Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: 

Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations

•••••••

A Report from the 

National Women’s Business Council

April 2011
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 1

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 2

Introduction 3

Goals of the Mentor-Protégé Assessment Study 5

Research Methods 6

Background of Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs 6

Overview of Current Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs 8

Benefits 8 

Eligibility 11

Women-Owned Businesses in Mentor-Protégé Agreements 12 

Summary of Questionnaire Results 13 

Case Studies 15

123 Company 15

ABC Group 17 

LMN Partners 18

UVX Ventures 20

 

Recommendations 21 

Conclusion 24

 

About the Author 25 

Appendix A – Questionnaire Results 26 

Endnotes 31

 
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 2

Executive Summary

Mentor-Protégé Programs exist in many federal agencies to help 

small businesses gain technical and business skills from large 

prime contractors, and to build networks and experience that will 

help them compete and succeed in the federal contracting 

landscape. Started by the Department of Defense in 1991, there 

are now many versions of Mentor-Protégé Programs that share 

similar objectives but have different programmatic and incentive 

structures. The National Women’s Business Council conducted a 

research initiative to learn how well Mentor-Protégé Programs are 

serving women-owned businesses and how they might be 

strengthened to help women-owned businesses become an even 

greater engine driving economic recovery.

NWBC’s study focused on Mentor-Protégé Programs in six 

agencies: the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, 

Department of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, 

National Aeronautics and Space Agency, and the Small Business 

Administration. The project involved extensive literature research, 

a questionnaire sent to 130 women-owned business protégés, and 

follow-up interviews with protégé CEOs and Agency program staff. 

Data indicate that women-owned businesses represent 30% of all 

protégé companies participating in Mentor-Protégé Programs in 

the six agencies examined for this study. Most protégé companies 

are finding the programs beneficial but there is considerable room 

for improvement. Programs would be enhanced by creating more 

consistency in the incentive structure of Mentor-Protégé Programs 

across the federal landscape, providing increased training and 

accountability for mentors, helping protégé firms to negotiate 

stronger agreements, improving data collection, and increasing 

outreach to women-owned businesses. Efforts to make MentorProtégé Programs more effective and consistent will help to 

strengthen the women-owned business sector, create greater 

equity in the distribution of federal contracting dollars, and improve 

performance of women-owned businesses in government 

contracting.
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 3

Introduction

The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) is a nonpartisan 

government organization focused on advancing programs and 

policies that help women-owned businesses achieve high levels of 

growth. Founded in 1988, NWBC is an advisory group to the 

President, Congress and the U.S. Small Business Administration, 

and advocates for the more than 7.8 million majority womenowned businesses in the United States.

There has been phenomenal growth in women-owned businesses 

over the past 25 years. By 2007, there were 7.8 million womenowned businesses in the United States, generating $1 trillion in 

total receipts.1 The number of women-owned businesses grew by 

20.1% from 2002 to 20072 and the Guardian Small Business 

Research Institute projects that women-owned businesses will 

account for more than half of all new small business job growth by 

2018.3 

Despite these recent successes, women-owned businesses are 

still under-represented in many areas. In the world of federal 

contracting, women-owned businesses received only 3.68% of 

contract dollars in 20094, well below the statutory goal of 5% set in 

2000. 
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 4

Several barriers that hinder the growth of women-owned 

businesses have been identified in past studies by the National 

Women’s Business Council and others. They include more limited 

access to capital than men-owned businesses, different growth 

and management strategies, different attitudes and metrics of 

success, and shallower networks within business and industry 

associations.5 

Congress and federal agencies have responded to this disparity 

with programs and contract set-asides that “level the playing field” 

to give disadvantaged small businesses, which include womenowned businesses, a foot up in competing for federal dollars. In 

2010, Congress authorized the Women’s Procurement Program, 

which made 83 new industry categories eligible for set-asides for 

women-owned businesses. This new rule is likely to significantly 

increase the percent of federal contracts awarded to womenowned businesses that have the skills, capacity and network to 

compete for them.

The Women’s Procurement Rule of 2010 is a major step forward in 

increasing access of women-owned businesses to federal 

contracts, but is by no means the first. In 1989 Congress 

authorized the 8(a) program to help socially and economically 

disadvantaged entrepreneurs, many of them women, compete for 

federal contracts through non-competitive and sole source 

contracts.6 In 1990, Senator Sam Nunn sponsored legislation to 

create a Mentor-Protégé Program at the Department of Defense, 

which established incentives for prime contractors to help small 

disadvantaged businesses, including women-owned businesses, 

build their capacity to become more competitive in the federal 

marketplace.

Mentor-Protégé Programs, now administered in many federal 

agencies, are voluntary agreements between large prime 

contracting firms and smaller businesses that provide a variety of 

mutual benefits. Mentor-Protégé agreements can help womenowned firms gain technical and management skills, improve 

business infrastructure, and establish stronger professional 

networks. These outcomes can make them better able to compete 

for federal contracts and perform more successfully if contracts 

are awarded.
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 5

Goals of the Mentor-Protégé Assessment Study

There have been several assessments of the Mentor-Protégé 

Program at the Department of Defense (DoD) by the Government 

Accounting Office (GAO) and others7, yet there has been limited 

effort to understand how well Mentor-Protégé Programs at DoD 

and other agencies are serving women-owned businesses in 

particular.

This report seeks to better understand Mentor-Protégé 

Programs within the federal contracting space and assess how 

well they serve women-owned businesses. Specifically, the 

National Women’s Business Council seeks quantitative information 

including:

• the total number of women-owned businesses involved in 

Mentor-Protégé agreements;

• the extent to which Mentor-Protégé Programs are increasing 

access of women-owned businesses to federal contracts;

• the growth of women-owned businesses enabled by Mentor-Protégé 

agreements in terms of increased revenues and new employees;

• information about the growth and performance of women-owned 

businesses after the completion of their mentor-protégé agreements.

Furthermore, this study seeks to answer the following qualitative 

questions:

• What are the differences between Mentor-Protégé Programs in 

different government agencies?

