how to capture your share of $1 trillion dollars in public contracts know your rights and your...

How to Capture Your Share of

$1 Trillion DollarsIn Public Contracts

Know Your Rights and Your Opportunities

Sponsored by:

Raul Espinosa

Chief Visionary Officer

Managing Partner of Umbrella Initiative

Founder, FPA and CEO of FitNet

“To involve University Professors and Students

 in Sustainable Commercial Projects

with Contracting Potential

 to help Create Jobs

in Underserved Communities”

Federal

Any business, meeting a very complex 57 page

methodology

NaFCA through their ‘Solution Summits’ has recommended

simplification of methodology

Small Business

State and Local Governments

Businesses which self-register as having less than 100 employees

Some states stipulate that gross revenues can NOT exceed a certain amount (i.e., $7M,

$25M)

Characterized by a wasteful archaic and duplicative registration and certification

process

Federal Level(According to SBA Size Standards)

Any Business meeting a very complex 57 page methodology

Federal Level

1. Not dominant in their own NAICS code(s)

2. Employs less than a defined percentage of dominant businesses

in a NAICS code(s)

Federal Level

3. Grosses less than a percent of the dominant businesses in a NAICS

code(s)

4. Simplification must incorporate revamping Size Protests, Penalties

and Enforcement

Disadvantaged

Owned/controlled by a Member of a group Congress has determined is

underserved

Disadvantaged

Race, ethnicity and gender are simply characteristics of the

groups

Current certification process causes waste and abuse

Set Aside Contracts

Established to prevent monopolies, build capacity and level the playing field in

contracting

Reserved for competition solely among small and disadvantaged businesses

Set Aside Contractsare supposed to:

Established by public agencies

Determined by market research

Set Aside Contracts

Regulations and Procurement Statutes are supposed to provide

guidance

Size Protests are supposed to prevent abuses and safeguard the

participation

Set Aside Contracts

Penalties and their enforcement are supposed to deter abusive practices or

barriers

Specialized Education on small business issues for contracting workforce is

supposed to be available

Leveling the Playing Field

Eliminating the existing ‘barriers’ or ‘abusive procurement practices’

Enforcing the Existing Laws

OUR Constitutional Model

Transparency, Technology and Elimination of barriers are the tools of this Model

Relies on alignment with statutes (i.e., 23%), goals (i.e., 5%) and measurable results

Model supported by 276 specific procurement statutes

OUR Constitutional Model

Model supported by 276 specific procurement statutes

Previous efforts were poorly justified by bureaucrats pressured by lobbyists and their legal counsel

Focused on guaranteeing “Maximum Practicable Utilization” or MPU, for its target audience

OUR Constitutional Model

Focused on guaranteeing “Maximum Practicable Utilization” or MPU, for its

target audience

Minimizes ‘race-neutral’ schemes because they do not prevent ‘disparities’

nor eliminate ‘barriers’

OUR Constitutional Model

Tracking both the businesses and contracts they receive is essential

Court challenges against ‘set-asides’ can be successfully defeated with this

model

Federal Procurement Facts

2010 U.S. Census

CCR Data

Small Businesses in

U.S.27.2 Million

482,262 (1.7%)

Total Minority Businesses in

U.S.5.8 Million 117,636 (2%)

Total Disadvantaged Businesses in

U.S.21.1 Million

260,860 (1.2%)

CCR Data = Registered to Contract with the Government (as of 03-2011)

Share of Federal Contracts

23%

Share of Federal Contracts“Procurement data that is gathered by, reported,

and entered by procurement agencies is often incomplete, inaccurate, and untimely.”

---Daniel Gordon, Administrator of Federal Procurement Policy OMB June 2011---

FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009

Small Business

Share Claimed

$83.2 Billion

$93.3 Billion

$96.8 Billion

Official Percentage of

Total21.5% 21.3% 21.8%

Realistic Unofficial

Total18.3 – 19.4%

18.1 – 19.2%

18.5 – 19.6%

Florida Procurement Facts

Total Small Business in the State 2.4 Million

Registered to do Business in the State 95,004

Registered as “Disadvantaged” Businesses

7,280

Certified as “Minorities” by the State3,583 (<1%)

The Florida Challenge

1,586 public entities, only 32 offer free public access

The 32 public entities have processed $9.4 Billion in contracts which still

cannot be tracked

The Florida Challenge

System not designed for procurement

The state currently cannot confirm how much it can spend on public

contracts

The Florida Challenge

An archaic and duplicative registration/certification process

prevents progress

Lack of tracking results prevents goals and objectives

The Florida Challenge

No centralized procurement training

Disparities abound which require costly studies to justify ‘set-asides’

