Request for Comments

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Request for Comments

The U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Government

Contracting requests comments on a possible Agency initiative to

develop a concept for the provision of Value Added Services (VAS) to

small businesses seeking Federal procurement opportunities through

electronic commerce and electronic data interchange (EC/EDI). It is

envisioned that these services would be priced using a fee schedule

determined through negotiations with the SBA. It is important to note

that the Agency does not intend to compete with existing value-added-

network (VAN) service providers. Rather, the SBA seeks to increase

substantially the exposure of

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small businesses to the various processes associated with participating

in EC/EDI. The SBA is exploring the possibility of soliciting proposals

from interested offerors at a later date. However, at this time, no

decision has been made on proceeding with a procurement action.

Background

The mission of the SBA's Office of Government Contracting is to

advocate, facilitate and create an environment conducive to the maximum

practicable participation by small, small disadvantaged, and women-

owned businesses in Federal procurement. This includes awards made by

the U.S. Government and subcontracts awarded by its large prime

contractors. The direction of Federal procurement policy was

substantially altered by a 1993 memorandum from the President directing

the heads of departments and agencies to re-engineer the procurement

process by developing and implementing a system for Federal EC/EDI. The

Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (FASA) of 1994 dubbed the

resulting systems architecture as FACNET, and established the initial

statutory framework necessary to transition Federal purchasing

activities to EC/EDI. Consistent with the provisions of the President's

memorandum, electronic purchasing initially focused on the millions of

requirements filled using simplified acquisition procedures, the

ceiling for which was raised by FASA to a maximum of $100K for FACNET-

certified purchasing activities. Simplified acquisitions, which are

reserved primarily for small businesses, have been conducted

increasingly via FACNET.

A major component of the current FACNET systems architecture is its

Centralized Contractor Registration (CCR) data base. The purposes of

the FACNET CCR include: (1) Eliminating redundancy by standardizing the

contractor registration procedure across the Government; and (2)

providing a common data base for compiling and sharing trading partner

information. The concept for which the SBA is seeking comments is

rooted in the critical need for increased contractor participation in

EC/EDI. The concept is centered around the identification, pricing and

delivery of value added services (VAS) to small businesses by a single

provider.

Purpose

The purpose of this request for comments is to solicit information,

observations and suggestions on the feasibility and nature of

establishing and supporting a VAS provider with a vehicle that would:

1. Offer lower introductory VAS prices to small businesses for a

period not to exceed one year so that small businesses would be

encouraged to participate in EC/EDI, and, based on that exposure, make

informed decisions about continued participation.

2. Provide those SBA offices who are actively involved in EC/EDI

outreach and counseling, with an established source of affordable VAS

to which small businesses could be directed.

3. Dramatically increase the population of firms centrally

registered for FACNET.

General Specifications: Any Value Added Network (VAN) services

provided by the established source would be provided through a VAN

certified by the Defense Information Services Agency Contracting Office

(DITCO), and such VAN services would be provided in accordance with the

VAN licensing agreement signed by the VAN and DITCO. Additionally, the

established VAS provider would ensure that each small business

recruited pursuant to any agreement is successfully registered on the

CCR and certified for FACNET transactions.

SBA's Role in Outreach: SBA would distribute information on the

services and pricing of the established VAS to the Agency's Regional

and District Offices, Business Information Centers (BICs), Government

Contracting Area Directors, Procurement Center Representatives, Women's

Demonstration Project Sites, Small Business Development Centers,

Management and Technical Assistance Providers, One-Stop Capital Shops,

Small Business Utilization Staffs, and other entities involved in

promoting or assisting in small business development.

The following individual is designated as the point of contact for

responses which must be submitted in writing before the close of

business on June 21, 1996. Submission of comments by mail, FAX or

INTERNET E-mail is acceptable: Oliver H. Snyder III, 409 3rd Street SW,

Office Code-6254, Washington, D.C. 20416. Phone Number: 202-205-

7650.FAX Number: 202-205-7324. Internet Address: [email protected].

Judith A. Roussel

Associate Administrator, for Government Contracting.

[FR Doc. 96-12331 Filed 5-15-96; 8:45 am]

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