U S General Services Administration Federal Acquisition Service

U. S. General Services Administration Federal Acquisition Service Industry Meeting Schedule 23 V & Schedule 751 May 3, 2017

Federal Acquisition Service Agenda v Subcontracting Plans v. General v. What we look for v Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System v. When to submit reports v. What to submit v Resources v Questions and Answers 2

Federal Acquisition Service Subcontracting Plans – General v Required by FAR 19. 7 – The Small Business Subcontracting Program v. Estimated contract value exceeds $700, 000, inclusive of all options, whether exercised or not v“Other than small business” v. Any contractor or subcontractor failing to comply in good faith with the requirements of the subcontracting plan is in material breach of its contract. v. Failure to make a good faith effort can result in the imposition of liquidated damages. 3

Federal Acquisition Service Subcontracting Plans – General v FAR 52. 219 -9 lists the subcontracting plan requirements: v. Percentage goals for using SB, VOSB, SDVOSB, HUBZone SB, SDB, WOSB v. Total dollars and description of what will be subcontracted v. Method used to develop subcontracting goals v. Method used to identify potential sources v Reports v. Responsibilities of Plan Administrator v Assurances- check out the latest! 4

Federal Acquisition Service Terms and Conditions v FAR 52. 219 -8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns v FAR 52. 219 -9, Small Business Subcontracting Plan v FAR 2. 219 -16, Liquidated Damages v Where can I find these clauses? In both the solicitation and contract. Incorporated by Reference and in full text 5

Federal Acquisition Service Subcontracting Plans – General v Two types of subcontracting plans v Commercial - means a subcontracting plan (including goals) that covers the offeror’s fiscal year and that applies to the entire production of commercial items sold by either the entire company or a portion thereof ( e. g. , division, plant, or product line). v Individual - means a subcontracting plan that covers the entire contract period (including option periods), applies to a specific contract, and has goals that are based on the offeror's planned subcontracting in support of the specific contract. v GSA’s Model Subcontracting Plan 6

Federal Acquisition Service Subcontracting Plans – What we look for v Realistic Goals, yet a “stretch” v. Compared to current plan and reported achievements v. Proper credit to all socio-economic categories v Sound plan for finding small businesses v Points of Contact and Signatures v All plans are reviewed by the CO, GSA Office of Small Business Utilization and the Small Business Administration 7

Federal Acquisition Service Credit to all socio-economic categories. Example Ø $100, 000 subcontract to a WOSB who is also a SDVOSB would be credited in both plan and reports: Ø Ø -$100, 000 to WOSB -$100, 000 to SDVOSB -$100, 000 to VOSB since SDVOSB is also a VOSB -$100, 000 to SB since WOSB/SDVOSB is also a SB 8

Federal Acquisition Service Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (e. SRS) v Vendors are required by FAR 52. 219 -9 to v Submit periodic reports so that the Government can determine the extent of compliance by the offeror with the subcontracting plan v Submit the Individual Subcontract Report (ISR), and the Summary Subcontract Report (SSR) using the Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (e. SRS) (http: //www. esrs. gov), following the instructions in the e. SRS. 9

Federal Acquisition Service How is the data in reports used? Monitor progress against the plan: Individual – on track to meet goals? Commercial – did you meet the goals? Performance evaluations in CPARS Future responsibility determinations Assess GSA’s performance by SBA and Congress 10

Federal Acquisition Service Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (e. SRS) (www. esrs. gov) 11

Federal Acquisition Service Reporting Dates to Remember. Individual Plans v 1. Individual Subcontracting Reports (ISRs): v. For period ending March 31, NLT April 30 v. For period ending September 30, NLT October 30 v. Final ISR- within 30 days of contract completion v 2. Summary Subcontracting Report (SSR), “summarizes” subcontracting under all GSA contracts - NLT October 30 v Note: Revised reports must be submitted within 30 days of CO rejection. 12

