Procurement Compliance Bulletin
7.19.2022
Most likely you have discussed best practices within your agency. A best practice is by definition, a standard or set of guidelines that is known to produce good outcomes. Following best practices from our office, the Office of State Procurement, or your agency's legal counsel can help you do your job well. As the reporting season and the new fiscal year begin, we are all thinking of ways to do our work more efficiently and effectively. Check out some best practices from your SBR, MBE, and VSBE Compliance Managers.
- Remember that small businesses do not have to be certified in the SBR Program in order to bid on SBR Designated procurements. They must be certified in the SBR Program before they can be awarded an SBR Designated procurement. Before designating a procurement as SBR, be sure to conduct thorough market research using multiple sources including eMMA to search for small businesses that may be available to respond to an SBR designated procurement, i.e. the State of Maryland Minority Business Enterprise Program Directory, VSBE list in eMMA, the SBA's Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) portal, and other directories.
- Small businesses found from this market research should be directly solicited when the
solicitation is posted on eMMA. The direct solicitation email should include the following
language and consult the BEST PRACTICES: Small Business Reserve (SBR) Executive Order 01.01.2021.01 Implementation Guidelines
The State of Maryland [Agency Name] invites your firm to participate in the attached
procurement that has been designated as a Small Business Reserve (SBR). In order to obtain an award, your firm must be registered and certified in the SBR Directory in the State’s eProcurement system eMaryland Marketplace Advantage (eMMA). Refer to
the attached link on how to register to become a certified small business eligible for the SBR Program using the eMMA Quick Reference Guide (QRG) 7. SBR Certification/Recertification (eMMA QRG)
- As proponents of the state's socioeconomic procurement programs, you are tasked with maximizing MBE and VSBE participation on state-funded contracts. You can do this by providing a list of subcontracting opportunities identified by your agency during the PRG process to prime contractors and reminding them that they may identify other subcontracting opportunities, as long as certified firms are serving a commercially useful function. Hint: include the NAICS codes so that prime contractors can easily identify qualified, certified MBE and VSBE vendors.
- In recent MBE liaison training sessions, new sample MBE Forms (Attachment D) were released and reviewed. While the training was for internal stakeholders, like you, we have made the sample forms available for vendors as well. You can find them on our website in the Resources page under the "Our Top Picks" section. Assist vendors by referring them to our website to review sample forms before submitting their bid/offer.
- Document, Document, Document! Agencies differ in size and processes, so agency specific policies and procedures should always be well documented. Decisions regarding SBR, MBE, and VSBE Program goals, solicitations, bids/offers, awards or payments should be properly documented as well and can be used for historical purposes when making future decisions. This practice is particularly important if justification for your agency's decisions is ever requested.
- In order to satisfy the reporting requirements found in COMAR, your agency is responsible for collecting procurement data throughout the fiscal year. To ensure the most accurate and intelligible report, your agency should implement the following process: gather the data, process and clean the data (scrub it), analyze the data (ensure proper backup documentation is provided), and submit all required final report documents. These steps will help keep your agency organized and result in a superb annual report submission!
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Special Recognition
As we enter another reporting season, we wanted to take this time to celebrate one of our shining stars from FY21. Kudos to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) for submitting a perfect FY21 MBE Annual Report! UMBC also regularly provides useful feedback for best practices and checks in for guidance from our office. Special recognition goes to Ms. Elizabeth Moss and Ms. Ann Fusselbaugh for their dedication and tireless efforts.
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Thank youto the 46 agencies that
submitted your FY2023 Procurement Forecast.
The statewide procurement forecast published is one of the most powerful tools available to our small business vendor community. It is published on the GOSBA website and actively promoted at outreach events, training programs and one-on-one vendor sessions. If you have not submitted your agency Forecast, please submit it as soon as possible. We will be contacting agency heads soon to alert them their agency has not submitted this very important report.
The FY2023 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.
Procurement Forecasts, which must be provided in EXCEL FORMAT,
should be submitted via email to:
compliance.gosba@maryland.gov
For any questions regarding the Procurement Forecast, email
Lisa Mitchell Sennaar at lisa.sennaar@maryland.gov.
Thank you to the 41 agencies/departments
that have submitted your FY2023 Consolidated Strategic Plan.
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 SBR/MBE firms.