• What conditions make Mentor-Protégé agreements successful 

or not for both the mentor and protégé?

• How can Mentor-Protégé Programs serve what is anticipated to 

be an influx of women-owned businesses competing for federal 

contracts under the new Women’s Procurement Rule?

Ultimately, the study presents recommendations for changes that 

might make Mentor-Protégé Programs more effective at building 

the capacity of women-owned businesses, and helping them to 

become an even greater part of the economic recovery than they 

are to date. This report will be used to make policy 
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 6

recommendations to the President, Congress and the U.S. Small 

Business Administration.

Research Methods

The project began with a literature search for information about 

federal Mentor-Protégé Programs, followed by phone interviews 

with several Mentor-Protégé Program directors. With most federal 

agencies employing some version of such a program, NWBC 

narrowed the focus of this analysis to six agencies including:

• Department of Defense (DoD)

• Department of Energy (DOE)

• Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

• Health and Human Services (HHS)

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

• Small Business Administration (SBA)

A list of all Mentor-Protégé agreements within each of these 

agencies was obtained, and all participating women-owned 

businesses were identified.8 A questionnaire was developed and 

sent to every protégé participating in a Mentor-Protégé agreement 

through one of the six targeted agencies. Several attempts were 

made by phone and email to encourage a response by each 

protégé company. Results were compiled and candidates for case 

study interviews were identified. The executives at six companies 

were interviewed to further understand the mechanics and impacts 

of the Mentor-Protégé Program on women-owned businesses. 

Background of Federal Mentor-Protégé 

Programs

Mentor-Protégé Programs within federal agencies are an 

outgrowth of Congressional concern about the low level of 

participation in government contracting by small disadvantaged 

businesses. To address this problem, Congress wrote Section 

1207 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 1986 that set a 

goal that 5% of total dollars subcontracted by Department of 

Defense prime contractors be awarded to Small Disadvantaged 

Businesses.9 
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 7

To provide incentives for prime contractors to increase 

participation of small disadvantaged businesses in DoD 

subcontracts, Congress approved the Mentor-Protégé Pilot 

Program in 1990. Under this program, prime contractors (mentors) 

would develop formal agreements with Small Disadvantaged 

Businesses (protégés) to enhance their capabilities as 

subcontractors and suppliers for the DoD and other federal 

agencies. The program provided incentives for prime contractors 

in the form of cash reimbursement, credit toward meeting Small 

Disadvantaged Business subcontracting goals, or both.10 The 

program also authorized mentors to award noncompetitive 

contracts to protégés and to provide loans or make other 

investments in the protégé firm.11

DoD’s Mentor-Protégé Pilot Program was not fully implemented 

until 1992, when Congress began to appropriate funds to support 

the reimbursement of services provided to proteges by mentor 

firms. Under the Department of Defense’s reimbursement-based 

program, mentor firms can claim reimbursement for the 

development assistance they provide their protégé, including 

billing for the hours they spend meeting with their protégé. By 

1993, mentors’ costs, on average, exceeded $1 million over a 

three-year period in support of each protégé.12 From the 

program’s inception through fiscal year 2006, Congress had 

appropriated $437.7 million to the program and had approved 910 

mentor-protégé agreements.13

The General Accounting Office has conducted periodic evaluations 

of the DoD’s Mentor-Protégé Program. The reports in 

1992,1994,1998 and 2001 highlighted deficiencies in the DoD’s 

oversight and management of the program, and recommended 

improved information-gathering and more complete analysis of 

whether the program was resulting in additional contracting and 

sub-contracting by small, disadvantaged protégé firms. For its 

2007 report, the GAO conducted its own survey of then-current 

protégé firms and found that 93% of the respondents felt the 

Mentor-Protégé Program enhanced, to some degree, their firms’ 

overall capabilities.14

In the two decades since the authorization of the Mentor-Protégé 

Program at the Department of Defense, many federal agencies 
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 8

have adopted their own version of such programs. While most 

programs share similar objectives and requirements, no other 

agency has been authorized by Congress to implement a 

reimbursement-based program. 

Overview of Current Federal Mentor-Protégé 

Programs

Mentor-Protégé Programs are generally administered through each 

Agency’s Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization 

(OSDBU) or similarly-named division. Program details and 

application criteria are available on each Agency’s website. While 

most programs share similar objectives, criteria for eligibility and 

evaluations, the programs are neither coordinated nor consistent. 

Even within the Department of Defense, each agency has its own 

policies, guidelines for participation, administration and oversight.

Benefits

All Mentor-Protégé Programs are intended to provide mutual 

benefits to large prime contractors, small businesses and the 

federal government. 

To the Protégé 

Protégé firms benefit by gaining technical, managerial, financial, or 

any other mutually-agreed upon assistance15. There may be direct 

financial benefit by subcontracting or teaming arrangements with 

the mentor, and these companies are eligible to receive loans or 

equity investment from the mentor. Protégé firms also benefit by 

developing stronger working relationships with prime contractors, 

positioning them to better compete for federal contacts. 

To the Mentor

Mentor-Protégé Programs can benefit large prime contractors by 

creating a formal structure to develop partnerships with 

specialized companies that provide critical skills, materials or 

services. These partnerships serve to diversify supply chains and 

infuse innovation that can increase the firm’s competitiveness. In 

most federal programs, mentor firms can use their Mentor-Protégé 
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 9

agreement to receive additional evaluation points toward the 

award of contracts during competitive bid offers. Once prime 

contracts are awarded, mentors may receive credit toward 

attaining small business subcontracting goals. 

To the Federal Government

Ideally, the federal government also benefits through successful 

Mentor-Protégé agreements. A capable protégé firm may be able 

to provide goods and services more efficiently and less 

expensively than large prime contractors with higher overhead 

costs. Additionally, protégé firms that have had guidance and 

training by large businesses may be more likely to perform 

successfully on government contracts they do win. Theoretically, 

Mentor-Protégé Programs provide long-term benefits by 

increasing the capacity of small businesses to grow, creating new 

jobs, and establishing more equity in the distribution of federal 

contracting dollars.

