If you’re a small to mid-sized MWBE looking to sell to the government, you should know that applying for a contract is only the first stage of the process.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has been putting considerable political capital into getting money into the hands of minority and women small business owners throughout the City of New York. And with billions of dollars worth of goods moving from the private sector to the government every day, agencies need to be very selective about the businesses they work with. That’s why the process of applying for government contracts can be so complicated. They need to be sure that you are capable of meeting their needs.
But once that step is over, it’s your job to understand your responsibilities and deliver what you promised. That’s why the NYC Department of Small Business Services, working with Jean Kristensen Associates, is presenting the latest in our interactive contact management workshop series: the Contract Award Process.
The first thing you need to know is being given a notice of award is not the same as being awarded the contract. It’s the beginning of the process, not the end. A notice of award is a recommendation issued to the apparently lowest qualified bid or the one that proves to be the most advantageous to the City of New York. If you can’t complete the rest of the order of award process, that government contract will be going to someone else.
Once you’ve been given notice that you’re being awarded the contract, the process begins to formalize the process. This starts with Budget Negotiation. You should be ready to negotiate with government agencies over the budget for both long and short-term projects. To be successful here, you need to plan ahead, understand all contract provisions, and (maybe most importantly) know when to walk away from a contract.
Another important step is to formalize the contract terms and conditions. This step can include labor provisions, record keeping and reporting, processing contract changes, and how you handle terminations. It will fully lay out the scope of the work with drawings, specifications, detailed budgets, and schedules.
Much, much more goes into the contract award process, including drawing up all required documentation, taking care of insurance, and finalizing the contracts. We will be covering it all in the virtual Contract Award Process workshop on March 25th, 2021, from 10 AM to 12 PM. We suggest you register ASAP to guarantee your spot in the workshop. If you’re on the path to landing government contracts or have taken one of our MWBE workshops in the past, this could be your next step towards growing your business through working with the government!
We look forward to “seeing” you there!
