Changes to the Bid Notification Service
For those clients that receive the Bid Notification information via e-mail, you may have noticed some changes to the look and feel of the mailings recently. Our service is now sending the information in a simple HTML format to provide additional formatting capabilities. For clients whose e-mail applications cannot display HTML, UPTAC can easily correct the formatting issue by switching your account to the non-HTML format. Please call your local Utah Procurement Technical Assistance Center for details.
From CBD to FedBizOpps
All federal procurement actions previously published in the CBD are now being posted to the Federal Business Opportunities web site (fedbizopps.gov). For several months, our service has been searching both the CBD database as well as the FedBizOpps database to insure that you are receiving notification of potential bidding opportunities regardless of where that information was located. We have been advised that the total number of procurement notices may drop temporarily as some of the federal agencies make changes to their systems to forward information to the new FedBizOpps system. Be assured that you will be receiving the most complete information available for federal procurement actions during this transitional period. All company search profiles have been modified to search FedBizOpps just as they had the CBD in the past.
FedBizOpps is updated seven days a week to improve the timeliness of data. In the past, your Bid Opportunities files were only provided on a five (5) day basis that coincided with the CBD publish dates.
Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) Certification
A recent reform requires that all SDBs be certified by the Small Business Administration (SBA) before such entities can function as SDB prime contractors or SDB subcontractors to prime contractors. This new regulation authorizes the use of price and evaluation credits in industries where the SBA must certify SDB contractors and subcontractors.
For more information refer to the SBA web site.
SBA'S Job-Creating HUBZone Program
The SBA is accepting applications from businesses that want to participate in the agency's new HUBZone (historically underutilized business zone) Empowerment Contracting program. The program is designed to stimulate economic development and job creation in targeted urban and rural areas by providing contracting preferences to small businesses, that are located in a HUBZone, and that hire employees who live in a HUBZone.
In order for a small business to apply, they must be located within a HUBZone. In Utah, the following counties are considered HUBZones: Carbon, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Paiute, San Juan, Sanpete, Uintah and Wayne.
For more information on this program, refer to the SBA web site.
Pro-Net Marketing and Access Network
Pro-Net is another SBA program, which is an electronic gateway of procurement information, for and about small businesses. It is an Internet database of information on more than 171,000 small, disadvantaged, 8(a) and women-owned businesses. It is accessible by state and federal government contracting officers and prime contractors that have government contracts. Pro-Net assists these individuals in locating suppliers and can be searched by SIC codes, keywords, location, quality certifications, business type, ownership, race and gender, EDI capability, etc.
Pro-Net is open to all small firms seeking federal, state and private contracts. You may register for Pro-Net on line by accessing: http://www.ccr.gov/
We are located at:
Governor's Office of Economic Development
324 South State Street, Suite 500
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111
1-800-999-UTAH (8824)
or
1-801-538-8775