There has not been a definitive study that demonstrates the long-term 

benefits of Mentor-Protégé Programs. The DoD’s reports to Congress 

indicate that the program does increase business opportunities, but the 

accuracy of these reports has been questioned by the GAO because the 

data are not validated before the reports are submitted. To 

independently test the DoD’s assertions, the GAO conducted its own 

survey of 48 former protégés in 2006; 93% reported that the MentorProtégé Program enhanced, to some degree, their capabilities.16

Even with all these benefits to small firms, large businesses and 

the public interest, federal Mentor-Protégé Programs have been 

structured to provide additional incentives to encourage prime 

contractors to become mentors.

Additional Incentives for Mentors 

• Under the Department of Defense’s reimbursement-based 

program, mentor firms can claim reimbursement for the 

development assistance they provide their protégé. Mentors are 

paid for the time and services they allocate for training their 

protégé, per the terms of their Mentor-Protégé Agreement. 

Reimbursements through the Department of Defense can generate 
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 10

as much as $1 million over the three-year term of a MentorProtégé Agreement.

• Most other federal agencies have credit-based Mentor-Protégé 

Programs, where mentor firms can apply the value of services 

provided to their protégé against their small business 

subcontracting goals. Federal agencies set subcontracting goals 

for any prime contractors with contracts over $550,000 (or $1 

million for construction)17. Although prime contractors with 

Mentor-Protégé agreements are not directly reimbursed, their 

costs of training and assistance are counted as if they were 

incurred in a subcontract awarded to their protégé.18 This 

incentive can be very helpful to large contractors that are 

challenged to meet their small business goals.

• Most federal agencies grant additional points in proposal 

evaluation to prime contractors with Mentor-Protégé Agreements.

• Under the Small Business Administration’s Mentor-Protégé 

Program, prime contractors can establish joint ventures with 8(a) 

firms, through which they become eligible to compete for small 

business set-asides and sole source contracts as long as at least 

51% of the value of the contract is directed toward the protégé19. 

• The Department of Defense bestows annual Nunn-Perry Awards 

to outstanding Mentor-Protégé teams that achieve notable 

increases in job growth, federal contract dollar awards, or other 

measures of success.20

• NASA’s Mentor-Protégé Program, which was revamped in 2009, 

includes an Award Fee Pilot Program as a way of incentivizing 

mentors to fulfill the terms of their agreements. Mentors who help 

their protégés raise their Technology Readiness Level21 three levels 

or more are eligible to receive a maximum award of $100,000.

In the twenty years since the Mentor-Protégé Program was 

initiated at the Department of Defense, iterations have proliferated 

throughout the federal landscape. They have provided strategic 

and sometimes lucrative opportunities for prime contractors to 

team with smaller businesses, and in return, have provided many 

small firms with increased access to critical business networks, 
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 11

training and capacity building, and intelligence into the federal 

contracting sphere.

Eligibility

Protégé companies in federal Mentor-Protégé Programs must 

have one of the following business classifications:

• 8(a) or Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB)

• Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB)

• Historically Black College or University (HBCU)

• Minority Institution (MI)

• Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB)

• Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business 

(SDVOSB)

• Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone)

Up until now, the SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program has been 

available only to companies with 8(a) status. 8(a) certification is a 

business development and preferential contracting program 

available to companies that can demonstrate they have suffered 

discriminatory business practices. However, the Small Business 

Jobs Act of 2010, signed into law by President Obama in 

September 2010, mandates that the Agency expand eligibility to 

include women-owned, HUBZone, and service-disabled veteranowned small businesses.22 The SBA is working on this 

implementation and hopes to have the new programs in place by 

early 2012.

Most agencies have lists of companies on their websites that have 

applied and been accepted to serve as mentors. In most 

programs, mentors may have more than one protégé at a time, but 

not visa versa.23

Mentor-Protégé Programs in all federal agencies operate 

agreements with a three-year duration, and require periodic 

evaluation and review. Several agencies track protégé firms after 

the termination of their mentor-protégé agreement to assess the 

long-term impact of the agreement. For example, protégés in 

NASA’s Mentor-Protégé Program are required to submit 

employment and revenue data for each of the two years after the 

conclusion of an agreement. 24
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 12

Women-Owned Businesses in Mentor Protégé 

Agreements

Research gathered for this assessment indicates that womenowned businesses are actively utilizing Mentor-Protégé Programs. 

Within the six agencies studied, women-owned businesses 

represent approximately 30% of all protégés involved in MentorProtégé agreements. 

Women-Owned Businesses as a percent of total

protégés in Mentor-Protégé Agreements

Agency Total M-P agreements WOBs % WOBs

DoD 58 19 33

DOE 118 34 29

DHS 141 41 29

HHS 6 2 33

NASA 12 3 25

SBA 157 48 31

 Average 30

Women-Owned Businesses participating in 

Mentor-Protégé Agreements25

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

DHS DOD DOE HHS NASA SBA

WomenOwned

Businesses

Non-WOB
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 13

It is interesting to note that even though the SBA’s Mentor-Protégé 

Program does not include women-owned business status as criteria for 

application, data indicate that the same percentage of women-owned 

businesses are participating through their 8(a) certification as in other 

Agency programs.

Summary of Questionnaire Results

A 20-question questionnaire was sent by email to 130 protégé 

companies, each a women-owned business involved in a MentorProtégé agreement at one of the six agencies studied for this 

assessment. The questionnaire asked for qualitative and 

quantitative information about the objectives, dollar value, level of 

effort, and short and long-term benefits of the agreement, as well 

as advice the business owner had for others interested in pursuing 

mentor-protégé relationships. The questionnaire also asked for 

demographic and contact information, and offered anonymity. 

(Full results of the questionnaire are available in Appendix A.)