The Florida Challenge

The racial-neutral One Florida Initiative must be either

strengthened or replaced

The Florida Opportunity

A proposed new Florida Procurement Portal – with a proven platform  

The savings that it will create and the duplication that it will eliminate,

alone, will cover its costs

The Florida Opportunity

Economic development, federal and private funding are available for such

efforts

“The Portal” will create jobs, teaming arrangements and allow for replication in other states

The Florida Opportunity

The Delaware Governor just unveiled a similar portal with less than 2/3 of our

features

Several Cities have announced plans for costly ‘disparity studies’ in order to

justify set-asides

The Florida Opportunity

The cooperation of ALL1,586 public entities in the State is badly needed

for this undertaking

The Florida Opportunity

Our Lieutenant Governor, Jennifer Carroll, who is supporting our effort has said: 

“The Umbrella Initiative offers actual solutions with measurable

results to a State dilemma the Governor intends to solve.”

Mission“To Double the Number of Small

and Minority Businesses Contracting with the Federal,

State and Local Governments by the Year 2020”

2010 U.S. Census CCR Data Our Mission

Small Businesses in the USA

27.2 Million 482,262 (1.7%)

964,524

Total Minority Businesses in the

USA 5.8 M 117,636

(2%) 235,272

Total Disadvantaged

Businesses in the USA

21.1 M 260,860 (1.2%) 521,720

Ryan Reid

Chief Technical Officer

Founder of NetQuarry

The Umbrella Initiative Portal

The System TodayData fragmented, varied, individual silos

Built for the contracting agency

Missing market research capability

No centralized registration

No communication conduit

No collaboration network

No empirical award data

Today – Individual SilosMultiple websites for opportunities

Every website is different

Authentication isn’t shared and must be remembered

The small business contractor burden is high

Today – Agency FocusedNot designed with the contractors

needs in mind.

No “best practice” guidelines for small business.

Proper response process is mysterious

Small Businesses are lost

Today – Market ResearchNo established process for

procurement strategy (e.g. Set Asides)

Market research cannot be measured

Small business is unable to influence strategy

Burden on the contracting agency is overwhelming

Today – RegistrationNo central registration system

Makes empirical award data impossible

No way to communicate to the vendor community

Market research participation cannot be measured

Today - CommunicationNo direct conduit between contractor

and contracting agency

Best case: summarized, advertised Q&A

Worst case: no Q&A

Result is mystery and poor results

Today – Award DataNo empirical award data

Requires:Centralized RegistrationCentralized Procurement

Advertisement

Actual procurement costs are impossible to measure

Today – CollaborationLarger opportunities require effective

teams

Today - general purpose partnerships only – largely ineffective

No actionable opportunities to form meaningful teams around

No scalable, available, networking community

The UPS SolutionCentralized location for all solicitation data

Tools for BOTH contractor and contracting agency

Simple, transparent market research

Single central registration system

Direct communication

Empirical Award Data

UPS – Centralized DataAll data available in one location

Single authentication, single interface

NOT a wholesale replacement! Current systems remain the same.

Agencies without any system can participate

UPS – Small Business Design

Designed to help BOTH contractor and contracting agency

Establishes “best practices” around response

Allows small business to influence procurement strategy

Improves contracting agency’s ability to conduct market research

UPS – Market ResearchSimple, transparent process to establish procurement strategy

Empirical measurement of the market research effort

Cost savings for both sides

Result: fair and transparent Set Asides percentages

UPS - RegistrationSingle registration requirement

Allows for measurement of available talent pool (aids market research)

Provides a means for the state to communicate to the vendor

community

UPS - CommunicationDirect conduit between contractor and

agency

Effective Q&A

Transparency as requirements are shaped or changed

End results match real needs

Burden reduced for contracting agency

UPS - CollaborationOnline community built around

actionable opportunities

Allows multiple businesses to form meaningful partnerships

Best-practice guidance at all levels – legal, performance, capture, delivery

UPS – Award DataEmpirical link between solicitation

and awarded contractor

Dependable reporting

Real-time availability

True measurement

Jamall Little

Majoring in Business Management

SIFE Student

Jillian Shellard

Majoring in Elementary Education

SIFE Student

Limited Education

Natural Disasters

Domestic Disasters

Old Shipping Containers

C.E.L.Connect

Educate

Lead

UNF SIFE

C.E.L.

Distance Learning classrooms for the

Dominican Republic and Haiti

Global Disaster Emergency units for immediate deployment

Distance Learning Portable Classrooms

12 computers

12 Chairs

Inverter and Battery System

Solar Panel System

Security Cabinet

1 Internet Satellite Dish

Network Connection Equipment

Cooking Fans

Desk

Insulation

Lights

Global Disaster Emergency Units

1 propane gas kitchen

1 counter

1 dining table

1 ventilation fan

1 Security Cabinet with lock

2 Windows

Solar Power System powering 2 light fixtures, 1 electric outlet

Twin bunk bed set

1 Dresser

C.E.L. Benefits

300 jobs in Jacksonville

85 Jobs per month

11 jobs per container

C.E.L. Benefits

$429,083.00 back into the local economy of

Jacksonville

Jacksonville Youth WorksAt risk youth ages 16 - 25

Current Progress

Pananao

Container Shipped by Crowley

Puntacana

Rural school in the Dominican Republic

Named after Prominent Dominican designer, Oscar de la Renta, a founder

along with Julio Iglesias and Frank Rainieri.