Federal Acquisition Service Reporting Dates to Remember. Commercial Plans v One report only, SSR due NLT October 30 v“summarizes” all corporate subcontracted $$$ v Avoid mistakes by using the “Quick Reference Guides” on e. SRS home: v-Report all corporate subcontracted dollars v-Properly allocate small % to federal agencies v-List all DUNS numbers covered by the plan v-Explain shortfalls 13

Federal Acquisition Service Date to Remember for Commercial Plan Ø Commercial plans expire after one year Ø Submit new plan 30 days prior to expiration of current plan 14

Federal Acquisition Service Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (e. SRS) v Best Practices when submitting a report in e. SRS v File the reports timely and accurately- Begin early! Collaborate! v For individual plans, file reports even when there has been no subcontracting during the period v Choose “Federal Acquisition Service” instead of General Services Administration v Do not leave blank fields – even if you did not subcontract to a certain group listed do not leave it blank – enter 0 in these cases. v For commercial plans, include ALL subcontracted dollars (federal and non-federal) and allocate the federal dollars as instructed 15

Federal Acquisition Service e. SRS Best Practices (continued) v Justify in the remarks area for all instances where a 0 is entered or when the goal on your subcontracting plan was not met. v Indicate corrective action to be taken to increase subcontracting in those areas. Tell the story! v Avoid repeated use of same reasons year after year. v Make sure the Agency CO that approved the subcontracting plan is the one identified to approve the e. SRS report (commercial). v Ensure email addresses of all the CS/COs for contracts that require a subcontracting plan are listed. 16

Federal Acquisition Service Other considerations Ø When subcontracting, be sure to include in your small business strategy other requirements such as Buy American Act, the president’s initiative to strengthen BAA and Trade Agreements Act. Ø Be mindful of the Limitations on Subcontracting 17

Federal Acquisition Service Coming attractions Ø Ø Task order reporting in e. SRS after November, 2017 Credit for lower tiered subcontracting Greater scrutiny of subcontracting plans Emphasis on HUBZone and SDVOSB subcontract $$ 18

Federal Acquisition Service Resources Ø Ø Ø T&Cs of the contract, especially FAR 52. 219 -9 GSA Model Subcontracting Plan FAR subpart 19. 7 Local SBA Commercial Marketing Representative: https: //www. sba. gov/contracting/resources-smallbusinesses/cmr-directory 19

Federal Acquisition Service Questions and Answers • QUESTION – Presentation referred to liquidated damages but there is no amount stated in the clause, where can that information be found? ANSWER – Dollars are based on the subcontracting plan. See clause 52. 219 -16 (b) “The amount of probable damages attributable to the Contractor's failure to comply shall be an amount equal to the actual dollar amount by which the Contractor failed to achieve each subcontract goal. ” • QUESTION – Who determines if a good faith effort is or is not being made? ANSWER – This will be dependent on what the Small Business Administration comes out with in terms of policy and requirements. At this time it is the CO who determines “good faith effort”. • QUESTION - Does a subcontractor have to be officially registered as a small business? We use a lot of freelancers, for example. Would that count? ANSWER – The Prime vendor can rely upon a subcontractor’s certification in SAM. Best practices is to encourage subcontractors to get registered in SAM as to their size of business. Document folder accordingly. • QUESTION - What about change the plan type midstream? ANSWER – Need to make a case to the CO as the need for the change. It can be done via a formal modification. 20

Federal Acquisition Service Questions and Answers • QUESTION – Will every GSA Award have a commercial and an individual plan? • ANSWER No. The need for a plan is based on the estimated contract amount ($700, 000 or over) and their business size (other than small business). The vendor will only need to submit one type of plan and it is the vendor’s decision on which type of plan to submit. • An individual subcontracting plan is contract-specific. • A commercial plan will cover subcontracting under all federal contracts as well as commercial contracts. The commercial plan is approved by one federal government CO on behalf of all federal contracts to be used for all federal contracts during the contractor’s fiscal year. • QUESTION – For an individual plan does the subcontracting reports go down to the delivery order level? • ANSWER – The ISRs cover all subcontracts for a specific contract, including subcontracts issued in support of the contract’s task orders. SSRs summarize the subcontracting in a given year. 21