The response rate to the questionnaire was lower than hoped 

despite repeated efforts by email and phone to elicit response.26 

Fourteen companies, or 10.8% of those solicited, returned 

questionnaires. These companies represent several industry 

categories including management consulting, research and 

development, environmental engineering and compliance, 

engineering services, electrical component manufacturing, building 

construction, plumbing and heating, and office administration. 

The respondents represent a range of criteria within MentorProtégé Programs, from those who have had agreements for less 

than one year to seasoned firms that have had multiple MentorProtégé agreements in several agencies. The businesses also 

represent a diverse size profile from those with annual revenues of 

$250,000 to larger firms earning $20 million annually. 

The information from the fourteen firms that responded to the 

questionnaire provides an interesting and informative snapshot of 

Mentor-Protégé Programs. 

• 13 of the 14 protégé companies had previous experience as 

contractors or subcontractors on federal projects prior to initiating 

a Mentor-Protégé agreement.
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 14

• The principle objectives of women-owned businesses engaged in 

Mentor-Protégé agreements were to gain

- long-term relationship with the mentor; 

- subcontracts with the mentor; 

- training on policies, procedures, financial management, 

bidding and project management; 

- technical assistance in use of software or specialized 

equipment; and

- greater exposure to federal contracting. 

Fewer firms were seeking direct investment or joint ventures with 

the mentor.

• Mentor-Protégé Agreements are providing benefits for prime 

contractors. While the dollar value to most mentors was small,

two of the agreements through the Department of Defense are 

worth $500,000- $1 million. Other mentors are using the 

agreements to access small business set-aside contracts. 

• Protégés are nearly evenly split between those who are on track 

to meet all their objectives, those who are falling short, and those 

who are finding the Agreement to be unproductive. Most of those 

who are not satisfied with their Mentor-Protégé agreement had 

expected the program to produce subcontracts with their mentors 

that have not been forthcoming.

• More than half of the respondents have succeeded in obtaining 

new federal contracts or subcontracts since the start of their 

Mentor-Protégé agreements, but only one-third of respondents 

have subcontracts with their mentor.

• It took most respondents less than six months to develop their 

Mentor-Protégé agreements. Half find the reporting requirements 

worth the effort while half find them to be a significant burden or 

excessive.

• Eight of the fourteen of respondents have found the agency 

overseeing their Mentor-Protégé agreement somewhat or very 

helpful, while six report their agency has not been particularly 

helpful or has created obstacles.
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 15

• Most respondents anticipate long-term benefits from their 

Mentor-Protégé Agreement, and half will either pursue an 

extension with their current mentor or seek an agreement with a 

different firm.

• Most respondents had advice for ways to strengthen MentorProtégé Programs. Several suggested more training for mentor 

firms so they are better prepared to meet the terms of the 

agreement and more accountability for mentors that do not.

• Each respondent had advice for women-owned businesses 

considering a Mentor-Protege agreement. The most often-offered 

suggestions are:

- Be sure the protégé identifies an executive-level sponsor 

within the mentor firm and has high-level support for the terms of 

the Agreement. 

- Set very clear goals. 

- Be a tough negotiator.

- Do not assume the mentor is operating with altruistic 

motives; this is a business deal.

- It takes work - the more you put into it the more you will 

get out of it.

Case Studies

Of the fourteen CEOs who returned questionnaires, seven were 

interviewed for this assessment. Each had extremely interesting 

and valuable experience to share. The four case studies profiled 

below raise experiences, themes and concerns shared by the other 

respondents. Names of mentor and protégé firms have been 

changed to maintain anonymity.

123 Company

123 Company is a small information technology business in the 

mid-Atlantic region that has a Mentor-Protégé agreement 

underway through the Department of Homeland Security. The 

mentor, 10-9-8 Corporation, sought a Mentor-Protégé agreement 

when developing a bid on a major federal contract specifically to 

gain small business credits that such an agreement would provide. 
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 16

123 Company had to compete with other small businesses to be 

selected as the protégé.

123 Company had some experience with government contracting 

but wanted more advanced support in several administrative and 

programmatic areas. The company’s objectives for a MentorProtégé agreement were to receive training and support in 

marketing, compliance, security, finance, contract management 

and business development. Like most protégés, the company also 

hoped the Agreement would lead to strengthened relationships 

with senior staff at 10-9-8 Corporation, new sub-contracts, and 

greater understanding of contracting at DHS.

After only one year, 123 Company’s CEO feels they are achieving 

all the objectives they had hoped for through their Mentor-Protégé 

agreement. Not only have they advanced substantially on the 

administrative and programmatic fronts, but they have built solid 

relationships with the executive staff at 10-9-8 Corporation. While 

they did not win the contract that instigated the Mentor-Protégé 

agreement, 123 Company is now subcontracting with 10-9-8 on 

another major federal contract, and they are exploring teaming 

arrangements on several other fronts. 123’s CEO is certain she 

would not have landed this new subcontract without the 

relationship-building process provided by the Mentor-Protégé 

Program.

123 Company’s CEO has several reflections on her experience in a 

Mentor-Protégé agreement at DHS:

• While the training and programmatic support one gets from a 

mentor is helpful, the real value of the agreement is in the 

relationship built with the mentor.

• Focus on establishing a primary point of contact with the most 

senior staff in the business development division of the mentoring 

firm. They need to understand the value your company will bring 

to theirs.

• Although DHS’s Mentor-Protégé Program is a credit-based 

program (like all agencies except DoD’s), this may be better for the 

protégé in the long run. The mentor is not just using the program 

for short-term reimbursement, and may be more motivated to build 

a lasting relationship with the protégé firm as a vehicle for 

accessing small disadvantaged business credits. 
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 17

In summary, 123 Company’s CEO feels the Mentor-Protégé 

Program is “absolutely worthwhile and well-worth the effort”.

