are prohibited by law to interfere in the partnership process. It is therefore recommended that companies look to their existing business partnerships and from their build a team with the company they deem most compatible to theirs.

To qualify for the program, mentor companies must be undertaking at least one active approved subcontracting plan with the Department of Defense or any other federal agency. If you're new to the program and wish to apply as a mentor company, applications must be approved by and submitted to the OSBP of the cognizant military service or defense agency.

On the other hand, if you're a company looking to be the protégé, you must either be a: small disadvantaged business, an qualified organization employing severely disabled people, a woman-owned small business (WOSB), a service-disabled-veteran-owned business (SDVOWB), or located in a historically underutilized business zone (HUBZone).

Read more about the kind of small business here.

2. Identify the type of Agreement.

There are two types of DoD MPP agreements:

• Directly imbursed - the mentor receives reimbursement for the cost of development assistance they provide to the protégé.
• Credit - the mentor receives multiple credits in their pursuit of subcontracting goals based on the cost of developmental assistance provided to the protégé.

You can read more about the type of DoD MPP agreements here.

3. Develop Agreement.

Before developing the Agreement, OSBP recommends that an assessment first be made on the needs of the protégé firm. Developmental assistance provided by the mentor should be compatible to the methodological vision of the protégé. Furthermore, MPP agreements need to follow the requirements enumerated here and in the DoD MPP Agreement template as well.

4. Submit Agreement Proposal.

• For directly imbursed agreements, submissions are made to the OSBP of the cognizant military service or defense agency.
• For credit agreements, submissions are to the DCMA.

5. Begin!

• Directly imbursed agreements start on the date the specific contract vehicle is modified (the date funds obligated to the contract). Mentors cannot incur cost for credit or reimbursement until the agreement is approved.
• Credit agreements start on the date of their approval.

6. Report!

Each DoD MPP Agreement calls for semi-annual reports, yearly DCMA performance evaluations, and Protégé 2-year out reports. Mentor firms will do good to note that the annual DCMA performance review plays a key role in determining the amount of reimbursement they will receive in the remaining years of directly reimbursed Agreement participation.

7. Ask!

Comprehensive briefings on the MPP are available by appointment. You may direct inquiries on the process, protocols, requirements, or benefits to dodmpp@osd.mil. 

Source: http://www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/sb/programs/mpp/participate.shtml

DoD's Mentor-Protege Program

If you are running a small disadvantaged business and want to try your luck with Department of Defense (DoD) bids, then you have no reason to fret about your chances of landing on a contract. The Department of Defense has a Mentor-Protégé Program (MPP) that helps small disadvantaged businesses increase their market exposure and participation, creating new jobs and improving the national income in the process!

This is how the MPP works:

You, the small business owner is the protégé and the bigger company you partner with is the mentor. Your mentor has ideally won contracts before and has ample working knowledge about the entire procurement process. They will help you put your best foot forward in competing for prime contracts and subcontract awards under individual, project-based agreements.

Areas of specialization that the MPP covers include environmental remediation, engineering, information technology, manufacturing, telecommunications, and healthcare. Recently, the program has been concentrating on corrosion engineering, information assurance, robotics, circuit board, and metal component manufacturing. Future agreements will hopefully include new technology areas as well (e.g., radio frequency identification devices).

The MPP is advantageous to both the mentor and protégé company. A number of mentor companies have integrated the program into their sourcing strategies, and protégé companies have benefited from the program by way of a more diversified customer base and expanded market. Many MPP protégé firms have won contracts and established fruitful business partnerships with government entities.

Writing a Proposal

Writing proposals doesn't have to be a dreadful, difficult task for companies who are vying for that much-coveted government contract. Though every proposal is unique, the structure is pretty much standard. Here's how you can write a good proposal:

•  Make an executive summary informing the evaluators of your capabilities and competency as a company; in short, why they should choose you over the others. Also put in your work methodologies and how you're going to accomplish what the government requests of you.

• Provide a list of resume and qualifications and responsibilities of the key personnel and subcontractors named in the proposal.

• Answer the major topics in the request for proposal (RFP). Follow the sequence as requested.

• If you are to include charts and graphs in your proposal, make sure that the charts and graphs contribute to the verification of your company as legitimate and competent; in other words, relevant. 

• Show off your track record. Provide a list of satisfactory completion of similar projects in size and complexity or of providing similar services to companies of similar size and/or characteristics.

• Provide a safety plan if you are preparing a proposal involving machinery, chemicals, or equipment that could conceivably cause injury.

Invest effort in making your proposal as well-written as possible. Read and re-read so typos and mistakes can be corrected before the document is submitted. Complete and sign all paperwork properly. Remember that one small glitch in your papers can cause you the contract, so make sure that everything is spot clean before sending it out.

Good luck!

How to Snag Military Bids

As a country that prides itself of its military prowess, the United States spends a significant amount of dollars investing on military contracts for companies to provide them military equipment and services.

How exactly can you land on military contracts? Here's how!

1. Register your business and set up a System for Award Management (http://www.sba.gov/) profile. The government first has to make sure that you are running a legitimate business before awarding contracts, so be sure go all the way in making your profile as informative as possible---your services, business methods, track record, even financial information.

2. A number of military contracts may demand specific certification so read through the requirements thoroughly.

3. Look and apply for contracts through the federal, local, and state government. Procurement laws necessitate government agencies to post contract opportunities through any means possible so that the relevant entities can be informed of their availability. StateandFederalBids.com features an exhaustive database of government bids (not just military) and alerts subscribers if there are bids they can apply for and pursue.

4. Before even considering to enter into a contract with the government, be absolutely sure that your  company is qualified to handle a military contract if awarded to you. If you indeed win and fall short of following through all the terms and conditions, then that might as well be the last government contract you're likely to handle.

5. Trust your company's abilities! You can do it!