The Vision

400 National Disaster Emergency units

360 Distance Learning Portable Classrooms

Retrofitting Classrooms

15 Days to retrofit one container

50 containers can be retrofitted per month

Emergency Retrofitting

11 days to retrofit one container

60 containers can be converted in a month

Portable Classroom Costs

$85,500 per unit including labor

$30,780,000 to retrofit 360 containers

Emergency Unit Costs

Average Cost: $35,000 per unit including labor.

$15,000,000 to build and make available 400 retrofitted

containers

Potential Uses

Portable shelters

Temporary housing

Public Sanitation Unit

Portable Electrical Power Generating Units

Dr. Carlton L. Robinson

Director of Research

President and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce

The Online Learning PortalGain

flexibility in

obtaining resources

Convenience

Virtual exchang

e for teaming partners

Connect to the Global

Business Village

Flexibility

Procurement System Weaknesses

Limit opportunities that may lead to business

Weakness Examples

Lack of information

Lack of standard procurement system training

Limited access to relevant/timely information

Weakness Examples

• Limited availability (time of day) of training opportunities for small

business owners

• Modality of traditional procurement training limits opportunities and business outside of immediate

region

Opportunity Business

Prime

Teaming

Contract

Information/Training

• Teaming arrangements between resource partners

• Teaming arrangements between contractors

Partnerships

• Shared training resources

• On-demand procurement related training

Training

Information

• Access

• Connected to viable and immediate

procurement opportunities

• Increased dispersion

• Timeliness

Potential Benefits

Dr. Henry B. ThomasRetired UNF Professor

Co-founder of Umbrella Initiative

Small Business Legal Center Network

Gives small and minority business a ‘legal voice’ with which to defend their statutory

rights

Helps solo and small-firm lawyers to provide quality legal services and handle ethical and

practice dilemmas in the context of procurement justice law

Aids the large number of law school graduates who enter law

schools aspiring to work for the public interest, but, upon graduation, find

themselves debt-ridden or unable to obtain one of the scarce public

service positions.

Law Schools

Facilitate communication between and among law school consortia members

Aggregate, analyze, and disseminate data regarding best practices in ensuring small business access to fairness and justice in

procurement

Law Schools

Support community based legal clinics/seminars in small business procurement capacity-building efforts

Promote the Consortia's mission and identify and recruit new law schools for membership

Develop and share expertise regarding access to small business procurement justice’s best practices.

Legal Center NetworkAddresses:

White Papers

Articles

Legislative Positions

Hearings

Legal Center NetworkCreates additional ‘transparency’ over

‘abusive procurement practices’ through a ‘Contracting Abuse Database’

This database will be similar to the one POGO conceived which eventually became

FAPIIS

Contracting Abuse Database

Allows Small and Disadvantaged businesses to report government units that are alleged

to have engaged in abusive contracting parties

Brings both attention and pressure upon contracting units reported to have engaged in retaliation or have been alleged to have

violated regulations

Size Protests

Must result in tangible benefits for the protestor if they succeed in the protest of a dispute against an

ineligible business

Size ProtestsA successful protestor must receive either the contract which they had

claimed was awarded to an ineligible firm, or ‘future contracts’ for at least twice the amount of the lost contract

for bona-fide needs of the Agency over a negotiated period of time as long as the price offered is fair and

just.  

Size Protests

Have never worked as Congress intended because they only deliver

‘illusionary’ justice

Currently an inefficient use of tax payer dollars and a waste of government

resources

Size Protests

The SBA needs to revamp their system as a result of their Size

Standards

“Our mission is to double the number of small and minority businesses

contracting with the federal, state, and local government by 2020.”

“To involve University Professors and Students 

in Sustainable Commercial Projects

with Contracting Potential 

to help Create Jobs

in Underserved Communities”

“Procurement data that is gathered by, reported, and entered by procurement agencies is often incomplete,

inaccurate, and untimely.”

---Daniel Gordon, Administrator of Federal Procurement Policy OMB June 2011---

FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009

Small Business

Share Claimed

$83.2 Billion

$93.3 Billion

$96.8 Billion

Official Percentage of

Total21.5% 21.3% 21.8%

Realistic Unofficial

Total18.3 – 19.4%

18.1 – 19.2%

18.5 – 19.6%

For videos of the container, please go to:

Celproject.comFor more information on the umbrella

initiative, please go to:

Umbrellainitiative.com