Procurement Compliance Bulletin
5.10.2021
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A Message from Special Secretary Rhee
Our FY2020 Annual Report has been distributed to Governor Larry Hogan and members of the legislature, and is now available for public view on our website. This report enumerates the performance of Maryland's Small Business Reserve (SBR), Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), and Veteran-Owned Small Business Enterprise (VSBE) programs. I strongly encourage you to review the report. Please look at both our statewide performance as well as your agency/department's individual performance. Maryland's socioeconomic programs can have a big impact on the economic recovery of our small, minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses and we must proactively work toward improving our performance.
We all play an important role in the success of these vital programs. Please renew your commitment to implementing them during the PRG process and while monitoring compliance throughout the life of the contract. As you know, only payments made to certified vendors can be counted toward SBR, MBE, and VSBE achievement. As such, certification renewal is critically important for vendors participating in multiple year contracts. Do not rely on the email reminders automatically generated by our platforms to notify them when it is time to renew their certification. Instead, contact these vendors yourself. This is the extra effort needed to support these struggling businesses while demonstrating your commitment to efforts such as the governor's Executive Order to enhance the SBR Program.
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The FY2022 Procurement Forecast is due on June 30th. The FY2022 Procurement Forecast Instructions and template are located in both the MBE Reporting Toolkit and the SBR Reporting Toolkit. Agencies only need to submit one report with all projected procurements, including SBR designated procurements and those with MBE and VSBE goals.
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. Contracting opportunities are vital to the recovery of the small business community.
Procurement Forecasts should be submitted via email in EXCEL FORMAT to:
compliance.gosba@maryland.gov
Procurement Forecast questions or issues should be directed to
Lisa Mitchell Sennaar at lisa.sennaar@maryland.gov.
VSBE Program Update
The 2020 Maryland General Assembly convened a Veteran-Owned Small Business Enterprise (VSBE) Work Group to look at the existing program and make recommendations for improvements. A report, prepared by the Department of General Services, has been submitted
to the governor and legislators.
While there are no details to share at this time, we don't want you to be caught off-guard. It is our expectation that proposed policy changes will have the intention of aligning the VSBE Program to policies currently governing the MBE Program.
We will share information as it becomes available, so stay tuned.
MBE Program
Reporting
The FY2021 3rd Quarter Report was due on April 30th. Reports should contain data from the start of the fiscal year, July 1, 2020. Quarterly reports are important in order to allow the agencies/departments and our office to view progress towards attainment of the statewide goal of 29 percent. If you have not turned in this report, please do so as soon as possible.
The MBE Reporting Toolkit contains the current report templates and instructions.
Reports should be submitted via email in EXCEL FORMAT to:
MBEreports.gosba@maryland.gov
The FY2022 MBE Strategic Plan is due on June 30th.The strategic plan is a vehicle for agencies to review their progress over time and map out a plan to continue and increase engagement of certified MBE firms.
The MBE Strategic Plan template is available in the MBE Reporting Toolkit .
Reports should be submitted via email to:
compliance.gosba@maryland.gov
MBE questions or issues should be directed to the MBE Compliance Manager,
Nichelle Johnson, at nichelle.johnson1@maryland.gov or 410-697-9605.
MBE Liaison Training
Our office will hold a virtual MBE Liaison training session on June 24, 2021. Topics to be discussed include:
- The PRG Process
- Legislative Updates
- MBE Liaison duties as defined in statute
- Compliance Considerations
- Reporting Best Practices
- MBE Program Reporting Toolkit & MBE Reporting Templates and Manual
- Quarterly vs Annual Reporting
- Backup Documentation
- VSBE Program Reporting Toolkit & VSBE Annual Reporting
To attend, register by clicking the button below. A meeting invite will be sent to you so you can access the training session.
June 24, 2021
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
SBR Program
Reporting
The FY2021 3rd Quarter Report was due on April 30th. Quarterly Reports are due no later than 30 days following the end of the quarter being reported, and should contain data from the start of the fiscal year, July 1, 2020. Quarterly reports allow the agencies/departments and our office to view progress towards designating at least 15% of their spend for the SBR Program.
The SBR Toolkit contains report templates and instructions.
Reports should be submitted to the sbrreports.gosba@maryland.gov email box.
The FY2022 SBR Strategic Plan is due on June 30th. The strategic plan allows agencies to review their progress and map out a plan to continue and increase engagement of small, minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses.
The Strategic Plan template is available in the SBR Reporting Toolkit.
Reports should be submitted via email to:
compliance.gosba@maryland.gov
SBR Reporting Toolkit
SBR Program questions or issues should be directed to the SBR Compliance Manager,
Lisa Mitchell Sennaar, at lisa.sennaar@maryland.gov or 410-697-9613.
SBR Liaison Training
Our office will hold a virtual SBR Liaison training session on June 10, 2021. Topics to be discussed include:
- Legislative Updates Including SBR Executive Order 01.01.2021.01
- The Procurement Review Group (PRG) Process
- SBR Liaison duties as prescribed by statute
- Compliance Considerations
- Reporting Best Practices
- SBR Reporting Toolkit
- SBR Quarterly and Annual Reporting and Backup Documentation
- VSBE Program Reporting Toolkit & VSBE Annual Reporting
June 10, 2021
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Compliance & Policy Update
Upcoming May 13, 2021 Compliance Call
The purpose of this conference call is to address issues impacting the SBR, MBE, and VSBE procurement programs in an open and transparent forum. Topics to be discussed include:
- Assuring SBR vendors are certified to count toward the mandated 15% SBR designated spend
- Discussion about the upcoming Agency MBE Participation Attainment Survey
To participate, register by clicking the button below. You will receive a Conference Call invitation with call in details several days before the call.
Thursday, May 13 2021
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
As announced during the April SPAG meeting, the House Appropriations Committee has mandated a series of surveys and data collection to address concerns about attainment of MBE goals, liaison vacancies, and the liaison's role within each agency. The surveys will be conducted by the Governor's Office of Small, Minority & Women Business Affairs in collaboration with the Department of General Services. A report is due to the Committee in December.
Details:
- Surveys will be sent to Procurement Directors
- Liaisons will need to collaborate with procurement directors to provide, accurate, scrubbed MBE Annual procurement data.
- Agency submission of surveys and requested data are required
- Agencies who fail to submit timely data will be reported as non-responsive
- The first survey, the Agency MBE Participation Attainment Survey, will launch in June 2021. The data has been requested to:
- Understand how state agencies approach MBE goal attainment
- Determine if there is room for improvement within specific agencies
More information to come soon.
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