The consolidated plan has distinct SBR and MBE sections. For those agencies that participate in both the MBE and SBR Programs, you will make your own determination on the best way to coordinate and compile the information for each section of the consolidated report. For those agencies that are not SBR participating agencies, you will fill out the MBE portion only, and note that you are not a SBR participating agency.
The consolidated Strategic Plan template is available in the SBR Reporting Toolkit and the MBE Reporting Toolkit. If you have not turned in your agency's strategic plan, please do so as soon as possible.
Strategic Plans should be submitted via email to:
compliance.gosba@maryland.gov
For any questions regarding the consolidated Strategic Plan, email
Nichelle Johnson at nichelle.johnson1@maryland.gov
or Lisa Mitchell Sennaar at lisa.sennaar@maryland.gov.
Reporting - The Annual Reporting period began on July 1, 2022
Annual report instructions and templates are now available in the VSBE Reporting Toolkit. Please take the time to review the FY2022 VSBE Reporting Manual as there have been some important updates.
The VSBE Annual Report is due October 1st and should contain data from July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022.
VSBE Annual Reports and supporting documentation must be submitted
by email to vsbereports.gosba@maryland.gov.
For any questions regarding the VSBE Program, or to be added to the
VSBE Liaison Training calendar invitations, email
Danielle Davis at danielle.davis2@maryland.gov.
MBE Program
Reporting - The Annual Reporting period began on July 1, 2022
Annual report instructions and templates are now available in the MBE Reporting Toolkit . Please remember that liaisons do not submit a 4th quarter report. Instead agencies should work on the FY22 MBE Annual Report, making sure to use the latest templates.
Annual reports are due September 30th and should contain data from July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022.
Training
Thank you to everyone who attended MBE Liaison training on June 23, 2022. For those who were unable to attend, the slide deck and video are available in the MBE Reporting Toolkit.
For questions about the MBE Program, or to be added to the
MBE Liaison Training calendar invitations, email
Nichelle Johnson at nichelle.johnson1@maryland.gov.
SBR Program Reporting
The Annual Reporting period began on July 1, 2022
Annual report instructions and templates are now available in the SBR Reporting Toolkit . Annual reports will be due September 30th and should contain data from July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022.
Please remember that liaisons do not submit a 4th quarter report. Instead agencies should work on the FY22 SBR Annual Report, making sure to use the latest templates.
Training
Thank you to everyone who attended SBR Liaison Training on June 2, 2022. For those who were not able to attend, the slide deck and video are available in the SBR Reporting Toolkit.
For any questions about the SBR Program, or to be added to the
SBR Liaison Training calendar invitations, email
Lisa Mitchell Sennaar at lisa.sennaar@maryland.gov.
Compliance Update
We need to hear from you!
Each quarter we host a compliance conference call to address issues impacting the SBR, MBE, and VSBE procurement programs in an open and transparent forum. Topics can and should be submitted by each of you for inclusion and discussion in the call. Submit topics to the compliance.gosba@maryland.gov email box.
For those who were unable to attend the June 16th Compliance Call, you may access the questions and answers from previous calls in the Compliance Library, located on the GOSBA website in the MBE, SBR and VSBE Toolkits.
For questions about the compliance call,
please email lisa.sennaar@maryland.gov or nichelle.johnson1@maryland.gov.
If you do not wish to attend any upcoming meetings, simply decline the meeting invitation.
The FY2022-23 survey series has launched!
As previously announced, the House Appropriations Committee has mandated a second series of surveys to address ongoing concerns about attainment of MBE goals, liaison vacancies, and the liaison's role within each agency. The surveys are being conducted by the Governor's Office of Small, Minority & Women Business Affairs in collaboration with the Department of General Services, Office of State Procurement. A report is due to the Committee in December.
Questions about the surveys may be directed to
MBE Compliance Manager, Nichelle Johnson at
nichelle.johnson1@maryland.gov or 410-697-9605.
SAVE THESE DATES: Calendar invitations will be sent soon
Quarterly Compliance Calls (10 am - 12 noon)
September 8, 2022
December 8, 2022
MBE/SBR/VSBE Liaison Combined Training (full day)
October 4, 2022
February 9, 2023
June 29, 2023
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What are Your Training Preferences?
We want to know your training preference: virtual, in-person, or both. Please use the link below to take our 1-question survey.
FY2023 Training Survey
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