Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) discussion with Ms. Sharon Ridley

In our second episode of this season of the VA Technology Acquisition Center’s (TAC) podcast, TAC Talks, host Chuck Ross is joined by Ms. Sharon Ridley to discuss OSDBU’s role in promoting small business efforts within VA.

What is TAC Talks?

Come for a peek behind the federal acquisition curtain as we gain insights from acquisition professionals at the US Department of Veterans Affairs and dissect varying relevant topics. In this five-episode series we will explore topics such as proposal evaluations, innovation, debriefs, and more!

TAC Talks is premiering Tuesday, September 29th!

The Department of Veterans Affairs does not endorse or officially sanction any entities that may be discussed in this podcast, nor any media, products or services they may provide.

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Chuck Ross: Welcome to the Technology Acquisition Center Podcast, which we affectionately call TAC Talks. Join us as we discuss highly relevant and compelling acquisition topics with highly esteemed industry professionals and attempt to share information with you, the 1102 workforce, program officials and our contractor friends. We hope that you find these topics and discussions helpful. So turn up the volume on your earbuds, and get ready for TAC Talks.
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Chuck Ross: Hello friends, and welcome to another exciting episode of TAC Talks. My name is Chuck Ross, a Procurement Service Director at the Department of Veterans Affairs Technology Acquisition Center. In today's episode of TAC Talks, I have the honor of speaking with Ms. Sharon Ridley of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization regarding their role in promoting small business efforts within VA. On October 24, 1978, President Carter signed Public Law 95-507, which amended the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 making federal procurement contracting more readily accessible to all small businesses. Public Law 95-507 stipulates that it is the policy of the government to provide maximum Practicable opportunities in its acquisitions to small businesses, Small Disadvantaged businesses, and Women Owned businesses. This stipulation also extends to having the maximum Practicable opportunity to participate as subcontractors in contracts awarded by any Executive Agency. The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, also known as OSDBU, is the name of the Office within Federal agencies that is charged with promoting these efforts. The VA OSDBU mission and function is to support the Secretary's priorities by enabling Veterans to gain access to economic opportunities, by developing policies and programs informed by customer feedback that improve market research, increased direct access, and maximize the participation of Procurement ready, Veteran owned Small Businesses and Serviced-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses, in Federal Contracting. In the VA these responsibilities are conducted within the context of VA's hierarchy of Small Business Program preferences established by Public Law 109 461. Otherwise, known as the Veterans First Contracting Program, the VA OSDBU supports several program areas such as Verification, Acquisition Support, the Direct Access program, and Strategic Outreach and Communications. Through these program areas, VA OSDBU supports SDVOSBs, VOSBs and other Small Businesses by maximizing Small Business opportunities and promoting understanding of the Veterans first Contracting Program and other VA Small Business programs. As I mentioned previously, here with me today to discuss this important topic is Ms. Sharon Ridley. Ms. Ridley is the Executive Director for the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization at VA. She is responsible for oversight of programs that promote small business participation in VA procurements, with special emphasis on SDVOSBs and VOSBs. Ms. Ridley is a proven leader with a broad range of successful work experiences with Veterans, military members, civilians, and contractors across the country and internationally. She has over 22 years of experience leading clinical and administrative programs, both internal and external to the Federal Government at the national level and in the field. Welcome, Ms. Ridley.
Sharon Ridley: Hi, Chuck. How are you today?
(CR): I'm doing well. So, we're going to go through a little series of questions here for our TAC Talks audience, and we'll start off with one that you're very familiar with. If you could just explain to our listeners the mission and the role of OSDBU.
(SR): I would be happy to, Chuck. OSDBU is VA's advocate for small businesses. We work to inform, educate, and empower small business owners with knowledge and resources that can lead them to success in the federal marketplace.
(CR): Very good. So now there's the relationship between OSDBU and the SBA. How do you guys work together?
(SR): That's a great question, Chuck. OSDBU�s primary focus is on helping procurement ready small businesses. We consider procurement ready business owners to be beyond the beginning stages of business ownership. They usually have a relevant history of completing work within their defined sector. Procurement ready firms are prepared to meet with potential clients and take on federal contracts right away. In contrast, the SBA assists small businesses that are starting out. They actually will walk them through the process of putting together a business plan, registering their business, and finding startup capital. Due to the nature of our separate but similar missions, SBA and OSDBU coordinate to equip small businesses for success. My office regularly attends meetings with SBA Interagency Task Force and Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs. So both agencies share updates on our small business programs. We trade insights on evolving small business policies and ways we can collaborate on outreach.
