1.0 THE FAA MENTOR-PROTÉGÉ PROGRAM
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1.1 SCOPE
*** The FAA Mentor-Protégé Program is designed to motivate and encourage firms to assist small businesses (SB) preferably Small Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Businesses (SEDB), Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Minority Institutions (MI) and Women-Owned (WOSB) Small Businesses in enhancing their capabilities to perform FAA prime contracts and subcontracts, foster the establishment of long-term business relationships between these entities and mentor firms, and increase the overall number of these entities that receive FAA prime contract and subcontract awards.
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1.2 DEFINITIONS
- SMALL BUSINESS (SB) is a business, including its affiliates, that is independently owned and operated and not dominant in producing the products or performing the services being purchased, and one that qualifies as a small business under the federal government's criteria and North American Industry System Classification Codes size standards.
- SOCIALLY, AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES (SEDB) means small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals as defined by the Acquisition Management System (AMS).
- HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (HBCU) means institutions determined by the U.S. Secretary of Education to meet the requirements of 34 CFR 608.2 and listed therein.
- MINORITY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS (MI) means institutions verified by the U.S. Secretary of Education to meet the criteria set forth in 34 CFR 637.4. MIs include Hispanic-serving institutions as defined by 20 USC 1059c(b)(1).
- WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES (WOSB) means a business concern owned and controlled by women if at least 51% of the business concern is owned by one or more women or, in the case of any publicly owned business at least 51% of the stock of which is owned by one or more women, and the management and daily business operations of the business are controlled by one or more women.
- HIGH-TECH means research and/or development efforts that are within or advances the state-of-the-art in technology discipline and are performed primarily by professional engineering, scientists, and highly skilled and trained technicians or specialists.
- SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS (SDVOSB) is a small business concern that is 51% owned and controlled by a service disabled veteran(s).
- SMALL DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS (SDB) is a small business concern that is at least 51% unconditionally owned by one or more individuals who are both socially and economically disadvantaged, or a publicly owned business that has at least 51% of its stock unconditionally owned by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and that has its management and daily business controlled by one or more such individuals.
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1.3 NON-AFFILIATION
For the purpose of qualifying as a small business as defined in the Acquisition Management System (AMS), a protégé firm may not be considered an affiliate of a mentor firm solely on the basis that the protégé firm is receiving developmental assistance referred to in Section 1.12 under the program. However, affiliation may be found for other reasons in accordance with the SBA general principles of affiliation.
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1.4 GENERAL POLICY
- Eligible large businesses (not included on the "Debarred" list) approved as mentor firms will enter into agreements with eligible entities as defined in Section 1.2 as protégé. Mentors will provide appropriate developmental assistance to enhance the capabilities of protégés to perform as prime contractors and/or subcontractors. Eligible small business prime contractors (not included on the "Debarred" list) and that are capable of providing developmental assistance may be approved as mentors. Protégés may participate in the program as a prime contractor or as subcontractors under the mentor’s prime contract with the FAA.
- Eligible mentor firms, which have received approval by FAA to participate in the program pursuant to Section 1.10, may enter into agreements with protégé firms.
- Mentor-Protégé activity will be available to any type of contract deemed appropriate by the FAA.
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1.5 INCENTIVES FOR MENTOR PARTICIPATION
- Mentors may receive additional evaluation points (for Mentor-Protégé Program participation) toward the award of contracts during the evaluation of competitive offers.
- Mentors may receive credit toward attaining subcontracting goals contained in their FAA subcontracting plan(s) for Mentor-Protégé participation.
- Costs incurred by a mentor to provide developmental assistance (i.e., technical or managerial) described in Section 1.12 are allowable as indirect costs (appropriate documentation shall be provided) unless the contract contains a line item specifically for the Mentor-Protégé Program. A ceiling on allowable developmental costs shall be established at time of contract award.
- Procurements may be reserved exclusively for competition among firms that are participants in the FAA Mentor-Protégé Program.
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1.6 MEASUREMENT OF PROGRAM SUCCESS
The overall success of the FAA Mentor-Protégé Program encompassing all participating mentors and protégés will be measured by the extent to which it results in:
- An increase in the quality of the technical capabilities of the protégé firm.
- An increase in the number, dollar value and percentage of subcontracts awarded to protégés by mentor firms under FAA contracts since the date of entry into the program.