ABC Group

ABC Group is an environmental services company in the western 

US that has been involved in a Department of Defense MentorProtégé agreement with a large prime contactor for 1-2 years. She 

was not new to the world of federal contracting, but pursued a 

Mentor-Protégé agreement for help in several technical and 

administrative areas. The Mentor-Protégé agreement outlined five 

specific needs including review of Human Resources protocol and

manuals, and training in marketing, contract management, 

specialized computer software and bidding. With better internal 

systems and greater expertise in these five areas, ABC’s CEO 

hoped her firm would be better positioned to win and perform well 

on new federal contracts, and enter into subcontracts with the 

mentor.

 

The mentor, XYZ Corporation, pursued the agreement with the 

ABC Group to create subcontracting opportunities and to position 

itself for Small Business Set Aside contracts. The firm has several 

simultaneous Mentor-Protégé agreements underway. As a mentor 

firm in the DoD program, XYZ Corporation is being reimbursed for 

services they provide to ABC Group at a value of $500,000-$1 

million.27 The mentor has not provided any cash support or 

investment in the protégé company, but has covered costs of 

several marketing trips.

ABC Group CEO reports that her objectives with the MentorProtégé agreement are being met on the training front. She has 

had numerous visits from appropriate personnel from XYZ 

Corporation to advance her company’s capabilities in the four 

training areas. She has been less successful getting effective 

training on Human Resource programs and policies. While she 

reported this to her mentor liason, the company has not assigned

someone more senior or knowledgeable to provide more 

productive training.

ABC Group is frustrated that the agreement has not yet resulted in 

any subcontracting opportunities with the mentor, though she is 
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 18

hopeful that eventually it will. The company CEO is concerned 

that XYZ Corporation, while helpful in some respects, has not 

provided services commensurate with the scale of the 

reimbursements they are receiving. She feels the company is 

assigning mid-level employees to work with her business and 

claiming they have met the terms of the agreement, even though 

her objectives are not being fully met. She knows the mentor is 

experienced with the Mentor-Protégé Program and understands 

how to meet the minimum level of effort needed to justify 

reimbursement, but is not really interested in the long-term 

benefits to her business. Says ABC’s CEO, “they know how to 

play the game, take their licks, but still get paid”. 

The two companies have bi-annual reviews with the DoD contract 

officer, yet because they meet together, ABC Group is reluctant to 

be too critical of her mentor. She wants to maintain good standing 

with the Corporation and the staff she has built relationships with 

in the hope of future subcontracting opportunities. As a result, the 

positive impacts of XYZ Corporation’s mentoring activities are 

highlighted at the periodic reviews, and their underperformance is 

not fully addressed. 

ABC Group CEO’s advice to women contemplating a MentorProtégé agreement is:

• Be sure the agreement provides subcontracting opportunities 

right from the start.

• Do not assume the mentor will look out for your best interest; 

they may see you only as a source of income and credit.

• Do not be intimidated. Be aggressive in demanding that the 

mentor fulfills the terms of the agreement. If you are not getting 

what you need, say so.

• Start your negotiation for a Mentor-Protégé agreement with 

upper level management. Make sure they are committed and will 

address concerns at a senior level within the company.

LMN Partners

LMN Partners is a geotechnical firm in the northeast that has been 

involved in three Mentor-Protégé agreements, two through the 

Department of Defense and one with the Small Business 

Administration. LMN had several small federal contracts but the 
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 19

CEO realized that without more strategic teaming arrangements 

with larger firms she would be unable to break through to larger 

roles as either a prime or subcontractor. She felt the MentorProtégé Program would be a vehicle for establishing such 

relationships.

LMN Partners recognized that one of her company’s greatest 

hurdles in winning new contracts was in demonstrating past 

performance on government contracts. “It is the Catch-22 of 

doing government work”, says LMN CEO, “that you can’t win new 

federal business unless you have already won federal business.” 

She felt that the best vehicle for demonstrating past performace 

was to enter into a joint venture with a prime contractor. Under the 

terms of SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program, in a joint venture 

mentors can use their protégé’s 8(a) status and be considered a 

small business, while protégés can use their mentor’s past 

performace to compete for federal contracts. 

In pursuit of a joint venture, LMN Partners entered a MentorProtégé agreement with OPQ Corporation, and structured a 

teaming agreement according to SBA requirements. LMN Partners 

was established as project manager and would receive 51% of the 

net profits. 

The two firms bid on, and won, a large federal contract with a 

small business set-aside. While the two companies performed 

well on the contract, disputes arose about interpretations of the 

51% allocation rule to the small business. LMN Partners CEO has 

learned the hard way that joint ventures within SBA MentorProtégé agreements are teaming arrangements fraught with 

potential problems. 

Despite the challenging experience LMN Partners had with the 

joint venture, the firm’s CEO feels that its Mentor-Protégé 

agreements have helped open doors and grow the company’s 

capacity in the federal contracting marketplace. Her advice to 

other women-owned businesses contemplating a Mentor-Protégé 

agreement is to “be a tough negotiator, and don’t presume good 

faith or fair play.” 
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 20

UVX Ventures

UVX Ventures is a small electrical components assembly company 

that is involved in a Mentor-Protégé agreement through NASA. 

The company’s CEO felt that by teaming with a prime contractor, 

LLL Corporation, her business would gain technical capabilities 

and certifications that would bring new business from both the 

mentor, NASA and other federal contractors.

UVX Ventures negotiated several objectives with LLL Corporation 

in its Mentor-Protégé agreement, but two were of the highest 

priority. First, LLL Corporation provided training and review of 

assembly and plant procedures to bring UVX Ventures into 

compliance with NASA specifications. Second, the mentor paid 

for one of UVX’s employees to attend an intensive training program 

about quality assurance that, once complete, will allow UVX to 

become NASA–certified in this speciality. 

UVX Ventures is now two years into its three-year Mentor-Protégé 

agreement, but still has additional training and investments needed 

to achieve certification. However, UVX’s CEO is confident that the 

training and compliance that LLL Corp. has facilitated will position 

the firm to increase federal and commercial contracting activity 

within the next year. She reports that “every business needs to 

find its niche to survive, and hopefully the training we are receiving 

from our mentor is helping us to further establish ours.” When 

new contracts do materialize, it will be a win for UVX as well as for 

the mentor. The CEO explains that “UVX will continue to seek 

specialized services from our mentor tor analysis and inspection 

with equipment we do not have, so their investment in us will be 

mutually beneficial.” 

