“On May 16, 2022, GSA issued Schedule Refresh #12 and associated mass modifications of existing Schedule contracts. Refresh #12 expands GSA’s ‘Startup Springboard’ program to allow more businesses to be eligible for appropriate Schedule contracts – but joint ventures, including those created under the U.S. Small Business Administration’s popular Mentor-Protege Program – are still waiting for GSA to address their eligibility…
In 2016, GSA initiated Startup Springboard, a pilot program to waive the two-year requirement for companies seeking IT Schedule 70. By the following year, 14 companies – including 13 small businesses – had used Startup Springboard to obtain a GSA Schedule IT contract.
Refresh #12 expands Startup Springboard to all Large Categories under the Schedule. In practice, following Refresh #12, the two-year rule no longer applies, making it easier for new companies to gain access to the Schedule and begin making sales…
In early May, before Refresh #12 was released, GSA hosted a webinar to answer questions about the change. Several participants asked about joint ventures, including one participant who directly inquired, ‘Is the springboard program now available to JV entities (through SBA Mentor-Protege program)?’
Unfortunately for joint ventures, the answer appears to be ‘no.’ GSA responded by saying, ‘Offeror instructions for Joint Venture entities are under review and will be implemented via a future MAS solicitation refresh.’…” Read the full article here.
Source: GSA Expands Schedule Eligibility – But Joint Ventures Are Still Waiting – By Steven Koprince, May 24, 2022. Govology.
