How 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.

Mission of Health and Human Services

300 PROGRAMSSome highlights include:

Health and social science researchPreventing disease, including immunization services

Assuring food and drug safetyMedicare and Medicaid

Health information technologyFinancial assistance and services for low-income families

Improving maternal and infant healthHead Start (pre-school education and services)

HHS Stats

Employees: Approx 85,000Grants: $400 Billion avg

Contracts: $20 Billion

10 OPERATING DIVISIONS

• OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

• BIOMEDICAL (ADVANCED)

• OTHER ADP & TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES

• AUTOMATED INFORMATION SYSTEM SERVICES

• OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES

WHAT HHS BUYS

• 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

GRANTS

Who’s “eligible” to Search and FIND Grant

opportunities? EVERYONE!

• Government Organizations• Native American/ Tribal

Organizations• Non-Profit Organizations• Educational Organizations• Small Businesses

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR GRANT OPPORTUNITIES?

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

KEY GRANTS SYSTEMS

BEST PRACTICES

BEST PRACTICES

Certifications

Cape Statement

VOS

Respond to RFPs

Sources Sought Strategic

Partnering

Industry Days

Mentor- Protégé

Rules & Regs

Customer Needs

Business Cards

BEST PRACTICES

• 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.

Budget in Brief

COMPANY OFFERS

TOP NAICS AGENCY #1

TOP NAICS AGENCY #2

TOP NAICS AGENCY #3

TOP NAICS AGENCY #4

112990Animal Production,All Other

HHS DOD DHS EPA

541990Technical Services, All Other

DOD HHS DOI USAID

541712R&D, Physical, Engineering and Life Sciences

DOD NASA HHS DOI

LOCATING OPPORTUNITIES

Federal CustomerHHSOperating DivisionNational Institute of Health

NAICS112990Current Vendor

Federal Procurement VehicleExpiration Date

Point of Contact

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences(NIEHS)

Taconic Farms BPANo Expiration

Y. Browne(301) 443-9636

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Taconic Farms BPA No Expiration

Y. Browne(301) 443-9636

LOCATING OPPORTUNITIES

HHS AGENCY

NAICS/DESCRIPTION

COMPETITION TYPE

TOTAL CONTRACT RANGE END DATE

HHS Procurement Forecast Data Repository

http://procurementforecast.hhs.gov

RFP# Notice Type HHS AGENCY

NAICS/DESCRIPTION

COMPETITION TYPE

CLOSE DATE

2014-N-16601 Combined Synopsis/Solicitation

CDC Domestic Professional/Technical, Administrative, and Medical Support Services

8(a) Competitive

02/23/2015 at 2:00 pm EST

http://www.fbo.gov

FedBizOpps

• 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

EBOLA SUPPORT

RESPONDING TO SOLICITATIONS

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)

RECOMMENDED TECHNIQUES

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

PREPARING YOUR RESPONSE

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 responseAlways include a total or “bottom line” priceProvide assumptions for major technical and pricing issuesAlways 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

RESPOND TO SOURCES

SOUGHT NOTICES

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

RECOMMENDED TECHNIQUES

• 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

EFFECTIVE CAPABILITY STATEMENT

BUSINESS CARDS (front)

BUSINESS CARDS (back)

NETWORK

THE GATEKEEPERSVENDOR OUTREACH SESSIONS

INDUSTRY DAYSMENTOR-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

EXISTING CONTRACTS

KNOW THE RULES

Statutory Lawhttp://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

1. LEGISLATIVE GUIDANCE

2. REGULATORY GUIDANCETitle 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 http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov

Do Your Homework

Meeting Customer Needs• Performance

Requirements Large Businesses Small Businesses

• Problem Solution• Security Clearances• Differentiating Factors

• Innovation• Proven Experience• Strong Financial Position• Long Term Viability• Go Green

KNOW THE ORGANIZATION’S POINTS

OF CONTACT

BE PREPARED WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS!

SMALL BUSINESS ARE THE

OF THE ECONOMY

OSDBU CONTACT

200 Independence Avenue, SWRoom 537

Washington, DC 20201

Website: www.hhs.gov/smallbusiness Phone: 202.690.7300

Email: sbmail@hhs.gov

http://www.youtube.com/user/HHSOSDBU