Procurement Compliance Bulletin
3.27.2024
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, women-owned businesses continue to fuel the economy and now represent 42% of all businesses – nearly 13 million – employing 9.4 million workers and generating revenue of $1.9 trillion. Maryland also has the highest rate per capita of women-business ownership in the United States. The data shows that inclusion of women-owned businesses in competition for procurement opportunities can only be positive for Maryland's economy. Maryland's socioeconomic procurement programs provide opportunities for eligible small businesses including women-owned businesses to become certified in the Small Business Reserve (SBR), the Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Veteran-Owned Small Business Enterprise (VSBE) programs. These programs were created to make Maryland procurement more equitable and inclusive for eligible businesses. We encourage SBR, MBE and VSBE Liaisons and procurement professionals to increase your outreach efforts to all small businesses, including women-owned businesses, by hosting your own events on how to do business with your agency, joining outreach events hosted by the Governor's Office of Small, Minority & Women Business Affairs and other units, and directly soliciting women-owned businesses that fit your unit's buying needs. Increasing the pool of available businesses creates more competition and better value for Maryland's spend!
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Spread the Word
Vendor Survey Closing Soon
Maryland periodically conducts a study to determine whether there is racial and/or gender business discrimination in the markets in which the State does business, both public and private sectors. The state and MDOT are partnering with an independent consultant, MGT Consulting Group, to complete the study. We invite all business owners to participate in an online vendor survey to share experiences with or observations of discrimination, if any, and its impact on businesses in the state's marketplace. The credence of the study and the legal defensibility of these programs in intrinsically tied to the response rates received. The magnitude of the study and its implications cannot be overstated. Please help spread the word and share the flyer linked below to ensure all businesses have the opportunity to participate in this vendor survey.
Maryland Disparity Study Vendor Survey
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New Liaison Onboarding Training
Thank you to everyone who attended the New Liaison Onboarding training last week!
Our office hosted the second liaison onboarding training session of FY2024 on March 19, 2024. For any new or current liaisons who were unable to attend, the Liaison Onboarding training recording will be available in the SBR, MBE, and VSBE toolkits on our website. We also have Liaison welcome packets available to download. As always, do not hesitate to reach out to your program’s designated compliance manager for guidance as well.
Participating agencies are required to report FY2024 MBE and SBR quarterly data to GOSBA
within 30 days of the quarter’s closing date. The due date for 3rd Quarter reports is April 30, 2024..
- Quarterly reporting is MANDATORY and timely submission of data is critical.
- Participating agencies that fail to submit the required data are identified in GOSBA's statewide quarterly report that is submitted to the Governor, Lt. Governor, Board of Public Works, and Cabinet.
The strategic plan template is submitted electronically as a Google Form and will be made available in April. This mandatory report is in a consolidated format and will now include a VSBE section in addition to the SBR and MBE program sections. For those agencies that participate in all programs (SBR, MBE, and VSBE), a PDF version of the form will be provided on the SBR, MBE, and VSBE toolkits so that your agency can coordinate answers across multiple contributors.
The strategic plan is due on June 30, 2024
The procurement forecast is provided to the public and serves as a valuable tool for the small, minority, women, and veteran business community. The FY 2025 updated Procurement Forecast instructions and template will be made available in April. This is a mandatory report for all participating agencies. Starting this year the Procurement Forecast will include VSBE. Be sure to give this report the proper attention by following the instructions and being thorough with your responses.
The procurement forecast is due on June 30, 2024
FY2024 Certified VSBEs
Please make the time to verify that all VSBEs performing on your contracts are certified in eMMA and have a valid VSBE Certification number. As a reminder, if they are not in eMMA as a certified VSBE, they cannot be counted toward achievement of your FY2024 VSBE goal. Those not certified will have to be manually extracted out of your annual reports. This responsibility will be on each participating agency/department. Updated VSBE Regulations have been finalized and take effect April 1, 2024. One of the most important updates is removal of the outdated use of VetBiz in COMAR 21.11.14.12. eMMA is the only platform used to verify VSBE certification status.
FY2025 Strategic Plan
VSBE Liaisons will now be contributing to your unit's strategic plan. This mandatory report is in a consolidated format and will now include a VSBE section in addition to the SBR and MBE program sections. For those agencies that participate in all programs (SBR, MBE, and VSBE), a PDF version of the form will be provided on the SBR, MBE, and VSBE toolkits so your agency can coordinate answers across multiple contributors. The strategic plan template is submitted electronically as a Google Form and will be made available in April.
The strategic plan is due on June 30, 2024
FY2025 Reporting Requirement Change
In order to enhance consistence of reporting requirements across all three socioeconomic procurement programs, GOSBA will require all VSBE participating agencies/departments to submit quarterly performance reports beginning in FY2025. GOSBA will host a training session for VSBE Liaisons before the first FY2025 quarterly report is due.
To address any questions or concerns about the VSBE certification, outreach, or training assistance, please contact Danielle Davis at danielle.davis2@maryland.gov.
SBR/MBE/VSBE Liaison Trainings:
May 2024
GOSBA Quarterly Compliance Calls:
June 6, 2024, 10am - 12pm
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