Procurement Compliance Bulletin 12.23.2024

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Procurement Compliance Bulletin

12.23.2024

Happy Holidays Image

 

Thankful for Our 2024 Accomplishments & You

As we welcome in the holiday season and begin to say our farewells to 2024, remember to take a moment to be thankful for all things, big and small. Take time to revisit all of the things you have accomplished during the past twelve months, both individually and as part of a team.

Some accomplishments that we can all share our thanks for include a 27% increase in Certified Small Businesses (CSBs) from 4200 to 5400 over the year. Additionally, we had increases in certified MBE and VSBE vendors and the creation of the new Socioeconomic Data Reporting Guidance document.  A quick kudos to all of our agency partners that volunteered for the Workgroup that created this document, including Carissa Ralbovsky from the Office of People's Counsel and Jamie Tomaszewski from DGS OSP and on Team GOSBA, our own Karen Reyes leading the efforts!

The creation of the first MBE Ombudsman unit is another reason to be thankful. At the helm is one of our own, Nichelle Johnson, who works tirelessly advocating for our MBE vendors. Last, but certainly not least, we appreciate each and every one of you: from procurement officers, liaisons, report preparers to the unit representatives and everyone in your agency that engages with the socioeconomic programs. We would like to extend a big THANK YOU! Your efforts to submit the reports in a timely fashion, effectively adjusting to the reporting changes, attending our training sessions and outreach events, hopping on the quarterly compliance calls and legislative changes impacting our work, along with the many other things that you do, is something to be proud of! We look forward to our continued collaborations in the coming year.

Although we are saying goodbye to 2024 and as we approach the midway mark of FY2025, let’s work together to complete even bigger goals and keep working to increase procurement opportunities and outreach efforts for our SBR/MBE/VSBE vendors.

Wishing you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!


Executive Order 01.01.2024.38

Delivering a More Efficient, Equitable, and Competitive Procurement System for Maryland

Effective immediately, all Procurement Officers are hereby directed to:

 a. Designate a procurement as SBR if market research indicates that two or more certified small businesses under the SBR program can perform the work or provide the desired goods or services;

 b. Proactively work with prime contractors to achieve or exceed contractual MBE and VSBE subcontracting goals in instances where the procurement officer is acting as the Contract Manager by performing annual reviews to identify compliance with those established contractual MBE and VSBE participation goals and if necessary, require corrective action plans from the prime contractors;

Read the Full Executive Order for complete impact on State Procurement

Full Executive Order 


Quarterly Compliance Call

Upcoming Compliance Call

GOSBA hosts a compliance call each quarter to address issues impacting how the SBR, MBE, and VSBE procurement programs are implemented by participating state agencies and departments. Topics for discussion come from you, our liaisons and procurement officers. We discuss them in an open and transparent forum so we can all learn from one another.

The next Compliance Call is January 7, 2025 from 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM Topics will include:

Executive Order 01.01.2024.38 -  Delivering a More Efficient, Equitable, and Competitive Procurement System for Maryland -Impact on SBR, MBE and VSBE Programs

 

MBE Program

MBE QTR report template updates
MBE QTR 2 reports
Annual Report findings

VSBE Program

VSBE Quarter 1 overview VSBE Q2 Updates
Strategic Plans halfway points reminders/analytics
Annual Report Highlights/Challenges

SBR Program

Name change from SBR vendor to Certified Small Business (CSB)
SBR QTR report template update
SBR QTR 2 reports
Annual Report findings

Ombudsman Unit

Introduction of new hires to the unit
Quarterly compliance data
Annual report data for the Ombudsman unit


Please email topics you would like to have addressed
no later than December 23, 2024
to compliance.gosba@maryland.gov      

Check your calendar for this invitation. If you have questions about the Compliance Call or would like to add a staff member to our mailing list, let us know. If you do not wish to attend any upcoming meetings, simply decline the meeting invitation.

For questions about the compliance call, please email lisa.sennaar@maryland.gov 


SBR Program

FY2025 SBR Quarter 2 Reporting  (New Performance Measurements)

For the first SBR Quarterly FY2025 reporting requirements, thank you to the 55 units that submitted their reports. All SBR participating units, are required to submit.

SBR Quarter 2 reports are due January 30th to the sbrreports.gosba@maryland.gov

Quarterly reporting is MANDATORY and submission of the data is critical. The quarterly report will note participating units that fail to submit the required data on time. 

    • Quarterly Reports do not have to be signed.
    • GOSBA prepares a statewide quarterly report for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, the Board of Public Works, and the Governor’s Cabinet.
    • The SBR QTR reporting requirements and template have been revised. The templates now include the collection of contract awards which will track participating agency's achievement of the Certified Small Business (CSB) participation attainment of 20%. The new requirements are available in the SBR Reporting Toolkit.

If you have questions about the SBR Quarterly Report, feel free to submit them via email or contact the SBR Compliance Manager that works with your agency to schedule a meeting. 

Lisa Mitchell Sennaar lisa.sennaar@maryland.gov or
Tanita Johnson tanita.johnson1@maryland.gov 


As you work toward meeting this new goal, you'll be pleased to know the number of Certified Small Businesses (CSBs) has grown by almost 30% in the past year. There are currently more than 5,400 CSB vendors in eMMA and the number is growing every day.