(CR): Very good. So what services does OSDBU offer to our Veteran businesses that are listening out there? Can you walk us through some of the programs that might be in place for women owned, Veteran owned or service-disabled Veteran owned businesses, or even other socioeconomic businesses?
(SR): Absolutely, OSDBU offers services that are centered on facilitating our mission to enable small businesses access to economic opportunities. For example, Chuck, our Direct Access and Strategic Outreach and Communications programs connect businesses to education, training, and networking opportunities. OSDBU hosts webinars and targeted events to maximize engagement between procurement decision makers and procurement ready small businesses. Small businesses learn about topics such as how to do business with VA and how to become procurement ready. Our acquisition support team assists VA stakeholders with market research. This team also advises VA on best approaches to working with small businesses. Ultimately, this kind of collaboration increases the opportunities for capable small businesses at the prime and subcontracting levels. Now, our verification program verifies service-disabled Veteran owned small businesses and Veteran owned small businesses according to the tenants found in titles 13 and 38 in the Code of Federal Regulations. These regulations detail the criteria that Veterans must fulfill in order to be eligible for SDVOSB or VOSB set aside in the Veterans First contracting program. And finally, Chuck, we offer resources for women business owners, too. Our Women Veteran owned Small Business initiative promotes the growth of businesses owned by women Veterans�, events are conducted throughout the year in collaboration with our federal and commercial partners. These events create avenues for female entrepreneurs to learn about business opportunities and best practices. So this leads to outcomes where more women become successful prime contractors.
(CR): I know that there are always changes that are being published and new legislative requirements that affect our small business community. Are there any recent changes to the VA small business programs that you want to highlight to our listeners here today?
(SR): Absolutely. So, VA�s Small Disadvantaged Business goal was recently increased to 10.2%. Last June, the President committed to a 50% increase in dollars awarded to Small Disadvantaged Businesses by 2026. The Department worked closely with SBA to develop a VA goal that would implement the President's direction. As VA's contribution toward meeting a government wide goal of 11% for Small Disadvantaged Businesses, VA agreed to a more realistic goal of 10.2%. The revision factors in the impacts of VA's unique Veterans First mandate. So, VA typically achieves about 9.5% on a Small Disadvantaged Business goal, so this is a modest increase. Chuck, we are also experiencing changes as directed by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021. OSDBU is working with SBA to ensure a seamless transition of the verification program. This transfer of verification authority will be complete by January 1, 2023. Without anticipated impacts on the Veterans First contracting program, SDVOSB and VOSB certification will shift to fall under a broad range of Small Business certification programs under the SBA. And at this point, we've noticed an increase in reverification applications which is likely a result of firms wishing to get ahead of the transfer. VA center for Verification and Evaluation will continue to process these applications until the transfer of verification authority is complete. And Chuck, those who have questions related to the transition may contact SBA at [e-mail].
(CR): That's very good and we'll have a link to that in our blog that corresponds to this TAC Talks so that the viewers can click on that link to take them there. That'd be great. So, now without having uh spoiling the end, is there any maybe hints that you can give us on how VA is doing with the small business contracting goals to date?
(SR): Sure. Final numbers for FY 2021 are still pending as the Small Business Administration continues to analyze the results. VA�s internal calculations, though, look very promising. We awarded about $10.5 billion to all Small Businesses or around 30.4% of VA�s total procurement. We also awarded well over $8 billion to SDVOSBs and VOSBS for about 24% of total procurement. As a rule, VA tends to do well in those categories and in the small disadvantaged business category as well. At the same time, we continue to seek ways to increase opportunities for historically underutilized business owned and women owned small business programs.
(CR): That�s great and I know at the TAC we work with your office and we track the Veterans employment stats on our T4NG contract and you know we�ve seen a lot of success just through that vehicle in employing Veterans and exactly to date since we put that contract in place there�s been 42,000 Veterans that are being employed by those prime contractors under that vehicle which is really a testament to the work that our Veterans small businesses are doing out there. We�ll continue to work with you guys on that. So now, can you discuss building on that partnership, can you discuss the partnership we have here between TAC and OSDBU to support our small business concerns?
