Other Information Sources for Small Businesses

Below is a listing of key resources outside of the Department of Transportation that are available to the Small Business community to provide information and assistance for doing business with federal, state, and local governments.

Federal OSDBU Directors

• Each major department and agency in the federal government has an Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization with a mission similar to DOT’s OSDBU. 
• An up-to-date list of contact information for each of these OSDBUs can be found at: http://www.osdbu.gov/

Minority Business Development Centers

• The U.S. Department of Commerce's nationwide network of Minority Business Development Centers (MBDCs) counsel minority businesses on accounting, administration, business planning, inventory control, negotiations, referrals, networking, construction contracting and subcontracting, marketing and on SBA's 8 (a) certification to participate in minority set-aside contracting opportunities with the federal government.
• MBDCs provide managerial and technical assistance for bonding, bidding, estimating, financing, procurement, international trade, franchising, acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures and leveraged buyouts.
• MBDCs facilitate the formation and expansion and generate opportunities for minority-owned firms.
• Locations of the MBDCs are subject to change annually. Please visit the MBDC Website for the MBDC Regional or District Office in your immediate area: http://www.mbda.gov/

Department of Defense (DoD) Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs)

• The Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) program was established by Congress in 1985 to assist state and local governments and other private nonprofit entities in establishing or maintaining PTAC activities to help business firms market their goods and services to the DoD.
• In 1991, the PTAC program was extended to offer assistance to firms wishing to market any federal agency.
• PTACs are funded by the DoD Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and local or state funding, and for the most part, the services are free to businesses.
• PTACs are on the local scene, and give day-to-day professional guidance and assistance to business firms who wish to market their products and/or services to federal agencies. The assistance is provided through telephone calls, correspondence, or personal discussions.
• PTAC services include, but are not limited to, providing advice and assistance regarding marketing opportunities or technical assistance in areas such as:
• Matching the firm's products and/or services with that being purchased by federal agencies;
• Obtaining specifications;
• Preparing requests to be placed on solicitation mailing lists;
• Preparing offers;
• Providing post award assistance in areas such as production, quality system requirements, finance, engineering and transportation; and
• Distribution of publications and referring firms to other sources for advice and assistance.
• More information on the PTAC program can be obtained by calling the DLA’s Defense OSDBU Office at 703-277-7750 or visiting http://www.dla.mil/db/

U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)

• SBA’s mission is to aid, counsel, assist, and protect the interests of small business concerns.  SBA provides a number of program offices for the small business community.
• In the area of federal contracting, SBA advocates, facilitates, and works to create an environment for the maximum practicable participation by small businesses, in contracts awarded by the U.S. Government and subcontracts awarded by its large prime contractors. 
• SBA's 8(a) Business Development Program and Small Disadvantaged Business Certification Program assist socially and economically disadvantaged business persons. 
• In addition to its main offices in Washington, DC, SBA's services can be accessed through a network of offices across the country.
• Information about SBA’s services and how to access them can be found at: http://www.sba.gov.

SBA Procurement Center Representatives (PCRs)

• The SBA may assign one or more PCRs to any contracting activity or contract administration office, such as an OSDBU office, to carry out SBA policies and programs.
• PCRs are required to comply with the contracting agency’s directives governing the conduct of contracting personnel and release of contract information.
• PCR roles and responsibilities include:
• Reviewing proposed acquisitions to recommend set-asides not unilaterally set-aside by the Contracting Officer (CO);
• Working closely with the Small Business Specialist and Program Office Personnel;
• Assisting in the development of appropriate language for solicitation for small business considerations;
• Providing oversight, recommendations and advice on the acquisition process in both pre- and post-award situations; and
• Recommending newly qualified small, small disadvantaged, 8(a), women-owned, HUBZone, veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small business sources to federal agencies seeking their type of service or product.
• The current PCR Directory can be found on the SBA Website at http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/gc/contacts/gc_pcrd1.html

Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps)

• FedBizOpps is the primary location to identify active federal contract opportunities (including DOT).
• FedBizOpps allows you to search all federal procurement opportunities and receive automatic email announcements on those same procurements as soon as they are announced.
• FedBizOpps can be found at: http://www.fbo.gov/

Central Contractor Registration

• The Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database is the primary vendor database for the federal government and is located at: http://www.ccr.gov/
• Contractors receiving payments under DOT contracts, purchase orders, delivery orders, or other contractual vehicles must be registered in the CCR.
• Information in the CCR must be accurate in order for contractors' invoices or contract financing requests to be considered proper for the purpose of prompt payment under DOT contracts.

Dun & Bradstreet Numbers (DUNS)

• Each business needs a DUNS in order to register in the CCR.  A free nine-digit identification number can be obtained by contacting Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. at 1-800-333-0505 or http://www.dnb.com/us/.

North American Industry Classification System

• Each Federal procurement has an assigned North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code used to classify the type of work to be performed. 
• NAICS is the first-ever North American industry classification system. The system was developed by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to provide comparable statistics across the three countries.
• SBA Size Standards have been established for types of economic activity, or industry, generally under NAICS.
• Information about NAICS can found on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Website at http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html

Acquisition Central

• One stop source sponsored by the federal government for information on federal contracting.
• Provides quick and easy access to shared systems, such as:
• Central Contractor Registration (CCR);
• Excluded Parties List System (EPLS);
• Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS);
• Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) or (FedBizOpps);
• Federal Technical Data Solutions (FedTeDS);
• Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA);
• Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS);
• VETBIZ.gov; and
• Wage Determinations Online (WDOL).
• Provides quick and easy access to relevant information sources, such as:
• Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR);
• Acquisition Advisory Panel (SARA Panel);
• Acquisition Center of Excellence (ACE) for Services;
• Agency Supplemental Regs;
• Civilian Agency Acquisition Council (CAAC);
• Code of Federal Regulations (CFR);
• General Services Acquisition Manual (GSAM);
• 7 Steps to Performance Based Services Acquisition Guide; and
• Federal Agency Procurement Forecasts.
• Site is located at: http://www.acqnet.gov