Agencies Offer Advice for Women-Owned Contractors

October 3, 2013- The Defense Department and other government agencies recently gave advice and words of encouragement to women-owned small business contractors.

“This is a tough time for the federal government and Department of Defense if you're concerned about small businesses," said Linda Oliver, deputy director of the Defense Department's Office of Small Business Programs. But speaking to current and prospective contractors, Oliver's chief advice was to take advantage of the "debrief," an optional meeting companies may request within three days of learning they were eliminated from the contract-award process. The meeting is valuable in that it gives everyone perspective on the process, she said.

In panels on how contracts can be won by small businesses, a specialist for the Army said it had awarded 4.5 percent of its contracts to women-owned small businesses, totaling $4 billion.

Another specialist with the Transportation Security Administration said TSA has awarded 3.4 percent of contracts to women-owned small businesses, totaling $35 million. The agency encouraged would-be contract winners to e-mail regularly with updates on their qualifications.

A Human Services Department small business specialist said the agency -- the governments second-largest in procurement after Defense -- exceeded its goals for women-owned businesses, with awards at 6.43 percent, worth $1.2 billion.

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