(SR): Absolutely, OSDBU works closely with multiple VA partners including the Technology Acquisition Center to offer programs that foster economic opportunities for small business. The advanced planning brief to industry (APBI) and national Veterans small business engagement are examples of such joint collaborations. The APBI is hosted by the TAC and the national Veterans small business engagement is hosted by OSDBU. The APBI allows small business to learn about VA acquisition and IT transformation initiatives and mission requirements. The TAC usually partners with OSDBU to provide information on our small business programs during those events. Likewise, when NVSBE is conducted, we invite the VA's acquisition centers including the TAC to provide participants with information relevant to their operations and programs.
(CR): That�s great. And I know at those events we always talk about getting businesses procurement ready. SDVOSBs, VOSBs and other small business they want to become procurement ready. Can you share any major challenges that small businesses face in becoming procurement ready or any recommendation you might be able to share with them as they navigate through that process?
(SR): I particularly like that question. Gaining enough positive past performance to keep up with the competition can be challenging for those becoming procurement ready. Positive past performance is a key element to staying competitive in contracting so if a business has a good record of quality performance in their contract work, they should continue doing what they are doing; if a company lacks expertise or experience in a certain area they should consider partnering with other firms who do have that knowledge and performance history to become more competitive.
(CR): Great. Now we're going to switch to a trend that we're seeing; There's a large emphasis on buying smarter, consolidation, things of that nature under category management so based on the implementation of category management are you seeing any impact to the small business community, for example VA�s consolidation of various contract actions into single enterprise buys are occurring and I was just curious if you've if you got any feedback on that.
(SR): Chuck, category management involves a balancing act between the desire for efficiency and economy. It also factors in a need to maintain robust sources of supply for VA goods and services generally the idea of spend under management, is that agencies should be thoughtful and strategic about their approaches to procurements. OSDBU is here to ensure the consideration of small businesses in the decision making process. In addition to cost effectiveness, agencies must also weigh the impact to their public policy responsibilities for equity and maintaining a small business vendor base. We will be working to carry out the most recent guidance from the office of management and budget on these issues, for example in December OMB issued a memoranda reminding agencies that category management efforts must not preclude consideration of small businesses and the socioeconomic categories like SDVOSB or VOSB, also OMB instructed agencies to review their requirements for opportunities to make these centralized contracts available to maintain the vendor base while enabling small business participation.
(CR): I appreciate that answer too because I know we work with OSDBU quite often when these requirements come in, and there's really not a one size fits all; you know, depends on the acquisition at play and the vendor base and putting that determination together in order to make sure that, that strategy is the best for both VA, as far as prices being paid and for small business. It's very important so I appreciate that. So, before we let you go. Is there anything else you would like to add before we conclude the podcast here today?
(SR): Well, I�d to thank you Chuck and the TAC for welcoming me to join the podcast and for allowing me to share OSDBU's programs and services and a very special thank you to Ms. Michele Foster for the invitation.
(CR): That�s great. We are happy that you accepted our offer to join us on the program. We�ve learned a lot today and I know our TAC Talk audiences are always very interested in hearing from the OSDBU Office and how it impacts their small businesses. I really appreciate you joining us.
(SR): I appreciate that too Chuck and I also invite the small businesses in the audience to visit the OSDBU website at va.gov/OSDBU to learn more about our organization. Take every opportunity to learn, partner with other firms and gain contracting experience whether that's as a prime or sub-contractor.
(CR): Excellent. There will be a link to that website in our corresponding blog to this podcast and we encourage our listeners to click on that and navigate around. I�ve always found the folks working at the OSDBU office to be very helpful and not bashful about providing advice. So, that�s very good. Thank you, Ms. Ridley, for joining us and to all our TAC listeners out there we thank you for joining us for another edition of TAC Talks.
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(CR): As always, we must remind you the Department of Veterans Affairs does not endorse or officially sanction any entities that may be discussed in this podcast, nor any media, products, or services that they may be providing. We thank you for listening to this episode of TAC Talks and hope you found it helpful as well as enjoyable. You may direct any questions or feedback to me, Chuck Ross at [e-mail]. And remember, if you are passionate about government acquisition, you are a continuous learner and enjoy fruitful dialogue then keep tuning into TAC Talks.
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