On February 4, 2011, the Small Business Administration (SBA) launched the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program. The Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program allows government agencies to set aside contracts for competition among only WOSBs.
WOSBs can now learn more about the Program through SBA’s website. There are important links on the SBA’s website providing Program information including a Fact Sheet, FAQs, a Compliance Guide, and a Contracting Officer’s Guide. There is also a short video presentation explaining the initial steps a business should take to participate in the program. In addition, the SBA has opened the data repository for businesses to upload the required documentation to prove eligibility for the Program. As of now, there are no approved third-party certifiers, so interested businesses must self-certify by providing the required documentation through the repository. All of this SBA information can be found here.
The SBA is also planning a number of training and outreach events in the coming months to educate the procurement community about the Program. Information on these events as well as more detailed publications about the program will be available on the SBA website at http://www.sba.gov/. Additionally, the General Services Administration is currently updating the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) and the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) for the WOSB Program. These updates are expected to be completed in April. The WOSB Rule in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) is also expected to be issued in April. SBA hopes that all the pieces of the Program will be in place for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, when the largest percent of small business contracts are awarded.