Small Business

Article By: Nicholas Hopkins, Associate A recent GAO bid protest decision offers more clarity on agency evaluation of JV past performance for mentor‑protégé joint ventures. Due to an evolving regulatory scheme, agencies may evaluate the mentor’s past performance alone. However, agencies have more discretion than ever, and may still require a showing of protégé...

Article by: Nicholas Hopkins, Associate As D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser enters the final months of her term, she is prioritizing an overhaul of D.C.’s procurement framework. The Procurement Reform Amendment Act of 2026 and the Supporting Local Business Enterprises Amendment Act of 2026 are both under consideration by the D.C. Council and on track...

Article by: Nicholas Perry, Associate Ward & Berry has been keeping a close eye on the Trump Administration’s Government-wide audit of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 8(a) Business Development Program, which has already led SBA to issue more than 1,000 suspension notices to 8(a) firms (see our prior blog posts on the audit here...

On September 11, 2025, the Office of Management & Budget’s (“OMB”) Cost Accounting Standards Board, which is chaired by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (“OFPP”), dropped two important updates: A final rule that simplifies how revenue and leases are handled under CAS; and A proposed rule that would scale back or align four...

Are you a Native-Hawaiian Owned (“NHO”) business interested in applying for the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) 8(a) Development Program (“8(a) Program”)? Ward and Berry provides this brief informative guide as to the legal framework and regulations for becoming an NHO (as defined by the SBA) and applying for the 8(a) Program.   Under 13...

The SBA recently released a proposed rule that would bring significant changes to small business size and small business socioeconomic program (Woman-Owned Small Business Program, Veteran-Owned Small Business Program, etc.) recertifications. Such recertifications are especially important in the context of indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts, which contemplate the award of future task orders to...