Procurement Compliance Bulletin
07.26.2023
It is the beginning of the new fiscal year, and we all have an amazing opportunity to start fresh. What lessons have you learned from last fiscal year? What do you want to do differently? What new requirements do you have to prepare for? No matter which socioeconomic procurement program you work with, these are questions you want to ask yourself. To quote a recent article, we should “strive to make resolutions (decisions or declarations) that will stick and involve others in our goals to help with accountability”. These are not only great ideas for work, but also for life in general. Make goals specific to your unit that will result in meaningful change. If you are stumped on where to begin, we encourage you to think about the following questions.
- Are you gathering and acting on feedback from others such as colleagues, vendors, GOSBA, or your unit’s leadership?
- Have you considered having an open chat with departments or buyers who don’t always follow policies (there could be a compelling reason why)?
- Are you making it easy for diverse vendors to work with your unit? Consider how you structure your procurements or if changes to bonding or insurance requirements would allow for more competition.
- Have you thought of ways to get more small procurements, including credit card spending, into the hands of diverse vendors? Talk to your agency procurement staff about why it is important to include small, minority, women, and veteran businesses in the buying process.
We challenge you to Reset your Mindset, Restart with better, more effective processes, and Renew your commitment to small, minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses. When considering your goals for the new fiscal year, remember that you have GOSBA behind you. We are all working together to meet the governor’s charge to leave no one behind.
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GOSBA was excited to host our first New Liaison Training. This training is used to onboard and prepare new liaisons for their duties. While the content is targeted for new liaisons, seasoned liaisons and other procurement staff are also welcomed to attend.
The first training was held on July 18, 2023 and was very well attended! Our topics included:
- General liaison duties across all three socioeconomic programs
- Overview of the Liaison training throughout the FY
- Waiver resources and requirements
- PRG process overview
- Program specific reporting requirements & resources
- New Liaison Welcome Packets for each socioeconomic procurement program
If you would like to view the training, a link will be provided in the SBR, MBE, and VSBE toolkits by the end of the week. One-on-one training sessions will still be available to liaisons throughout the year upon request to your designated compliance manager.
The FY2024 Procurement Forecast and SBR & MBE Consolidated Strategic Plan were due on June 30th. We will be sending out notifications to the unit heads that have not submitted these reports.
If you have not turned in these reports, please do so as soon as possible. Templates are located in the SBR , MBE, and VSBE toolkits on our website.
Questions about the Procurement Forecast should be directed to
Lisa Mitchell Sennaar at lisa.sennaar@maryland.gov
Questions about the Strategic Plan should be directed to
Karen Reyes at karen.reyes@maryland.gov
FY2023 Annual Reporting
The Annual Reporting period has begun
The annual reporting period commenced on July 1, 2023. Annual reports are due September 30th and should contain data from July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023.
Please remember that liaisons do not submit a 4th quarter report. Instead agencies should work on the FY2023 MBE Annual Report, making sure to use the latest templates. The MBE Annual Report instructions and template are available in the MBE Reporting Toolkit .
A new requirement has been added to the MBE Annual Report data for all contracts that close out during the fiscal year. The Annual Agency MBE Compliance Assessment Report is intended to verify if the MBE goals set by procurement units was met by prime contractors upon contract completion. This new report must be included with your MBE Annual Report submission.
If you have questions pertaining to the MBE Annual Report, feel free to submit them via email and/or contact us to schedule a meeting.
Nichelle Johnson at nichelle.johnson1@maryland.gov or
Karen Reyes at karen.reyes@maryland.gov
SBR Program
FY2023 Annual Reporting
The Annual Reporting period has begun
The annual reporting period commenced on July 1, 2023. Annual reports are due September 30th and should contain data from July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023.
Please remember that liaisons do not submit a 4th quarter report. Instead agencies should work on the FY2023 SBR Annual Report, making sure to use the latest templates. The SBR Annual Report instructions and template are available in the SBR Reporting Toolkit.
If you have questions pertaining to the SBR Annual Report, feel free to submit them via email and/or contact us to schedule a meeting.
Lisa Mitchell Sennaar at lisa.sennaar@maryland.gov or
Tanita Johnson at tanita.johnson1@maryland.gov
VSBE Waivers
Regulations regarding VSBE Program waivers were implemented in 2022 (COMAR 21.11.14.06). Follow the MBE & VSBE Goal Waiver Guidance when determining a MBE/VSBE waiver, determining good faith efforts, and universal language to use when notifying a vendor of a waiver determination.
https://procurement.maryland.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2022/11/BP-MBE_VSBE-Waiver-Guidance-v1-10.17.2022.pdf
Under this new guidance, each participating procurement unit is required to provide GOSBA with a copy of the waiver determination at the time it is made. The waiver determination shall be submitted to the following email box: vsbe.gosba@maryland.gov.
GOSBA prepares the statewide annual VSBE Waiver Data Report based on this information. If your unit granted any VSBE waivers during FY2023, but did not notify GOSBA, please send a copy of the waiver determination(s) no later than September 15, 2023.
Annual VSBE Reporting FY2023
The Annual Reporting period has begun
The annual reporting period commenced on July 1,2023. Annual reports are due October 1st and should contain data from fiscal year dates July 1, 2022- June 30, 2023.
Please make sure you have reviewed the supplemental reporting guidance for the reporting cycle. A completed VSBE Annual Report, raw and scrubbed backup data, and VSBE Outreach Form are due October 1st.
If you have any questions or concerns about the annual reporting data,
please contact Danielle Davis at danielle.davis2@maryland.gov.
The House Appropriations Committee mandated an additional round of surveys in 2023 to address ongoing concerns about attainment of MBE goals, liaison vacancies, and the liaison's role within each agency. 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.
The Agency MBE Participation Attainment Survey launched on June 30, 2023.
SBR/MBE/VSBE Liaison Trainings:
February 1, 2024, 9am - 3:30pm
May 2, 2024, 9am - 3:30pm
GOSBA Compliance Calls:
September 12, 2023, 10am -12pm
December 5, 2023, 10am -12pm
March 7, 2024, 10am -12pm
June 6, 2024, 10am - 12pm
New Liaison Training:
March 19, 2024, 10am - 12:30pm
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