- An increase in the number and dollar value of contract and subcontract awards to protégé firms since the time of their entry into the program (under FAA contracts, contracts awarded by other Federal agencies and under commercial contracts);
- An increase in the number and dollar value of subcontracts awarded to a protégé firm by its mentor firm under other agency contracts;
- An increase in subcontracting with protégé firms in industry categories where they have not traditionally participated within the mentor firm’s activity.
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1.7 MENTOR FIRMS
- Large or small firms eligible for receipt of federal contracts may apply.
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Mentors will be encouraged to identify and select:
- A broad base of firms including SB, HBCU, MI, SEDB, SDB, SDVOSB and WO small businesses that are high-tech, aviation oriented entities whose core competencies support the FAA mission to provide a safe, secure, and efficient global aerospace system that contributes to national security; and
- Protégés in addition to firms with whom they have established business relationships.
- The following firms are currently participating under the FAA Mentor-Protégé Program:
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1.8 PROTÉGÉ FIRMS
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For selection as a protégé, a firm must be:
- Eligible as defined in Section 1.2(a), (b), (c), (d) (e), (g) or (h);
- Certified as small in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the services or supplies to be provided by the protégé under its prime contract or subcontract; and
- Eligible for receipt of government contracts.
- A protégé firm may declare to a mentor firm that it meets the requirements set forth in paragraph (a) of this section. Mentor firms may rely in good faith on written business declarations (See FAA Template No. 61 in the AMS) by potential protégés as evidence of eligibility to participate.
- Protégés may have multiple mentors. Protégés participating in Mentor-Protégé Programs in addition to the FAA program should maintain a system for preparing separate reports of mentoring activity for each agency’s program.
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1.9 SELECTION OF PROTÉGÉ FIRMS
- Mentor firms will be solely responsible for selecting protégé firms. The mentor is encouraged to identify and select the types of protégé firms specified in Section 1.7 (b).
- Mentors may have multiple protégés. However, the FAA reserves the right, IN ITS BEST INTEREST, to limit the total number of protégés participating under the Mentor-Protégé Program for each mentor firm and to determine the total number of mentor-protégé agreements that can be implemented (if any) on a contract specific basis.
- The selection of protégé firms by mentor firms may not be protested, except as in paragraph (d) of this section.
- Any dispute regarding the size or eligibility status of an entity selected by a mentor to be a protégé shall be referred solely to the FAA Small Business Development Program Group (SBDPG), ACQ-021 for resolution.
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1.10 APPLICATION AND AGREEMENT PROCESS FOR MENTOR FIRMS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM
- Firms interested in becoming an approved mentor participant must submit a corporate capabilities statement and a letter to the FAA SBDPG requesting approval to participate in the Mentor-Protégé Program. Subsequently, the approved mentor firm must submit a written Mentor-Protégé Agreement to the SBDPG when solicited by the FAA. The Mentor-Protégé Agreement will be evaluated on the extent to which the company plans to provide developmental assistance. The information required in Section 1.10 may be submitted by email or in paper format with an original and two copies. Mentors and Protégés must certify that signed documents will carry the same weight and responsibility as original signatures sent by regular mail and understand that any signed documents sent through (email) for the purpose outlined in this section will be processed by the agency as an official signed document(s).
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A proposed mentor must submit the following information to the FAA SBDPG:
- The number of proposed Mentor-Protégé arrangements;
- Data on total number of dollars of subcontracts awarded under FAA prime contracts within the past 2 years and the number and dollar value of such subcontracts awarded to entities defined as protégés in Section 1.2;
- Information on the proposed types of developmental assistance and estimated costs associated with the proposed assistance. For each proposed Mentor-Protégé relationship include information on the company’s ability to provide developmental assistance to the identified protégé firm and how that assistance will potentially increase contracting and subcontracting opportunities for the protégé firm, including contracting and subcontracting opportunities in industry categories where these entities are not dominant in the company’s current business base.