Her advice to prospective protégé companies is “Don’t be in a 

rush, this is a learning process. We have goals that we must 

achieve, a calendar to keep us on task, and I expect the rewards 

will be great.” She appreciates the Mentor-Protégé Program at 

NASA for giving her company a chance to enhance its 

competitiveness in the federal marketplace.
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 21

Recommendations

For Federal Agencies

1. The Small Business Administration, which currently offers 

Mentor-Protégé programs only to participants in the 8(a) program, 

will expand eligibility to women-owned businesses in 2012. 

NWBC supports the new eligibility criteria that will greatly increase 

women-business owners’ access to the SBA’s Mentor-Protégé 

Program, and hopes the SBA will use this report to help guide the 

new program.

2. While the Department of Defense’s reimbursement-based 

Mentor-Protégé Program offers greater incentives to prime 

contractors than credit-based programs, it creates inconsistency 

across the federal landscape, invites challenges to accountability, 

and emphasizes short term financial gain to the mentor rather than 

longer term relational benefits to both parties. With the many other 

incentives underpinning Mentor-Protégé Programs including 

evaluation bonuses, subcontracting credit, access to small 

business set-asides, joint ventures and awards, it may be time to 

eliminate such large programmatic variables and move toward 

credit-based programs only in all federal agencies.

3. Federal agencies that do not currently do so should expand 

commitments and metrics within Mentor-Protégé agreements to 

include measures of success beyond the dollar value of 

subcontracts and number of jobs created. While achieving these 

metrics is the ultimate intent of Mentor-Protégé Programs, there 

are important qualitative steps along the way for increasing 

businesses’ capacity including internal administration, financial 

and programmatic functions, training, certification, and building 

business networks. These are all benefits that protégé participants 

ranked as the most important outcomes of their Mentor-Protégé 

agreements.

4. Federal agencies should develop shared record-keeping 

methods. Currently, each agency lists and tracks Mentor-Protégé

participants differently. These varied recordkeeping systems make 

it cumbersome to evaluate programs across agencies and 

unnecessarily complicated for firms to administer agreements in 

multiple agencies.
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 22

For example, all Mentor-Protégé Programs should include 

protégés’ business designation (i.e. women-owned small business, 

service disabled verteran-owned small business, hub-zone, etc.) in 

their recordkeeping. Of the six agencies studied in this 

assessment, DOE, DHS and NASA include business category 

while DoD, HHS and SBA do not.

With the exception of not providing business category information, 

the DoD’s web-available list of Mentor-Protégé Program 

participants provides an excellent template for other agencies.28

5. The Department of Energy could only provide a list of MentorProtégé agreements active as of December 2009. It would be 

advisable for the DOE to maintain more up-to-date records of 

program participants. Additionally, 18% of the protégé companies 

on the DOE list (six out of 34) had either inaccurate contact 

information or no web presence whatsoever, making it impossible 

to send them questionnaires. The DOE should maintain more 

accurate information about its program participants.

6. SBA, like the DOE, had a substantial percentage of protégé 

companies with inaccurate or non-existant contact information (17 

out of 147 companies, or 11.6%). Particularly as women-owned 

businesses position themselves to take advantage of the Women’s 

Procurement Rule and expanded Mentor-Protégé eligibility, the 

SBA should improve external information flow and 

communications.

7. Many respondents to the survey suggested that agencies 

should provide more training to mentoring firms so that they fully 

understand the expectations and keys to making the MentorProtégé agreement successful. Most agencies have criteria for 

inclusion on the Mentor list that include a history of prime 

contracting and financial stability, but not necessarily the 

qualitative characteristics or executive-level commitment that 

would promote effective mentoring.

8. During periodic evaluations, agencies that do not currently do 

so should offer both parties an opportunity to discuss their 

Mentor-Protégé agreement without the other party present. 

Protégés may feel inhibited to discuss problems they are having 
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 23

with their mentor, fearing that crticism could hinder the 

relationship-building process that is so central to successful 

Mentor-Protégé agreements.

9. NASA has a very comprehensive Mentor-Protégé Program 

Guidebook that could serve as an effective template for other 

agencies with similar programs. This guidebook is an excellent 

resource with all eligibility criteria, program details and application 

templates included.

For the NWBC

1. The NWBC should send this report to all Mentor-Protégé 

Program directors, as well as mentor and protégé participants for 

feedback. 

2. The NWBC should use the database established through this 

assessement as a starting point for ongoing research. A better 

methodology for eliciting quantitative and qualitative feedback 

should be considered. Perhaps an online survey, or one sent 

directly from the NWBC web domain, would produce a higher 

response rate. 

3. The NWBC should use this report as the basis of an outreach 

initiative to women-owned small businesses about the potential 

benefits and pitfalls of Mentor-Protégé Programs. Components 

might include

• a “lessons-learned” document available via the website;

• expanded case studies with women business owners who have 

had both positive and negative experiences;

• a workshop component that could be included at conferences 

for women business owners.

Such outreach will be particularly important as the SBA’s 

expanded eligibility criteria make Mentor-Protégé Programs 

available to all women-owned small businesses. 
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 24

Conclusion

Mentor-Protégé Programs have been operating within federal 

agencies for twenty years as a voluntary approach to 

strengthening the capacity of small businesses to compete and 

succeed in the federal contracting sphere. Many incentives are 

available to entice large prime contractors to partner with small 

businesses to offer administrative, programmatic and technical 

training, and to build long-term relationships. Mentor-Protégé 

Programs provide benefits for both parties, and when agreements 

are successful, they can enhance the growth of small businesses 

and contribute to a more robust national economy. 

