ow to Effectively Market to HHS
Teresa L.G. Lewis, Director
Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!
http://www.youtube.com/user/HHSOSDBU
www.facebook.com/HHS
@HHSOSDBU
• The U.S. Government's principal agency for protecting
the health of all Americans and providing essential
human services, especially those who are least able to
help themselves.
• HHS encourages the use of small businesses to
achieve its mission.
Some highlights include:
Health and social science research
Preventing disease, including immunization services
Assuring food and drug safety
Medicare and Medicaid
Health information technology
Financial assistance and services for low-income families
Improving maternal and infant health
Head Start (pre-school education and services)
Employees: Approx 85,000
Grants: $400 Billion avg
Contracts: $20 Billion
• OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
• BIOMEDICAL (ADVANCED)
• OTHER ADP & TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
• AUTOMATED INFORMATION SYSTEM SERVICES
• OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES
• HHS issues an average of more than 80,000 grant
awards each year
• In FY2014, HHS made > 79,000 awards totaling $402
billion
• HHS awarded more than 4,000 grants to Small
Business Organizations for a total of approximately
$2 billion
• Government Organizations
• Native American/ Tribal
Organizations
• Non-Profit Organizations
• Educational Organizations
• Small Businesses
Who’s “eligible” to Search and FIND
Grant opportunities? EVERYONE!
Pre-Award
•
•
Catalog for Federal Domestic Assistance (https://www.cfda.gov/)
Other Agency “Forecasting Tools” such as:
– HHS Grants Forecast (http://www.acf.hhs.gov/hhsgrantsforecast/)
•
•
System for Award Management/Central Contracting Registry (https://www.sam.gov/sam/)
Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov/)
Post-Award
• USASpending.gov (http://www.usaspending.gov/)
• Other Agency “Transparency” systems such as:
– Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) (http://taggs.hhs.gov/)
ALL ALLOW PROSPECTIVE GRANTEES AND INTERESTED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO SEARCH BY
KEY WORD
Respond to
RFPs
Sources
Sought
VOS
Strategic
Partnering
Industry Days
MentorProtégé
Rules & Regs
Cape
Statement
Certifications
Customer
Needs
BEST
PRACTICES
Business Cards
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
236220 Commercial and Institutional Building Construction
238140 Masonry Contractors
492110 Couriers and Express Delivery Services
511130 Book Publishers
512230 Music Publishers
541211 Offices of Certified Public Accountants
541511 Custom Computer Programming Services
541612 Human Resources Consulting Services
541614 Process, Physical Distribution, and Logistics Consulting
Services
561210 Facilities Support Services
561410 Document Preparation Services
561720 Janitorial Services
722320 Caterers
Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services
Consumer and Beneficiary
Education and Outreach: $412
Million for beneficiary education
and outreach activities, including
$335 million for the National
Medicare Education Program, $71
million for consumer support for
the Marketplaces, and
approximately $6 million for
other outreach.
Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration
Transition from Homelessness:
$139 million for services for
individuals facing homelessness
and suffering from substance
abuse or mental illness.
COMPANY
OFFERS
TOP NAICS AGENCY
#1
TOP NAICS
AGENCY #2
TOP NAICS
AGENCY #3
TOP NAICS
AGENCY #4
112990
Animal Production,
All Other
HHS
DOD
DHS
EPA
541990
Technical Services,
All Other
DOD
HHS
DOI
USAID
541712
R&D, Physical,
Engineering and Life
Sciences
DOD
NASA
HHS
DOI
Federal Customer
HHS
Operating Division
National Institute
of Health
NAICS
112990
Current Vendor
Federal
Procurement Vehicle
Expiration Date
Point of Contact
National Institute of
Environmental Health
Sciences
(NIEHS)
Taconic Farms
BPA
No Expiration
Y. Browne
(301) 443-9636
National Institute of
Mental Health (NIMH)
Taconic Farms
BPA
No Expiration
Y. Browne
(301) 443-9636
HHS Procurement Forecast Data Repository
HHS
AGENCY
NAICS/
DESCRIPTION
COMPETITION
TYPE
TOTAL CONTRACT RANGE
http://procurementforecast.hhs.gov
END DATE
FedBizOpps
RFP#
2014-N-16601
Notice Type
Combined
Synopsis/
Solicitation
HHS
AGENCY
CDC
NAICS/
DESCRIPTION
Domestic
Professional/Technical,
Administrative, and Medical
Support Services
http://www.fbo.gov
COMPETITION
TYPE
8(a)
Competitive
CLOSE DATE
02/23/2015 at
2:00 pm EST
• ASPR – Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and
Readiness
• CDC – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• FDA – Food and Drug Administration
• NIH – National Institutes of Health
• PHS – Public Health Service
www.hhs.gov
 Read solicitation carefully
 Focus heavily upon the “Instructions to Offerors,” or its equivalent
 Identify:
– The contracting officer (CO) to whom responses and questions about
the solicitation are to be sent
– Due date and time for responses
– The method for response delivery (e-mail, agency mail room, etc.)
– Location (the complete and accurate mailing address, if applicable) to
which responses are to be sent:
• Agency Name
• Correctly spelled name of the response recipient
• Organizational Unit within the Agency – including organizational
code
• Physical address (including, as applicable, building number, floor,
mail stop, street, city and zip code)
 Review the requirements document (Statement of Work,
Performance Work Statement, etc.)
– Identify all required deliverables, associated due dates,
place of delivery and recipient
– Identify all places of performance (government site,
contractor site, etc.) and travel requirements, as
applicable
– Note any level of effort or other information that states
specific requirements that drive costs
– Unusual requirements
 If numerical data is provided (for example, columns of labor
hours required), perform a mathematical verification of the
data, if applicable
 Verify the accuracy of data such as the mileage of
distances, as applicable
 Note any information that seems to be lacking or that you
deem necessary in order to provide an adequate response
 Request missing information from the contracting officer
immediately – note the time, date, location, method of
delivery (generally, e-mail) and recipient for such requests
 Submit questions, requests for information, etc., as quickly as
possible, but no later than the due date so as to allow adequate
time for the agency to respond
 If the due date for questions has passed, submit them anyway – you
may get the agency’s answer timely
 Avoid including proprietary data or information that may disclose
your technical approach
 The agency will generally be required to provide your question and
their answer to all prospective responders
 They should eliminate proprietary information, but might not – be
careful
 Address all technical requirements
 Include a technical and business proposal, if directed by the
solicitation
 Provide a narrative regarding key business and technical assumptions
as deemed necessary by the circumstances
 If you don’t address a requirement, explain your reason for not
addressing
 Provide the appropriate level of pricing information to demonstrate
what your approach will cost the government
 Use a quality control process to ensure that all items are priced,
where needed, and to verify the mathematical accuracy of all
numerical data that constitutes your price
 Identify your technical and business points of contact, as
well as other key individuals, including business partners or
subcontractors
– Include an “expiration date” for the validity of your
pricing and overall response
– Ensure that an authorized organizational official’s
contact information is provided, and signs the response
 Always include a total or “bottom line” price
 Provide assumptions for major technical and pricing issues
 Always observe page limitations, if any – the government
will not evaluate pages beyond the limitation
 Do not include extraneous marketing material – include
only documentation that supports your technical or
business approach
 Respond fully to requests for past performance
information
 Be sure to prepare and submit the required number of
printed copies of your response
 Deliver your response on time, to the correct location and
to the correct recipient
 Provide what the agency asks for; no more or less. This is not a solicitation.
 Do not submit cost proposal
 Submit a capability statement that demonstrates the SBs potential
capability.
 If a draft Statement of Work/Performance Work Statement is posted,
address the requirements in your response.
 Ability to manage, include key personnel
 Technical ability
 SB’s capacity or potential approach






