Federal Newscast

SBA mentor-protégé program sees growth for contractors

Across the government there are more than 1,900 small businesses participating in the mentor-protégé program.

Michele Sandiford

August 28, 2024 3:32 pm

< a min read

The number of small businesses in the mentor-protégé program skyrocketed in 2023. New data from the Small Business Administration shows 401 new small firms joined last year, a 25% increase in total number of participants. In 2022, only 153 new companies joined. Across the government there are more than 19 hundred small businesses participating in the mentor-protégé program. SBA reports a majority of these firms saw their revenue grow, hired more employees and won more prime and subcontracts thanks to their participation in the program. The extensive growth in the participation in the mentor-protégé program is causing SBA to consider changes because they are concerned about the “perception that mentor-protégé joint ventures are winning an inordinate number of orders issued under small business multiple-award contracts.”
(SBA mentor-protégé program sees growth for contractors - Small Business Administration)

The number of people accessing the Thrift Savings Plan's My Account platform through the TSP app has more than doubled since this time last year. The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board reports that one-quarter of all logins to the TSP are done on a smart phone using the app. TSP officials said the surge in app use likely comes from participants now being able to use a fingerprint or facial recognition to log in. The TSP board first launched the app for participants as part of its major system update in 2022.
(More feds than ever are using the Thrift Savings Plan’s mobile app - Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board meeting)

The Social Security Administration is looking to move applications online for its disability income program. It will take several years to get the new digital platform fully up and running. But SSA is starting with small steps. In December, the agency will open online applications to a smaller group of people with disabilities and older adults who are applying for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for the first time. In the end, SSA said it’s aiming to reduce how long applicants spend on the paperwork — and minimize the time it takes to process initial claim decisions.
(New efforts to simplify SSI applications - Social Security Administration)

The Postal Service is seeing higher on-time delivery in places such as Atlanta, Houston and Richmond, Virginia. These cities saw performance drop once the agency consolidated regional mail processing plants. The agency generally sees lower mail volume during the summer. But it faces a busy couple of months with November’s election and its busy year-end holiday season. Dave Lewis, the president of the postal metrics company SnailWorks explained. “For the second half of 2024, I think we will see serious declines. I think there will be some serious issues, because I think the volume of mail will be very heavy.”
(USPS improves delivery in delay ‘hotspots’, but faces a critical year-end rush - Federal News Network )

The Postal Service generally came prepared for last year’s peak holiday season according to its watchdog. That includes relying on fewer seasonal hires than it’s hired in years past. The USPS inspector general’s office said the agency exceeded its holiday hiring goal for temporary mail handlers. But it only met about half of its hiring goal for temporary city carrier assistants to help on delivery routes. And it only hired about 70 percent of the temporary clerk assistants it sought to help out in post offices. USPS delivered about 12% less mail during last year’s holiday season compared to the same period in 2022.
(Service performance during the fiscal year 2024 peak mailing season - USPS inspector general’s office )

The Department of the Navy is mourning the loss of Ret. Rear Adm. Danelle Barrett who died August 26. Barrett retired from the Navy in 2019 after a 30-year military career. In her final role as the Navy cybersecurity division director, Barrett spearheaded the Navy’s strategic planning and implementation of digital and cybersecurity initiatives and cloud policy and guidance across the service. She also served as director of current operations at U.S. Cyber Command and chief of staff of the Navy Information Forces Command.
(Navy mourns the passing Rear Adm. Danelle Barrett - Legacy.com)

The Air Force Warrant Officer Training School, activated in June, will open its doors to the first group of 30 candidates for an eight-week course in October. The second cohort of about 30 candidates will go through training in January and the third class is set to start in March. The service announced its plans to bring back warrant officers within the cyber and IT fields earlier this year as part of its sweeping set of efforts to “reoptimize for great power competition.” The service will also conduct roadshows to educate its personnel about the warrant officer rank, which has been absent from the service for the last six decades.
(First group of Air Force IT and cyber warrant officers to start their assignments in January - Federal News Network)

Intelligence agencies will start setting private sector engagement goals for its employees. The intelligence community also plans to share more insights with the private sector and expand access to classified spaces. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines at Tuesday’s Intelligence and National Security Summit said “We intend to truly revolutionize the way we work with the private sector as well as academic research and scientific institutions to meet today's national security challenges.”
(Intelligence community sparks new efforts to deepen ties with private sector - Federal News Network)

There’s a new top counterterrorism official at the FBI. The agency this week named David Scott as assistant director of the counterterrorism division at FBI headquarters. Scott previously served as head of the criminal and cyber division at the Washington field office. He joined the FBI as a special agent in 2003. Prior to joining the agency, Scott served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army.
(David Scott named assistant director of the counterterrorism division - FBI)