OPM Welcomes Small Businesses
Vision
Small businesses become the suppliers of choice for OPM acquisitions.
Mission
Establish a world-class small business program at OPM by:
- using the authorities of small business legislation to expedite the acquisition process in order to maximize the use of small businesses that provide the best value to OPM.
The Small Business Office manages OPM's small business program in conjunction with the Federal small business program. We are responsible by law and regulation for activities that range from policy implementation to vendor outreach. We are also offer a value-added program that streamlines the acquisition process while helping small businesses become the suppliers of choice for OPM acquisitions.
Our website offers a variety of resources for small businesses interested in OPM acquisition. We describe our own small business program and include a forecast of contracting opportunities, small business policies and the latest on our performance against goals. Lnks to Federal Government small business policies and resources as well as links designed to help small businesses understand and navigate the world of Federal Government acquisition are also provided.
We welcome your suggestions as to how we can further improve our website.
About OPM
The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is a center of excellence in human resource management, providing high-quality services to all of our customers. The President, Congress, and Federal agencies look to OPM for advice on human resources policy. OPM provides effective, merit-based, and family-friendly personnel systems for use government wide.
OPM is the preferred source for system design and expert consultation concerning human resource operating systems, research and innovation, and education and training in human resources and management. Ultimately, OPM's efforts support a Federal workforce that achieves the results desired by the American public.
OPM's responsibilities include administering the Federal employment merit system (recruiting, examining and promoting workers), the pension system, and health and life insurance programs.
Our operating locations
OPM's central office is located at 1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC. OPM has a field office, management development centers, service centers, and representative offices located across the United States.
OPM's field office and management development centers are located in Boyers PA, Charlottesville VA, Shepherdstown WV and Aurora CO. Its service centers and representative offices are located Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Philadelphia, PA; and, San Francisco, CA.
OPM acquisitions are managed by the Contracting Group, located in OPM's central office. Several operating locations have contracting authority delegated by the Senior Procurement Executive. Companies interested in exploring procurement opportunities at any of OPM's operating locations should review the information about our acquisition process offered below, and consult the forecast of OPM contracting opportunities as well as the Federal Business Opportunities webpage (FedBizOpps).
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What We Buy
Major programs
To meet its Government-wide responsibilities and support its own operations, OPM maintains a number of major programs. Many of these programs require contractor support. The largest, in terms of contract dollars spent, are:
- Personnel background investigations for Federal employees. This program is operated by the Federal Investigative Services Division in Boyers PA.
- The Training and Management Assistance (TMA) program, which assists other Federal agencies assistance to establish training programs and reengineer their organizations. The TMA program operates on a fee-for-service basis.
- Modernization of OPM's retirement and financial management systems.
- The GoLearn program, which offers on-line training for Federal agencies on a fee-for-service basis.
- The Electronic Human Resources Initiative (eHRI), which will convert OPM's personnel management document process to electronic format.
- Operation of OPM's Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville VA, Eastern Management Development Center in Shepherdstown WV, and Western Management Development Center in Aurora CO.
- Management of OPM's IT infrastructure by OPM's Office of the Chief Information Officer for all OPM operating locations.
- Management and security of OPM's central office, the Theodore Roosevelt Federal Office Building.
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Our Acquisition Process
Background
OPM's acquisition process is part of the Federal Government's acquisition process. It is governed by Public Laws translated into Government-wide regulations, and participation in the acquisition process involves registration in or use of various Government-wide databases. Most of these laws, regulations and databases can be accessed from one website, Acquisition Central.
The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) governs the Federal acquisition process. OPM has supplemented the FAR with its own agency-specific guidance in a number of Contracting Policies, forms and templates, which are available on the Contracting Group's web page.
Acquisitions within OPM are processed according to complexity and dollar value.
Micro-Purchases
Acquisitions below the micropurchase level ($3,000) are usually made with the Government-wide purchase cards. The user of the product or service often is a purchase cardholder and normally makes the purchase directly. The current Government-wide purchase card program, called the GSA Smart Pay Program, is based on a contract awarded by the General Services Administration (GSA). The purchase card involved is MasterCard. If your company does not currently accept MasterCard, all you need do is apply to a bank. There is no difference in the Government MasterCard and a normal MasterCard except purchases made using the Government card are tax exempt. Banks vary in the rates they charge, so you should check with several. The Small Business Administration (SBA) may be able to assist you if you have problems setting up an account.
