Small business office helps little guys navigate system Published May 9, 2014 By Jenny Gordon Robins Public Affairs ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- When a small business seeks to pursue work at Robins, it is the mission of the Office of Small Business Programs to ensure a fair proportion of contract dollars is awarded to that population. "We work with small businesses trying to help them navigate the government procurement system to allow them the opportunity to do more for Robins and the Air Force," said Debbie Jackson, Robins OSBP director. "There's a lot of innovation and technology in that community - and we need to tap into that market." Currently, the goal is to award 23 percent of all federal government contracts to small businesses, according to Jackson. In 2013, within the Air Force Sustainment Center at Robins, the goal was exceeded with $135.9 million, or 28 percent, of contracts awarded to small businesses that were local and elsewhere. Examples of these contracts included a maintenance design-build contract to a service disabled-veteran small business owner, and information technology application support awarded to a woman-owned, small-disadvantaged business. The office works closely with base contracting officers and requirements organizations but is not responsible for awarding contracts. They are more of an information tool for those who wish to do business here, while also ensuring those same businesses are considered for competition. The Federal Acquisition Regulations states that you first consider four socio-economic categories that small businesses represent. "The four the government recognizes include service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; women-owned small businesses; historically underutilized business zone firms located in an area that the Census Bureau designates as a HUB Zone; and small disadvantaged businesses who are certified by SBA into the Section (8)a program," she said. On the AFSC side last year, Robins awarded a total of $67.3 million for small disadvantaged businesses; $24.18 million for women-owned; $19.05 million for service-disabled veteran owners; and $15.16 million for HUB zone small businesses. What classifies a business as small can vary based upon whether you're procuring a supply or service, and then it depends largely on the business sector you're doing business with. The government groups businesses into sectors according to similarity in the process used to produce those goods or services, known as North American Industry Classification System or NAICS codes. There are thousands of NAICS codes, and depending on the business industry and its definition, determines whether the business is large or small within that particular industry. For a supply NAICS code, it's employee based; for a service industry, it's revenue based. "So for example if you're buying aircraft manufacturing parts, you could have as many as 1,500 employees - and still be considered a small business. That's pretty large," said Jackson. "Again, it's based on the industry in which you're doing business and whether you classify that particular industry as a supply or service." "Nothing is black and white," she said. The office is a one-stop shop of sorts to assist both established and new businesses with an understanding of the process for pursuing government business. The goal is to help these business owners compete in the American economy, said Jackson. There are currently four employees in the office, including small business specialists and one small business source development specialist. A total of 443 contractors came through the doors of Bldg. 205, located just outside the main gate along Ga. Highway 247, in fiscal 2013. The numbers have increased in the last several years, with 282 in 2011 and 323 in 2012. "We meet with many contractors one-on-one to help them understand how we do business," she said. "Everyone has their own way of doing things, but we always say the government isn't going to change how we do business. You need to be able to adapt to the government's way of buying goods and services. We try to help them accomplish that." To learn more, visit http://www.robins.af.mil/library/smbus.asp.