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The top 5 good faith effort mistakes made by prime contractors

Companies bidding on government contracts are often faced with small (SBE), minority (MBE), women (WBE), disadvantaged (DBE), and disabled veteran business enterprise (DVBE) participation subcontracting requirements, but minor mistakes in an outreach effort can cost them their contract even if they are the lowest bidder.

To help you avoid the pitfalls of public contracting equal opportunity requirements, we've compiled a list of the five most common mistakes made by bidders.

1. Looking up certified subcontractors and suppliers in the wrong directory
   There are a maze of disadvantaged business certifications out there, and it can be hard to determine from which database to pull subcontractor listings. If your contract mentions small business goals, for example, it may be referring to businesses certified by the federal Small Business Administration's 8(a) program, a state or local program, or even a state Department of Transportation-administered DBE program. In many cases, a contract's specifications will direct you to the database that will help fulfill your subcontractor outreach requirements, but this is not always the case. When in doubt, contact the government agency or department that is awarding the contract for clarification.
2. Publishing outreach advertisements too close to the contract bid date
   While prime contractors are oftentimes required to reach out to disadvantaged subcontractors with notices in trade, focus, and other publications, a contract's specifications can be vague about what constitutes an adequate amount of time to run the notices. If the specifications do not provide guidance, DBEGoodFaith.com recommends publishing the notices ten business days, or 14 calendar days, prior to the contract's bid date. Keep in mind, though, that this a rule of thumb and depending on where the contract's funding is coming from you may need to publish outreach advertisements much further in advance. For instance, projects funded by the federal Environmental Protection Agency require prime contractors to solicit disadvantaged subcontractors with notices published no less than 30 days prior to the contract's bid date.
3. Omitting vital information on outreach advertisements
   It is important to include more than just the basic contract details (such as project name, owner, details, bid date, and company contact information) on subcontractor outreach notices. To ensure compliance with outreach regulations, prime contractors also need to provide information about the scopes of work they intend to make available to subcontractors, where plans and specifications can be obtained, as well as their bonding, insurance, and/or union policies.
4. Forgetting to publish notices with government sources
   Don't assume that once you've published outreach notices in trade and focus journals that you've fulfilled your advertising obligations. Some contracts require prime bidders to publish subcontractor outreach notices with specific government entities, most commonly in the Small Business Administration's Sub-Net Portal and the Minority Business Development Agency.
5. Forgetting to document follow-up correspondence
   Most prime contractors that regularly bid on projects with disadvantaged business participation goals know that they need to document their efforts to reach out to these businesses. The beginning outreach steps - including publishing outreach advertisements in disadvantaged, minority, and women business trade and focus journals; sending written invitations to bid to certified subcontractors; and telephone calls - are usually recorded. However, prime contractors sometimes forget to document follow-up correspondence related to subcontractor inquiries about plans and specifications, bonding and union requirements, and a project's scope of work. It is crucial for prime contractors to include this information with their bids to demonstrate that they continued their attempts to include disadvantaged businesses beyond their initial efforts.

Don't let the disadvantaged subcontractor requirements trip up your bid. Contact us today at (877) 802-3394 to learn more about how we can help you fulfill your contract's outreach requirements.