The main goal of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) proposed rule (May 14, 2019) to amend regulations on the Women-Owned Small Business program is to put in place a statutory requirement to certify women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) and economically disadvantaged women owned small businesses (EDWOSBs), which can make them eligible for set-aside and sole source awards.
This proposed rule would allow an entity to be eligible to receive awards under the Women-Owned Small Business program, as long as its application is pending.
If that entity were to be selected for the award, its application would be prioritized by the SBA, which would lead to a determination within 15 days. The SBA would provide a free electronic application process to the entities looking to get WOSB and EDWOSB certified.
The provision also acknowledges that SBA may have difficulty processing all the potential applications in a timely manner, as there are approximately 10,000 firms currently in the WOSB repository.
The anticipated increase of applications from firms could possibly overwhelm the SBA, which typically processes around 3,000 applications per year for 8(a) status, and about 1,500 a year for HUBZone status.
The SBA asked for comments on possible solutions to avoid the potential bottleneck. Comments were accepted until July 2019 and they received more than 300 comments.
It’s important to note that if or when the rule is finalized, the certification requirement will apply only to those entities that wish to compete for set-aside or sole source contracts under the WOSB Contract program.
WOSBs that are not certified will not be eligible to compete on set asides for the program. However, women-owned small businesses that do not participate in the program may continue to self-certify their status, receive contract awards outside the program as WOSBs, and count toward an agency’s goal for awards to WOSBs.
Contracting officers would be able to accept self-certifications without verification for subcontracts, full-and-open awards, and small business set-asides.
The SBA believes that the proposed rule will bolster the number of federal contract awards to WOSB and EDWOSB-certified businesses, as well as better help agencies reach the 5% federal contracting goal for women-owned small businesses.
Under the current system, contracting officers must review a contract awardee’s documentation to verify an applicant’s WOSB and EDWOSB eligibility.
From the SBA press release: “By establishing a transparent, centralized, and free certification process, the SBA aims to provide contracting officers with reassurance that firms participating in the WOSB program are eligible for awards and encourage them to set aside contracts for women-owned small businesses.”