Include teaming partners, including subcontractors
Past performance, emphasize similar work performed
Respond by the due date, usually within 10 days
Adhere to page limitations
Tailor to specific request, do not submit canned cape statements
Do not expect a response from the contracting officer
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
One Page/PDF
Tailored for Audience
Primary NAICS
Core Competencies
Team
Members/Subcontractors
Past Performance
Value Proposition
Bullet Points
Spell Check
Remove Jargon
Visually Interesting
THE GATEKEEPERS
VENDOR OUTREACH SESSIONS
INDUSTRY DAYS
MENTOR-PROTEGE
STRATEGIC PARTNERING
• NIH Information and Technology Acquisition and Assessment
Center (NITAAC)
– Chief Information Officer Solutions and Partners (CIOSP-3)
• $20 Billion set-aside for small businesses
• $20 Billion for small business to compete with other than
small
• Streamlined ordering process for program officials
• GSA FSS and GWAC Contracts
• NASA SEWP
• DHS EAGLE
 Statutory Law
http://thomas.loc.gov
 Small Business Act (Public Law 85-536, as
amended)
http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/tool_serv_sbact.pdf
 Small Business Jobs Act of 2010
 National Defense Authorization Act of 2013
Title 13 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations (13 CFR)
 Section 121 – SB Size Regulations
 Section 124 – 8(a) BD/SDB Programs
 Section 125 – Subcontracting

– Limitations on Subcontracting

– SDVOSB Program
 Section 126 – HUBZone Program
 Section 127 – WOSB Program
 Section 134 – Appeal Procedures
• Performance
Requirements
 Large Businesses
 Small Businesses
• Problem Solution
• Security Clearances
• Differentiating Factors
•
•
•
•
•
Innovation
Proven Experience
Strong Financial Position
Long Term Viability
Go Green
SMALL BUSINESS ARE THE
OF THE ECONOMY
OSDBU CONTACT
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Room 537
Washington, DC 20201
Website: www.hhs.gov/smallbusiness
Phone: 202.690.7300
Email: sbmail@hhs.gov
http://www.youtube.com/user/HHSOSDBU