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Quarterly Newsletter (Q3)
July 31, 2024
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On behalf of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), it is my pleasure to share updates on the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) small business activities and achievements.
Last month, the OSDBU hosted the 2024 DOE Small Business Forum & Expo in Minneapolis that increased small business opportunities and partnerships with the Department’s program offices, power marketing administrations, laboratory and technology centers, and prime contractors. Highlights from the two-day conference will be featured in this special edition of the Quarterly Newsletter.
Additional topics covered include small business achievement and success stories, legislative updates and event summaries, as well as other exciting developments across the Department.
We greatly appreciate all the support of the 2024 DOE Small Business Forum & Expo and a special acknowledgment goes to Anita Anderson, the OSDBU's Outreach and Public Engagement Specialist, who organized the conference. A big shout out as well goes to Small Business Program Managers (SBPMs) and other representatives from partnering DOE offices, leadership, and contract support, sponsors, and exhibitors for helping put on a fantastic event!
Thank you for advocating for the utilization of small businesses to help advance the DOE’s mission.
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Ron P. Pierce, Director
Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
U.S. Department of Energy
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Small Business Achievement
The Department continues to increase opportunities for underrepresented small businesses and make progress in socio-economic achievement. In the third quarter of FY 2024, the Department projects increased prime awards to three of the four socio-economic categories graded by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
Below is a preliminary third quarter data summary, including Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation (FPDS-NG) awards over a five-year period. Please note that the data has not been finalized.
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- The Department is outpacing prime small business awards to Small and Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB) for a total of $849M.
- This marks an increase of approximately $100M from the same period in FY 2023.
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- DOE is also trending higher in prime small business contracting with Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB) for a total of $446M.
- This is nearly $100M more than DOE awarded during the same period in FY 2023.
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- The Department is also outpacing prime small business awards to Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Small Businesses for a total of $114M.
- This marks an increase of approximately $50M from the same period in FY 2023.
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Highlights from the 2024 DOE Small Business Forum & Expo
On June 4 and 5, 2024, the OSDBU hosted the 2024 DOE Small Business Forum & Expo in Minneapolis. Over 1,000 people attended the two-day conference that focused on the theme of American clean energy powered by small businesses and provided a wide range of opportunities to help advance the DOE’s mission and support the small business community working with the Department. The in-depth agenda featured an engaging lineup of agency and industry speakers with informative messages, the return of an innovative clean energy tech startup competition, educational workshops, panel discussions, Live Reverse Auctions for various commodities and services, a help center with the SBA and Minnesota APEX Accelerator representatives, business matchmaking sessions, presentations from national labs and program offices, and an exhibit hall with over 115 vendors and service providers.
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Small Business Contract Award Made at the 2024 DOE Small Business Forum & Expo
The OSDBU is excited to highlight the below DOE small business award signed during the conference:
Bechtel Awards a $500k Contract to a Small Disadvantaged Business
The Hanford Site is currently home to 56 million gallons of nuclear waste generated during the plutonium production efforts during World War II and the Cold War era. Under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Hanford cleanup project is a massive operation to safely immobilize and dispose of this waste.
The Hanford Small Business Council (HSBC) was created to utilize small and disadvantaged businesses to the greatest extent possible. The HSBC consists of Small Business Program Managers for each of the prime contractors working directly under the DOE at the Hanford Site. Each year, the HSBC holds an event called the Bridging Partnerships Small Business Symposium. The goal of the symposium is to increase procurement and diverse business opportunities for small and large enterprises.
At the 2024 Symposium, Bechtel made a connection with a small business, Waymaker Resource Group, that is based in Minnesota. This connection resulted in their business being added to the Bechtel vendor pool and subsequently being included in the request for proposal (RFP) for crane refurbishment. The Waymaker Resource Group was the successful offeror for this RFP and was awarded a nearly half-million-dollar contract! The contract was officially signed by their group while attending the 2024 DOE Small Business Forum & Expo in Minneapolis.
Thanks to One Hanford (pictured below) for their continued commitment to small businesses and for sharing this great success story.
One Hanford representatives at the 2024 DOE Small Business Forum & Expo pictured from left to right, top to bottom: Staci Downing, Washington River Protection Solutions; Susan Hiller, DOE; Brandon Lilly and William Craven, Central Plateau Cleanup Contract; Calvin Callahan, Hanford Mission Integration Solutions; Jody O’Connor, Inomedic Health Applications; Kylie Rollosson, Bechtel National Inc. Waste Treatment Plant; and Shannon Malisani, Navarro-ATL.