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The Mentor-Protégé agreement must contain:
- Name and address of mentor and protégé firm(s) and a point of contact within both firms who will oversee the agreement;
- Procedures for the mentor firm to notify the protégé firm, SBDPG, and the contracting officer, in writing, at least 30 days in advance of the mentor firm’s intent to voluntarily withdraw from the program;
- Procedures for a protégé firm to notify the mentor firm in writing at least 30 days in advance of the protégé firm’s intent to voluntarily terminate the Mentor-Protégé agreement. The mentor shall notify the SBDPG and the contracting officer immediately upon receipt of such notice from the protégé;
- A description of the type of developmental program that will be provided by the mentor firm to the protégé firm, to include a description of the subcontract work, and a schedule for providing assistance and criteria for evaluation of the protégé’s developmental success;
- A listing of the number and types of subcontracts to be awarded to the protégé firm;
- Program participation term;
- Termination procedures;
- Plan for accomplishing work should the agreement be terminated; and
- Other terms and conditions, as appropriate
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1.11 FAA REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MENTOR-PROTÉGÉ APPLICATION AND AGREEMENT
- The information specified in Section 1.10 is reviewed by FAA Team SBDPG, the responsible Integrated Product Team (IPT)/Product Team (PT)). The review will be completed no later than 30 days after receipt by the FAA Team. FAA SBDPG will provide a copy of the submitted information to the cognizant FAA IPT/PT for a parallel review and concurrence.
- Upon agreement approval, the mentor may implement the developmental assistance program.
- An approved agreement will be incorporated into the mentor or protégé firm’s contract or memorandum of understanding with the FAA. It should be added to the subcontracting plan in contracts which contain such a plan.
- If the application is disapproved the mentor may provide additional information for reconsideration. The review of any supplemental material will be completed within 30 days after receipt by the SBDPG. Upon finding deficiencies that the FAA considers correctable, the SBDPG will notify the mentor and request information to be provided within 30 days that may correct the deficiencies.
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1.12 DEVELOPMENTAL ASSISTANCE
The forms of developmental assistance a mentor firm can provide to a protégé firm include:
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Management guidance related to-
- Financial management
- Organizational management
- Overall business management/planning and,
- Business development
- Engineering and other technical assistance;
- Rent-free use of facilities and/or equipment; and
- Temporary assignment of personnel to the protégé firm for the purpose of training.
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1.13 OBLIGATION
- Mentor or protégé firms may voluntarily withdraw from the program as mutually agreed by both the mentor and protégé firms. However, in no event shall such withdrawal impact the program mission and contract requirements under the prime contract.
- Mentor and protégé firms shall submit a "lessons learned" evaluation to the FAA SBDPG at the conclusion of their effort.
- In the event of a voluntary withdrawal from the Mentor-Protégé Program involving a joint venture between a small and large business under a procurement that was awarded as a set-aside, the FAA will consider terminating the contract to preserve the integrity and foster the objectives of the FAA Small Business Development Program.
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1.14 INTERNAL CONTROLS
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The FAA SBDPG in conjunction with the IPT/PT will manage the program. Internal controls will be established by FAA SBDPG to achieve the stated program objectives (by serving as checks and balances against undesired actions or consequences) such as:
- Reviewing and evaluating mentor applications for realism, validity, and accuracy of provided information;
- Reviewing semi-annual progress reports submitted by mentors and protégé on protégé development to measure protégé progress against the master plan contained in the approved agreement; and
- Site visits where Mentor-Protégé activity is on-going.
- FAA may terminate Mentor-Protégé Agreements if FAA determines that such actions are in the FAA`s best interest. These actions shall be approved by the FAA Team. FAA will terminate an agreement or exclude a particular entity by sending a written notice to the affected party specifying the action being taken and the effective date of that action. Termination of an agreement does not constitute a termination of the subcontract between the mentor and the protégé. A plan for accomplishing the subcontract effort should the agreement terminate shall be submitted with the agreement in accordance with Section 1.10(c).
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1.15 REPORTS
- Semi-annual reports shall be submitted by the mentor to the FAA Mentor-Protégé Program Manager, FAA SBDPG.
- Protégés shall submit semi-annual reports, to the FAA SBDPG, on program progress as it pertains to their Mentor-Protégé Agreement.
- The FAA SBDPG will submit semi-annual reports to the cognizant contracting officer regarding participating prime contractor's performance in the program.
- Protégé firms shall submit a post-completion report to the FAA SBDPG annually for two years after the completion of their agreement that indicates lessons learned concerning the material benefits of the program to the protégé as well as any successes attributed to the FAA Mentor-Protégé Program
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1.16 PROGRAM REVIEW
At the conclusion of each year in the Mentor-Protégé Program, the mentor and protégé, as appropriate, shall formally brief the FAA Team regarding program accomplishments as pertains to the approved agreement. This review should be incorporated into the normal program review, where applicable. A separate review may be scheduled for other contracts to be held at the FAA work site location.