Women-owned businesses are taking advantage of MentorProtégé Programs. Qualitative and limited quantitative data 

indicate that Mentor-Protégé Programs do enhance business 

development. However, problems are prevalent in Mentor-Protégé 

Programs that prevent them from being as effective as they might 

be. Programs would be improved by creating more consistency in 

the incentive structure of Mentor-Protégé Programs across the 

federal landscape, providing increased training and accountability 

for mentors, helping protégé firms to negotiate strong agreements, 

improving data collection, and increasing outreach to womenowned businesses. Efforts to make Mentor-Protégé Programs 

more effective and consistent will help to strengthen the womenowned business sector, create greater equity in the distribution of 

federal contracting dollars, and improve performance of womenowned businesses in government contracting.
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 25

About the Author

Melissa Paly is Principal of Cross Current Communications, a 

communications consulting and media production firm based in 

Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The firm works strategically with 

government agencies, educational institutions, businesses and 

non-profits to promote broader understanding and meaningful 

response to a range of complex issues. Cross Current 

Communications has been producing award-winning education, 

training, outreach and marketing programs for more than twenty 

years with a particular expertise in science, natural resource and 

environmental content areas. Melissa Paly holds undergraduate 

and graduate degrees from Yale University in Geology and Forest 

Management, respectively. 

For more information about Cross Current Communications, visit 

www.crosscurrentcommunications.com.
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 26

APPENDIX A

Mentor-Protégé Program Questionnaire Results

1. How long have you been involved in a Mentor-Protégé agreement?

5 (a) less than 1 year

3 (b) 1-2 years

4 (c) 3 years

2 (d) more than 3 years

2. Through which agency is your Mentor-Protégé agreement?

5 (a) Department of Defense

1 (b) Department of Energy

3 (c) Department of Homeland Security

0 (d) Health and Human Services

1 (e) NASA

4 (f) Small Business Administration

3. Did you have any federal contracting experience prior to becoming involved 

in a Mentor-Protégé agreement?

1 (a) no

13 (b) yes

4. What were your objectives in seeking a Mentor-Protégé agreement?

9 (a) technical assistance 

9 (b) training 

10 (c) sub-contracting with mentor

3 (d) investment from mentor

7 (e) learn the ropes for federal contracting

11 (f) build long-term relationship

1 (g) other

5. What services, assistance or training is the mentor providing your company?

Policies and procedures, board and proposal management, teaming, 

human resources training, technical certification, jobsite management, 

safety training, bonding, large project budgeting, contract management, 

accounting, bidding, joint ventures, market expansion, preparing for DCMA 

audit, software training.
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 27

6. What services or materials are you providing your mentor?

Teaming on small business contracts, access to subcontractor pool, onsite 

management, field support, improved supply chain, subcontracting, 

networking.

7. Has your mentor provided cash support of any sort?

1 (a) investment 

0 (b) loans

1 (c) advance payments

2 (d) joint ventures

1 (e) other 

8. What is the dollar value of your relationship with your mentor?

8 (a) There is no monetary value

4 (b) <$50,000

0 (c) $50-100,000

0 (d) $100-500,000

1 (e) $500,000-1 million

1 (f) +$1 million

9. What non-monetary value has the agreement produced thus far? Please 

describe.

Business infrastructure training, marketing trip, certification training, 

improved relationship, access to projects, assistance with software, 

financial management, expanded subcontractor base, insight into large 

project management, subcontracts.

10. Is the Mentor-Protégé relationship helping your company achieve the 

objectives set forth in the agreement? 

5 (a) Yes, my company is on track to meeting all its objectives

0 (b) My company will meet some of the objectives stated in the M-P 

agreement

4 (c) We are falling short of meeting most of our objectives

4 (d) The Mentor-Protégé agreement is not turning out to be productive. 

1 (e) Too soon to tell.

11. Have you entered into any new government contracts since starting the 

mentor-protégé program? 
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 28

6 (a) No, I have not had any federal contracts since the start of this M-P 

agreement.

4 (b) Yes, my business is contracting independently with a federal agency.

5 (c) Yes, my business is sub-contracting with the mentor firm in a 

government contract. 

12. Have you formed any Joint Ventures (if allowed under your M-P Agreement) 

with your Mentor? 

10 (a) No

4 (b) Yes

If yes, has the Joint Venture been successful? 

3 of the 4 joint ventures have not been successful.

13. How long did it take your company to apply for and receive approval for 

your Mentor-Protégé agreement? 

5 (a) < 3 months

5 (b) 3-6 months

1 (c) 6-9 months

1 (d) 9-12 months

2 (e) + 1 year

14. How onerous are the reporting requirements?

7 (a) Not a great burden and worth the effort.

4 (b) A significant level of effort is required.

1 (c) Reporting requirements are excessive.

15. Have you received adequate guidance and oversight by the federal agency?

5 (a) Yes, the Agency has been very helpful and provided assistance 

whenever needed.

3 (b) Agency has been somewhat helpful.

4 (c) Agency has not been particularly helpful.

2 (d) Agency has created obstacles and delays throughout the MentorProtégé process. 

16. What long-term benefits do you anticipate from participation in a MentorProtégé agreement?

Networking, training, greater profitability, growth in federal sector, 

improved internal infrastructure, better procedures. 
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 29

17. Will you pursue an extension of your current Mentor-Protégé agreement or 

seek a new one with a different mentor?

3 (a) No

4 (b) Yes, with different mentor

3 (c) Yes, with same mentor

4 (d) Undecided

18. What advice can you offer that would make the Mentor-Protégé program 

more effective?

More agency involvement, improved training for mentor, better guidance 

and templates, more negotiation training, increased accountability for 

mentors, require senior-level support for agreement, measures of success 

beyond number of jobs and dollar value of contracts, provide protégé more 

control.

19. What advice do you have for women-owned businesses contemplating 

pursuit of a mentor-protégé agreement?

