Procurement Compliance Bulletin 5.29.2020

Governor's Office of Small, Minority & Women Business Affairs

Procurement Compliance Bulletin

MD OPEN for Business


Inside this issue:

A Message From GOSBA
FY2021 Procurement Forecast Due
FY2021 MBE & SBR Strategic Plans Due
MBE & SBR Liaison Training
GOSBA Compliance Updates


05.29.2020


A Message from GOSBA 

Thank you MBE and SBR Liaisons and procurement partners for being responsive to the MBE, SBR, and VSBE vendor community who are contacting you to find out how to do business with your agency/department. During this unprecedented time, agencies must continue to think of unique and effective ways to carry on our work of supporting the State of Maryland. This includes the continued direct engagement of MBE, SBR, and VSBE firms, even with emergency procurements. Maryland's small, minority, veteran, and disadvantaged businesses are the backbone of Maryland and continue to require our consideration. We encourage you to be a pioneer, think outside the box, and help Maryland remain strong. We are in this TOGETHER!


Procurement Forecast

FY2021 Procurement Forecast Due June 30, 2020

The FY2021 Procurement Forecast Instructions and Template are located in both the MBE Reporting Toolkit and the SBR Reporting Toolkit.

This data, which includes all projected purchases of $100,000 and above for the fiscal year, connects with the Hogan administration's theme that “Maryland is Open for Business." Keep in mind the forecast is provided to the public and serves as an important tool for the small, minority, women, and veteran business community. Once Governor Hogan implements his safe, effective, and gradual approach to reopening the state, contracting opportunities will be vital to the recovery of the small business community. Please give the proper attention to this mandatory report by following the instructions and being thorough with your responses.

Procurement Forecasts should be submitted via email in EXCEL FORMAT to:

compliance.gosba@maryland.gov

If you have any questions, contact
Lisa Mitchell Sennaar at  lisa.sennaar@maryland.gov


MBE Program

FY2021 MBE Strategic Plan Due June 30, 2020

The FY2021 Strategic Plan template is available in the MBE Reporting Toolkit. Please do not use prior year templates. The Strategic Plan asks a series of questions which are designed to add structure and detail to your agency's MBE inclusion/expansion strategy. Each plan should be unique and based on projected purchases for the upcoming fiscal year with the intention to maximize the number of MBEs engaged in the procurement/purchasing process.  

Plans should be labeled "FY2021 MBE Strategic Plan" and submitted via email to:
compliance.gosba@maryland.gov

As we prepare to reopen the state, please give the proper attention to this mandatory report. You can have a direct impact on the small business community by providing thorough and detailed responses, following the instructions carefully, and submitting the report in the correct format.

 

MBE Liaison Training

Our office is holding a Virtual Training Session for MBE Liaisons. Topics to be discussed include:

  • MBE Liaison duties
  • Compliance Monitoring and Reporting
  • FY2021 Strategic Plans
  • Procurement Forecasts
  • MBE 60% Rule
  • MBE Forms
  • Best practices for setting MBE goals

Thursday, June 25, 2020
1:00 - 4:00 pm
Via Google Hangouts Meet
Click the link below to register.

 


SBR Program

FY2021 SBR Strategic Plan Due June 30, 2020

The FY2021 Strategic Plan template is available in the SBR Reporting ToolkitThe Strategic Plan asks a series of questions which are designed to add structure and detail to your agency's SBR inclusion/expansion strategy. Each plan should be unique and based on projected purchases for the upcoming fiscal year with an eye toward toward increasing the number of SBRs engaged in the procurement/purchasing process. 

Plans should be labeled "FY2021 SBR Strategic Plan" and submitted via email to:
compliance.gosba@maryland.gov

As we prepare to reopen the state, please give the proper attention to this mandatory report. You can have a direct impact on the small business community by providing thorough and detailed responses, following the instructions carefully, and submitting the report in the correct format.

 

SBR Liaison Training

Our office is holding a Virtual Training Session for SBR Liaisons. Topics to be discussed include:

  • SBR Liaison Duties
  • Compliance Monitoring and Reporting
  • FY2021 Strategic Plans
  • Procurement Forecasts
  • Searching for and verifying SBR certified Vendors in eMMA
  • SBR Best Practices 

Thursday, June 25, 2020
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Via Google Hangouts Meet
Click the link below to register.

 


VSBE Program

Maryland’s Veteran-Owned Small Business Enterprise (VSBE) Program provides contracting opportunities on state-funded procurements for qualified veteran-owned small businesses. Designated agencies and departments are directed to spend at least 1% of the total dollar value of their procurement contracts either directly (prime contractors) or indirectly (subcontractors) with certified VSBE firms. Only the work of a certified VSBE firm can be counted toward meeting an established VSBE contract goal. 

In 2018, Maryland law modified how veteran-owned firms may become certified to participate in the VSBE Program. The certification process requires vendors to register in eMMA, and complete an application. The veteran verification portion of the process takes place outside of eMMA through the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs or Vets First Verification Program (VetBiz).

We highly recommend that procurement officers use eMMA when searching for VSBE vendors during the PRG process and verifying VSBE status during the award process. When searching in eMMA as an admin user, a fully-certified VSBE vendor requires (1) the "VSBE Certification #" field to be populated with and 9-digit number or a 12-space letter/number sequence AND (2) the "VSBE Application Status" must show as "Approved" in the Company Info section.

If you have any concerns about a specific vendor as you work to validate VSBE certification when setting contract goals or preparing to make an award, don't hesitate to contact Tanita Johnson directly at tanita.johnson1@maryland.gov

 


Compliance & Policy Update

May Compliance Call

On May 13, 2020, GOSBA hosted our bi-monthly Compliance Call. Thank you to all of our participants and to those who submitted questions. We believe we covered some very important topics that will help us as we move forward in our new normal.

For those who were unable to join us, please click HERE to see the questions and responses in our Compliance Call Library. You may also access this document in the MBE and SBR Toolkits.

Upcoming July 29, 2020 Compliance Call

The purpose of this conference call is to address specific questions that you, our Agency stakeholders, are asking.

The process is as follows: 

  • Questions for the Compliance Call must be submitted 14 days in advance.
  • Our team will answer as many questions as time allots. 
  • RSVP is required.Those who RSVP will be provided a Conference Call invitation with call in details. Please register early.
  • A link to questions and the answers provided during the call will be added to the next bulletin for those who were unable to join the call.

To submit questions (Please note the new email address):

Send your questions to compliance.gosba@maryland.gov by the deadline

July 15, 2020

 

Wednesday, July 29, 2020
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Via Google Hangouts Meet
Click the link below to register for the Compliance Call

 


Coming soon...

The FY2020 Annual Reports will be due by September 30, 2020.  New Annual Report documents will be available in the MBE and SBR Toolkits beginning June 30, 2020. Stay tuned for more information.