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1.17 SOLICITATION PROVISION AND CONTRACT GUIDANCE
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The contracting officer should insert Clause 3.6.1-9 FAA Mentor-Protégé Program, in all screening information requests and contracts with subcontracting plans or in the case of small business set-asides exceeding $650,000 ($1,500,000 for construction) that offer subcontracting opportunities.
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The contracting officer should insert Clause 3.6.1-10, Evaluation of Contractor Participation in the Mentor-Protégé Program, in all solicitations containing Clause 3.6.1-9, FAA Mentor-Protégé Program and 3.6.1-4 Small, Small Disadvantaged and Women-Owned Small Business Subcontracting Plan.
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The contracting officer shall insert Clause 3.6.1-11, Mentor Requirements and Evaluation, in contracts where the prime contractor is a participant in the FAA Mentor-Protégé Program.
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3.6.1-9 FAA MENTOR-PROTÉGÉ PROGRAM
As prescribed in 1.19(a), insert the following provisions:
FAA Mentor-Protégé Program
- Large and small businesses are encouraged to participate in the FAA Mentor-Protégé Program for the purpose of providing developmental assistance to eligible protégé entities to enhance their capabilities and increase their participation in FAA contracts.
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The program consists of:
- Mentor firms, which are large prime contractors or eligible small businesses capable of providing developmental assistance;
- Protégé firms, which include small businesses preferably socially and economically disadvantaged businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, historically black colleges and universities, minority educational institutions, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses and women-owned small businesses; and
- Mentor-Protégé Agreements, approved by the FAA Team (SBDPG, Integrated Product Team/Product Team).
- Mentor participation in the program means providing technical, managerial, and financing assistance to aid protégés in developing requisite high-tech expertise and business systems to compete for and successfully perform FAA contracts and subcontracts.
- Contractors interested in participating in the program are encouraged to contact the FAA SBDPG, (202) 267-3293, for further information.
800 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20591Attn: Marcus Benefield, Management/Program Analyst, Small Business Development Program Group, (ACQ-021)
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3.6.1-10 EVALUATION OF CONTRACTOR PARTICIPATION IN THE FAA MENTOR-PROTÉGÉ PROGRAM
As prescribed in 1.17(b), insert the following provision: Evaluation of Prime Contractor participation in the FAA Mentor-Protégé Program. FAA will evaluate the proposed participation and extent of developmental assistance to be provided by mentor firms to protégé firms as an approved mentor firm in the FAA Mentor-Protégé Program.
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3.6.1-11 MENTOR REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION
Insert the following provision:
Mentor Requirements and Evaluation-
The purpose of the FAA Mentor-Protégé Program is for FAA Mentors to provide developmental assistance to qualifying protégés. Eligible protégés include small businesses preferably Historically Black Colleges and Universities, small disadvantaged businesses, Minority Institutions, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, Small Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Business concerns including women-owned small businesses, as those terms are defined herein.
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FAA will evaluate the contractor’s performance through the Performance Evaluation process. The evaluation will consider the following:
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Specific actions taken by the contractor, during the evaluation period, to increase the participation of protégés as suppliers to the Federal Government;
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Specific actions taken by the contractor, during the evaluation period, to develop the technical and corporate administrative expertise of a protégé as defined in the agreement;
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To what extent the protégé has met the developmental objectives in the agreement; and
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To what extent the mentor firm’s participation in the Mentor-Protégé Program resulted in the protégé receiving competitive contract(s) and subcontract(s) from private firms and agencies other than the FAA.
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Semi-annual reports shall be submitted by the mentor to the FAA Mentor-Protégé Program Manager (FAA SBDPG) to include information as outlined.
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The mentor shall notify the SBDPG and the Integrated Product Team/Product Team, in writing, at least 30 days in advance of the mentor firm’s intent to voluntarily withdraw from the program or upon receipt of a protégé’s notice to withdraw from the program.
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Mentor and protégé firms shall submit a "lessons learned" evaluation to the FAA SBDPG at the conclusion of their effort. At the conclusion of each year in the Mentor-Protégé program, the mentor and protégé, as appropriate, will formally brief the FAA Mentor-Protégé Program Manager, the technical program manager, and the contracting officer during the formal program review regarding program accomplishments as pertains to the approved agreement.
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