Congress’ Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 includes an array of provisions aimed at helping small businesses gain access to capital, compete for government contracting opportunities, expand exporting opportunities and obtain other assistance to help them grow and create jobs. One of those provisions is The Small Business Teaming Pilot Program which provides grants to well-established national companies or organizations capable of training and guiding small business government contractors. This pilot program was developed in hopes of assisting undersized firms competing for large contracts.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) is in charge of distributing the money and plans to award up to $5 million in grant funding as part of the program. In fiscal year 2011 the SBA can make 10 to 20 grant awards ranging from $250,000 to $500,000. The financial assistance, which can be in the form of a joint venture, or a prime and subcontractor relationship, is expected to focus on customer relations and outreach, team relations, performance measurement and quality assurance. Recipients of the grants are also charged with helping small business locate other firms to team with for larger government opportunities, identifying potential government contracts and preparing and submitting bids.
“The teaming pilot program will help put contract dollars into the hands of small businesses, create job opportunities through the teaming arrangements, help drive innovation and promote economic growth for our nation’s economy.” SBA Administrator Karen Mills said.
Grants will be awarded for a base project period of one year, with four optional 12-month extensions. Applicants must be private, non- and for-profit entities, have been in existence for three years, have had experience with small-business issues on a national level and have a demonstrated capacity for small-business assistance. Recipients of the grants will be required to coordinate their assistance with the agency’s district offices and other federal, state, local and tribal government business development programs for small businesses.
If you’re interested, keep in mind that grant proposals must be submitted through the federal website www.grants.gov by Feb. 25th!
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