Simplified Acquisitions
Purchases made using simplified acquisition procedures (i.e., non-complex purchases below the simplified acquisition threshold, which is currently $100,000) are purchased in one of two ways: On the open market or by placement of an order or blanket purchase agreement under a GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract.
- Open market purchases exceeding $25,000 are generally publicized on the Federal Business Opportunities webpage (FedBizOpps). This is the Government's official single point of entry for Federal contracting opportunities.
- GSA FSS purchases are generally not publicized. Instead, Requests for Quotations are sent to GSA FSS contract holders. View more information on the GSA FSS program, including guidance on participation.
The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) describes these and other Government purchasing methods, Simplified acquisition procedures are described in FAR Part 13. Simplified acquisition procedures for the purchase of commercial items are described in FAR Part 12. GSA FSS purchasing methods are described in FAR Subpart 8.4, together with more information about the program.
Major Acquisitions
Major contracts (those exceeding $100,000) awarded by OPM include, among others, Personnel Background Investigations, Training and Management Assistance (TMA), Telecommunications Services, Systems Software Support
Services, Computer Maintenance Services, Consolidated Facilities Management Services, Lease of Space with Food and Lodging Services for OPM's Management Development Centers, Janitorial Services, and Security Guard Services. Such contracts often have a multiple-year structure, with one basic, and four option years, and like the simplified acquisitions they may also be awarded as open-market or GSA FSS purchases. GSA FSS purchase methods are the same as those for simplified acquisitions. But the open-market will generally be awarded by using the "Contracting by Negotiation" procedures described in FAR Part 15.
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Our Small Business Program
Background
OPM's small business program is part of the Federal Government's small business program. Like the acquisition process, it is governed by Public Laws translated into Government-wide regulations, and participation as a small business in the acquisition process involves registration in or use of various Government-wide databases. Most of these laws, regulations and databases can be accessed from one website, Acquisition Central.
Organization
Part 19 of the FAR governs the Federal small business program. This is supplemented by the Small Business Administration's regulation.
The design of OPM's Small Business Program is described in two Contracting Policies that supplement Part 19 of the FAR:
- No. 19.2, "Small Business Participation in OPM Acquisitions;" contains OPM-specific guidance on all aspects of the program, including:
- Roles and responsibilities of all personnel associated with the small business program;
- Small business program goals;
- Encouraging small-business participation in all types of acquisition;
- Market research;
- An anti-bundling strategy;
- Outreach activities;
- Acquisition reviews; and
- The 8(a) program.
- No. 19.7, "The OPM Small Business Subcontracting Program," contains OPM-specific guidance on small business subcontracting. It:
- Explains when a small business subcontracting plan is needed;
- Describes the different types of subcontracting plans;
- Contains guidance on contracting for subcontracting plans, including resources for large businesses to use to find subcontractors;
- Contains guidance on evaluating subcontracting plans; and
- Describes the various actions required to award and administer contracts with subcontracting plans, including the use of eSRS and notifying SBA.
Our plans for the immediate future are described in our strategic plan. The policies and the plan are available on our webpage and upon request.
General Features
Our small business program, and the organization and responsibilities of OPM's Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), conform in every respect to the requirements established in FAR Subpart 19.2. It was determined to be acceptable by the Small Business Program, as reported on OPM's Small Business Procurement Scorecard for FY 2008.
However, our strategic plan calls for several unique, OPM-specific approaches in addition to the more traditional small business program activities. We believe these approaches will significantly enhance small business participation in our acquisition. Here some highlights:
Program Office Small Business Advocates
Major programs and organizational components involved in large acquisitions have appointed Program Office Small Business Advocates to represent the small business program in their operations. These Advocates, who are subject matter experts in their organizations, work with their colleagues during the market-research and acquisition planning stages of each acquisition to insure that small businesses are considered first for all OPM acquisitions. They have the tools necessary to effectively use the special authorities of the Federal small business program, and to find good small businesses that can meet our requirements.
Vendor Outreach
Because we have resource constraints typical of a small agency, we conduct vendor outreach differently than most large agencies. We freely advise and counsel small businesses interested in doing business with us, and will schedule meetings with those businesses that request them and offer a product or service that may meet a future requirement. These vendor outreach sessions are attended by representatives of both our program and contracting organizations.