Just a Reminder
:

Per COMAR 21.11.01.06 (A) (2)

A procurement with a total dollar value between $50,000 and $500,000 shall be designated for the small business reserve program. Units must follow their Procurement Review Group (PRG) process. If the eligible procurement is not being designated as SBR, then the unit must submit the prescribed exemption or request a waiver of SBR designation by sending it to the SBR Waiver mailbox per the Department of General Services (DGS) Office of State Procurement's (OSP) "Guidance and Worksheets"- https://procurement.maryland.gov/procurement-review-group-prg/.


To address any questions or concerns about SBR reporting, certification, outreach, or training assistance, please email your SBR Compliance Manager to schedule a meeting.

Lisa Mitchell Sennaar - lisa.sennaar@maryland.gov
Tanita Johnson - tanita.johnson1@maryland.gov


MBE Program

FY2025 MBE Quarter 2 Reporting 

***UPDATE MBE QUARTERLY REPORTING TEMPLATES WILL BE SLIGHTLY REVISED***
MBE Compliance Manager will send an email to all MBE Liaisons, with the revisions by early January. These revisions will not require new data points, just updates to the reporting template itself. Be sure to download the new QTR reporting templates, in the MBE Reporting Toolkit once they are made available. 

Participating units are required to report FY 2025 MBE quarterly data to GOSBA
within 30 days of the quarter’s closing date. The due date for 2nd Quarter reports is January 30, 2025.

  • Quarterly reporting is MANDATORY and timely submission of the data is critical. The quarterly report will note participating units that fail to submit the required data on time. 
  • Quarterly Reports do not have to be signed.
  • GOSBA will have 15 days to prepare a statewide quarterly report for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, the Board of Public Works, and the Governor’s Cabinet.
  • The MBE QTR reporting requirements and template have been revised and now includes a template to report procurement contract activity and a Quarterly Compliance Check-In Survey via google form. The new requirements are available in the MBE Reporting Toolkit.

If you have questions pertaining to the MBE Quarterly Report, feel free to submit them via email or contact the MBE Compliance Manager to schedule a meeting. 

                                          Karen Reyes - karen.reyes@maryland.gov

FY2024 MBE Annual Reporting Corrections

GOSBA is in the process of verifying each participating unit's MBE Annual Report data.

Be sure to respond to corrections diligently to ensure report corrections are completed prior to the Christmas holiday.  

If you have questions pertaining to the MBE Annual Report, feel free to submit them via email or contact the MBE Compliance Manager to schedule a meeting.

                                       Karen Reyes - karen.reyes@maryland.gov

 


VSBE Program

FY2025 VSBE Quarterly Reporting Reminder

***UPDATE VSBE QUARTERLY REPORTING TEMPLATES WILL BE SLIGHTLY REVISED***
VSBE Compliance Manager will send an email to all VSBE Liaisons, with the revisions by early January. These revisions will not require new data points, just updates to the reporting template itself. Be sure to download the new QTR reporting templates, in the VSBE Reporting Toolkit once they are made available.

For the first VSBE Quarterly FY2025 reporting requirements, we received 47 responses. All VSBE participating units, are required to submit.

Deadline for VSBE Quarter 2 reporting requirements are due January 30th to the vsbereports.gosba@maryland.gov mailbox. Please ensure you are submitting both required cumulative forms. 

 

VSBE Goal Increased to 3%

To ensure each participating unit strives towards the VSBE 3% statewide goal, please make sure to implement your action plan based on your submitted strategic plan. Please be sure to share the goal increase across your unit and connect with GOSBA to support and amplify your outreach efforts to the veteran community. As we near the end of Quarter 2, please assess your forward progression. Any suggested marketing materials you may need, please let our VSBE Compliance Manger know. 

To address any questions or concerns about VSBE certification, outreach, training, or reporting, please contact the VSBE Compliance Manager. 

Danielle Davis - danielle.davis2@maryland.gov.


From the Desk of the MBE Ombudsman

by Nichelle Johnson MBE Ombudsman

Compliance

The MBE Ombudsman unit would like to thank the procurement units who submitted the MBE Quarterly Compliance Check-in as requested. It is vital that we continue to monitor and improve compliance with all of the socioeconomic procurement programs.

The unit recently offered the first Prime Contractor Training focused on improving the understanding of compliance requirements for the MBE Program. The session, MBE Compliance Considerations for Prime Contractors, was held December 19, 2024. The recorded version is available through our T.I.P.S. (Training & Insights for Procurement Success) Small Business Webinar​​s Series.

The Governor's Office of Small, Minority & Women Business Affairs highly recommends that current or potential Prime Contractors review this session. Please be on the lookout in the new year for additional resources on achieving MBE compliance while doing business with the state of Maryland.  

Thank you all for the amazing work you are doing to bring us closer to 100% MBE Compliance.

 


Save the Date

Compliance Call

January 7, 2025: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM 

SBR/MBE/VSBE Liaison Trainings:

February 20, 2025: 9:00  AM - 4:00 PM