Set clear goals at beginning of process, ensure executive-level support for 

agreement, be sure protégé is first choice for subcontracts, be a tough 

negotiator, the more you put in the more you will get out, set quantifiable 

goals and keep on task, learn the mentor culture before you enter into an 

agreement, rewards can be great but don’t rush, it is a learning process, 

don’t let mentor run the show, do your homework, stand your ground in a 

joint venture, don’t presume good faith or fair play, it is a good program 

and very worthwhile.

20. Would you be willing to be profiled as a case study in this project’s final 

report?

6 (a) Yes, please contact me at 

4 (b) No thanks.

4 (c) Maybe

To help us gather more data about Protégé businesses, please provide the 

following demographic information about your company:

20. How long has the company been in business?

3 (a) less than five years

3 (b) 5-10 years

4 (c) 11-20 years

3 (d) more than 20 years
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 30

21. Where is the business based?

4 Virginia

2 Arizona

1 Alabama

1 California

1 Illinois

1 Massachusetts

1 New Hampshire

1 New Mexico

1 New York

1 South Carolina

22. How large is the company in terms of both employees and annual revenue?

3 (a) less than 10 employees

5 (b) 11-20 employees

2 (c) 21-50 employees

3 (d) more than 50

2 (a) less than $1 million annual revenue

7 (b) $1-$5 million annual revenue

3 (c) $5-$10 million annual revenue

1 (d) $10-$20 million annual revenue

23. What SBA status does the company hold?

6 (a) 8(a)

14 (b) WOSB

2 (c) SDVOSB

1 (d) HUBZone

1 (e) Native American

2 (f) DBE/MBE

24. What is your primary industry (NAIC) code? If you don’t know, please 

describe your business.

3 236220

1 334418

2 541330

4 541611

2 541620

1 541712

1 561110

******
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 31

ENDNOTES

1 U.S. Census Bureau. Survey of Business Owners – WomenOwned Firms: 2007. 

http://www.census.gov/econ/sbo/get07sof.html?8

2 Ibid.

3 Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute. (December 

2009) Special Report: Women Small Business Owners Will Create 

5+ Million New Jobs by 2018, Transforming the Workplace for

Millions of Americans. 

4 U.S. Small Business Administration. Small Business Procurement 

Scorecard Shows Progress toward Meeting 23 Percent Goal for 

Small Business Contracting.

http://www.sba.gov/content/small-business-procurementscorecard-shows-progress-toward-meeting-23-percent-goalsmall-business-contracting

5 National Women’s Business Council. (2009) Launching WomenOwned Businesses on to a High Growth Trajectory. 

6 Adams, Mel and Spann, Mary. (1998). Developing Small 

Disadvantaged Federal Contractors: The DOD Mentor Protégé 

Program. University of Alabama, Huntsville.

7 The General Accounting Office has conducted periodic reviews of 

the Mentor-Protégé Program at Department of Defense with 

reports issued in 1992, 1994, 1998, 2001 and 2007. Researchers 

at the University of Alabama, Huntsville also reviewed the 

performance of the DoD Mentor-Protégé Program in 1998, cited 

above.

8 Because SBA has 432 Mentor-Protégé Agreements as of February 

2011, for the purposes of this study the researcher randomly selected 

147 companies, of which 48 were identified as women-owned 

businesses.
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 32

9 US General Accounting Office Report to the Chairmen, Senate and 

House Committees on Armed Services. (March 1992) Interim Report on 

Mentor-Protégé Program for Small Disadvantaged Firms.

10 Ibid.

11 General Accounting Office. (March 1992). Defense Contracting –

Interim Report on Mentor-Protégé Program for Small 

Disadvantaged Firms.

12 General Accounting Office (February 1994). Defense 

Contracting: Implementation of the Pilot Mentor-Protégé Program.

p.5

13 General Accounting Office. (January 2007). Contract 

Management: Protégés Value DOD’s Mentor-Protégé Program, 

but Annual Reporting to Congress Needs Improvement. p.5

14 Ibid. p.6

15 Department of Homeland Security Mentor-Protégé Program

http://www.dhs.gov/xopnbiz/smallbusiness/editorial_0716.shtm

16 Op Cit, General Accounting Office. (January 2007).

17 USDA Federal Small Business Programs

http://www.dm.usda.gov/smallbus/subcontracting.htm

18 Code of Federal Regulations. (May 29, 2009). Title 48: Federal 

Acquisition Regulations System, Part 1819 – Small Business Programs. 

Subpart 1819.72—NASA Mentor-Protégé Program

19 Thurmond, Joyce. Small Business Joint Ventures & Teaming 

Arrangements. SBA Procurement Center, Atlanta Georgia.

http://www.sad.usace.army.mil/conf2006/JointVenturesandSBTeaming.p

df

20 Department of Defense, Office of Small Business Programs. 

Nunn-Perry Awards.

http://www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/sb/programs/mpp/nunn-perry.shtml
 Evaluating Federal Mentor-Protégé Programs: Assessment, Case Studies and Recommendations 33

21 Technology Readiness Level (TRL) is a nine-point scale that describes 

the maturity of evolving technology from basic research to system launch 

and operation.

22 Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. Section 1345. Study and Report on 

the Mentor-Protégé Program.

23 The exception is the Department of Homeland Security, where 

protégés may be involved with multiple mentors simultaneously.

24 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2009). MentorProtégé Program Guidebook. p.13

25 In all agencies except SBA, data include women-owned 

businesses as a percentage of all protégé companies. For SBA, 

which has 488 active Mentor-Protégé agreements underway, the 

researcher randomly sampled 157 protégé companies and found 

that 48 are women-owned.

26 Questionnaire response rates by Agency: 

DHS- 3

DoD – 5

DOE – 1

HHS - 0

NASA – 1

SBA - 4

27 The survey asked protégés to specify the monetary value of their 

Mentor-Protégé Agreement in five ranges, hence the $500-1 million 

estimate of this agreement. The agreement itself has an exact rate of 

reimbursement.

28 DoD’s Mentor-Protégé Program website includes firms 

participating in the program that are sortable by mentor, protégé, 

active agreement, and by service within DoD.

http://www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/mentor_protege/