We also use vendor outreach sessions as a means of conducting market research. Whenever our Program Office Small Business Advocates identify small businesses that can potentially meet a requirement but do not have sufficient information to make an informed decision as to whether the businesses can actually meet our performance standards, we invite those businesses to a vendor outreach session. These sessions will also be attended by representatives of both our program and contracting organizations.
The Acquisition Review Process
The OSDBU Director or Small Business Technical Advocate (SBTA) in the Contracting Group must approve the planning for all acquisitions exceeding the micropurchase threshold ($3,000). For example, the OSDBU Director or SBTA review and approve:
- All Simplified Acquisiton Requests required for making purchases at or below $100,000;
- All acquisition plans required for making purchases above $100,0000; and
- All Justifications for Other than Full and Open Competition above the micropurchase threshold.
In this way, the OSDBU Director and Small Business Technical can assure compliance with the FAR requirement for setting aside all acquisitions between $3,000 and $100,000 for small business participation only. And they can assure compliance with requirements of adequate justification in exceptional cases.
Subcontracting
Contracts expected to exceed $500,000 that are awarded to large businesses require a subcontracting plan when subcontracting opportunities exist. Please solicit these companies directly for subcontracting opportunities. Those contracts are shown on the list of planned and/or recurring procurement actions.
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Doing Business with OPM
Registrations and Certifications
As explained above, doing business with OPM — like doing business with any Federal Agency — requires various registrations and certifications.
Paragraph 4.1102(a) FAR requires that prospective contractors register in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database before they can be awarded a contract or agreement. You can complete this registration on-line. Registration is free, but you will need a DUNS Number, Tax Identification Number (TIN) and Taxpayer Name, Statistical Information about your business, and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Information.
FAR paragraph 4.1201(a) requires that prospective contractors complete electronic annual representations and certifications in conjunction with required registration in the CCR database. Completion of this requirement is also free of charge.
The Small Business Administration manages the certification of various categories of small business. Information on the certification can be found on their website. The Small Business Administration provides a variety of services for small businesses, many through their District Offices. Their website describes the services available and the locations of the District Offices.
Sources of Information about Federal Acquisitions
Also as explained above, Federal Agencies publicize open-market purchases with an estimated value exceeding $25,000 on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps), from the time the acquisition begins through contract award. The database is searchable in a variety of ways. If you are interested in subcontracting opportunities, click on the "Interested Vendors List" at the bottom of each announcement, to see if a list of potential offerors is available.
The Contracting Process
Federal Agencies are required to post information about acquisitions above the micropurchase level ($3,000) on the Federal Procurement Data System. You can register to use the summary reporting capability of the system when you access the site. The OPM contracting process follows the guidance in the FAR.
As described earlier, we use both FedBizOpps and the GSA Federal Supply Schedules to issue solicitations for our contracting actions. Your participation in the process begins when you respond to one of our solicitations.
Our solicitations will be in one of the standard formats described in the FAR. It will contain a description of the requirement, as will as a variety of other information, including specific instructions on how to submit your quotation or proposal in response. It is critical that you follow these instructions carefully, to assure full consideration of your quotation or proposal. The solicitation will contain information on the process for asking any questions you may have about the acquisition.
When we receive quotations or proposals in response to one of our solicitations, we conduct an evaluation in the way we describe in the solicitation. Depending on the complexity of the acquisition, the evaluation process can last anywhere from a few days to several months. And we may ask you for additional information or clarification along the way.
If we intend to evaluate quotations or proposals in other ways, such as through an formal presentation or a demonstration of technological capabilities, the solicitation will contain information about this and any instructions necessary for you to participate.
When we have concluded the evaluation process and selected the winning quotation or proposal, we notify all participants of the results.
Delivery of products or performance of services ordered by the contract will be monitored for acceptance by OPM personnel, including a Contract Administrator in the Contracting Group and one or more subject matter experts in the organization using the product or services. Participation by the contractor in post-award activities will be described in the solicitation.
The contracting process ends with completion of delivery or performance, and official close-out of the contract.
Contact Information
For more information and to contact OPM's Small Business Program, please go to Contact Us.
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