Are you a small business with an 8(a) status and a GSA MAS contract? Are you planning to apply for both? If yes, then we have some great news for you – The Small Business Administration (SBA) and General Services Administration (GSA) recently announced a joint effort known as 8(a) MAS Pool Initiative aimed at helping Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDBs) participating in the 8(a) Business Development Program to gain better access to federal contracts in GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program.
Under this program, GSA will be collaborating with SBA to create a new 8(a) pool, and under this new pool, current and new MAS small business contractors who are active in the 8(a) program will be eligible for competitive awards and sole-source contracts set aside for 8(a) small businesses.
What is the 8(a) MAS Pool Initiative?
Contractors and agencies will benefit from this initiative once the MAS solicitation is refreshed and 8(a) companies are in the pool. According to the information provided by GSA, this process will kickstart later this year. The main benefits of this initiative will be:
- Improved Visibility for 8(a) Businesses:
- Once contractors are inducted into this newly established 8(a) MAS Pool, they will receive a designation that will indicate to agency buyers that a business is eligible for 8(a) sole source awards and competitive set-asides.
- This initiative will provide visibility to 8(a) firms and make it easier for procurement officials to find and do business with SDBs across industries.
- Increased Insight for Government Agencies:
- It will benefit government agencies by providing them access to a large number of 8(a) contractors that will help agencies meet their socioeconomic contracting goals.
- It will help federal government agencies to utilize the size and scale of the GSA MAS marketplace and achieve their Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) contracting goals.
SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman noted that this joint initiative between the SBA and GSA will increase federal contracting opportunities for thousands of minority-owned and other small, disadvantaged businesses, highlighting the current Administration’s commitment to equity in procurement and delivering against the President’s ambitious goal. She further said that “Our 8(a) small businesses are agile, innovative, and positioned for growth and can further help federal agencies procure the products and services needed to achieve their missions. We look forward to continuing to work with GSA and our federal agency partners to implement the 8(a) MAS Pool Initiative and help ensure this valuable small business talent doesn’t sit on the sidelines.”
This new initiative promises great potential and benefits for SDBs, and we’re excited to see how companies can leverage it to achieve success. Our team at iQuasar is closely following the latest updates from the federal government on various initiatives aimed at small business contractors. Our proposal experts are experienced in creating compelling proposals for both GSA Contracts and 8(a) contracts. Our team is here to guide you with staying up-to-date, gathering data and documentation, and further proposal development support. Please feel free to get in touch with us to find out more.
