Small Business Requirements

Mission Statement

The mission of the Small Business Program is to assist and encourage the campus in their efforts to include Small, Small Disadvantage Business, Women-owned, Veteran owned, Service Disabled Veteran owned and HubZONE businesses in their procurement activities.

Small Business Program

The Small Business Program is coordinated for the University by the Small Business Liaison. This person is responsible for planning, keeping records, doing outreach on the campus and into the community in order to identify and encourage utilization of small business, especially those owned and operated by women and minority persons, veteran and service disabled veterans and/or in hub-zones.

LINKS:

Personnel

Small Business Liaison:

Randi Ruff
201 S Presidents Circle, Rm 170
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Phone: 801-581-7450 Fax: 801-581-8609

Sub-Contracting Plans

A sub-contracting plan is a written promise from the University to the agency/company/foundation, etc. who is funding the project/research that we will try to utilize these varied small firms in our purchasing activities. These plans are written by the Small Business Liaison Officer (SBL) in the Purchasing Department. If or when you have need of a plan, contact the SBL as soon as the budget for the project is complete. The plan is built around your budget. We look at everything you are going to buy and set the goals for Small, MBE/WBE’s, Veteran, Service Disabled Veteran and Hub-Zone as appropriate. We produce the plan, forward it to the agency and subsequently do the reporting on the plan for you. These are usually filed on Federal reports, ISR & SSR. The ISR is due every six months, in April and October, the SSR is usually due once a year in October. The plan includes a list of the minimum efforts the University will make. These requirements are met by carrying out the Small Business Program as outlined above. This is done by the Small Business Liaison in the Purchasing Department; however, it cannot succeed without your cooperation.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. How does this pertain to my department?

  • We are required by laws and our own policy to utilize Minority Business Enterprises and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MBEIWBE’s) when possible.
  • If you are receiving any Federal funds from the EPA or NASA, you are required to report on the dollars spent and to have
    a sub-contracting plan. It applies to all contracts, grants and/or agreements from these agencies.
  • If you have, or are going to extend an existing Contract over $700,000 you must have a Sub-contracting plan. These plans are developed in the Purchasing Department by the Small Business Liaison.
  • If you have a subcontract with a private company who is a prime contractor to the Federal government, they may require you to develop a plan, set goals and report on them. The Small Business Liaison will help you with that also..

2. If I have Federal funds, can I just go on traveling with the same agency, can I use the agency the University has contracted with?

No, is the usual answer, if you are traveling with Federal funds, especially those included in a sub plan. You should be trying to travel with a WBEIMBE when possible. There are exceptions to this rule, call us to discuss it if the situation arises.

3. Isn’t this “reverse discrimination”?

No, this is not. We have goals set for Small Business that reflects the ethnic make-up of our local business community. The goals for Small Business usually reach up to 30-50% of direct costs. Goals for MBEIWBE’s are usually from 1-5%. MBEIWBE’s have not been considered as competitive as other small firms in the past. This program is in place to ensure that the women and minority business communities can fairly compete for our business.