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Other Recent DOE Small Business Awards
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The OSDBU is pleased to share recent DOE small business awards made in the third quarter of FY 2024.
The Office of Acquisition Management (MA-60), Office of Headquarters Procurement Services (MA-64), awarded a Strategic Marketplace under NASA SEWP on behalf of the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). The award is effective on April 29, 2024, and will provide support of the U.S. Department of Energy’s, Office of the Chief Information Officer’s Enterprise-Wide Agreement Program. The contractor, Minburn Technology Group, LLC, is a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned small business concern who will be providing Microsoft products and support services. The total value of this award is $950 million with a five-year period of performance through April 28, 2029.
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John Maxwell (pictured above left) is the Contracting Officer of this award; Heather Leonard (above right) and Sara Torres (below right) are the Contract Specialists; and William (Will) Diggs Jr (below left) is the Division Manager.
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The Office of Acquisition Management (MA-60), Office of Headquarters Procurement Services (MA-64), awarded a task order on behalf of the Office of Grid Deployment Office (GDO) under the multiple-awarded National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) Enterprise Wide Technical, Engineering, and Programmatic Services (TEPS III) Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA). The services provided under this order are for Operational and Technical Support Services. The award was made on June 14, 2024, to Allegheny Science & Technology, a small business concern. The total value of this award is $59 million.
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Sirron Scott (pictured above left) is the Contracting Officer of this award and Amanda Bailey (above right) is the Contract Specialist.
Thanks to the Office of Acquisition Management for their continued commitment to small businesses and for sharing this great success story.
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Legislative Updates
Below are recent updates from the Small Business Procurement Advisory Council regarding government contracting programs:
Small Business Participation on Multiple Award Contracts (Jan. 25 and April 19, 2024)
1. Award of new multiple-award contracts
- engage small-business specialists and PCRs earlier in the acquisition process
- consider on-ramps when developing the acquisition strategy
2. Award of orders under new and existing multiple-award contracts
- apply the rule of two to contract orders, with limited exception
- maximize orders to small businesses under the SAT
3. Best-in-Class contracts
- seek new entrants through BIC, or
- consider whether using an "open market" set-aside (outside of a BIC) would be more effective to finding new entrants
More information:
U.S. Office of Management and Budget Memorandum
U.S. Department of Defense Memorandum
SBA Direct Final Rule: Eliminate SDVOSB Self-Certification (June 6, 2024)
- Must be certified by SBA for: 1) agency’s SDVOSB goals and 2) subcontracting plan SDVOSB goals
- Submitting an application by December 22 qualifies until the SBA makes a decision
More information:
Federal Register (89 FR 48266)
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Small Business Events Updates
On April 10th, at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, VA, DOE OSDBU Director Ron Pierce (pictured above middle), William “BJ” Quigley (above left), Senior Procurement Executive for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Gary Lyttek (above right), Senior Business Resource Manager for the NNSA, participated in a Fireside Chat sponsored by the National Veterans Small Business Coalition (NVSBC). Over 150 people registered for the event that focused on procurement opportunities for Veteran-Owned Small Business at the DOE/NNSA and the unique structure and organization of the Department.
On April 30, the OSDBU co-hosted with SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory a combined HUBZone and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Opportunity Day in Stanford, CA. More than 225 small businesses attended the event that centered around DOE's IT and cybersecurity requirements and provided a wide range of opportunities. The Opportunity Day also included participation from DOE's Office of Science, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Attendees had the chance to learn more about small business resources and explore Matchmaking with DOE buyers.
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On May 20-22, the OSDBU participated in the NVSBC's VETS24 Conference in Orlando, FL. The agenda included a panel discussion with OSDBU Director Ron Pierce (pictured above, second from left, in middle photo) and a training session. In addition, OSDBU Senior Small Business Advocates Blake Clemmer and Nicola Ohaegbu (above right photo) engaged in 1-on-1 Matchmaking with small businesses to share DOE resources and opportunities.
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📅Mark Your Calendars
Below are upcoming small business events and training. Please visit the Small Business Events Calendar on the OSDBU’s website for more information.
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