COLLABORATE Act

To require the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to enter into an agreement to coordinate government contracting assistance offered by small business development centers and APEX Accelerators, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Coordinating Our Local Liaisons And Bringing Out Related Agency Technical Expertise Act COLLABORATE Act 2. Interagency agreement on government contracting assistance (a) In general Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall— (1) enter into an interagency agreement to coordinate the government contracting and procurement assistance offered to small business concerns by small business development centers and APEX Accelerators; and (2) jointly submit to the Committees on Armed Services and Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Committees on Armed Services and Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate such interagency agreement. (b) Contents The interagency agreement required under subsection (a) shall— (1) ensure that government contracting and procurement assistance provided by covered centers is provided by employees of the covered center who have training on government contracting and procurement; (2) provide for the allocation of resources and responsibilities between small business development centers and APEX Accelerators to— (A) prevent small business concerns from receiving duplicative assistance or contradictory or confusing information from covered centers; (B) ensure that the activities of a covered center, including any assistance or other services provided by such covered center, are attributed only to such covered center; and (C) clarify the responsibilities of employees of small business development centers and the responsibilities of employees of APEX Accelerators when a small business development center and APEX Accelerator share a location; and (3) provide a framework enabling small business development centers and APEX Accelerators to coordinate the provision of government contracting and procurement assistance to small business concerns, as appropriate. (c) Progress report Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of Small Business Administration shall submit to Congress a report on the efforts of the Administrator and the Secretary of Defense with respect to the establishment of the interagency agreement required under subsection (a). (d) Definitions In this section: (1) APEX Accelerator The term APEX Accelerator chapter 388 (2) Covered center The term covered center (3) Office of Small Business Programs The term Office of Small Business Programs 15 U.S.C. 644(k) (4) Small business concern The term small business concern 15 U.S.C. 632 (5) Small business development center The term small business development center 15 U.S.C. 632

Summary: Coordinating Our Local Liaisons And Bringing Out Related Agency Technical Expertise Act or the COLLABORATE Act This bill requires the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment and the Small Business Administration to enter an interagency agreement to coordinate the government contracting assistance provided by small business development centers and APEX Accelerators. Small business development centers provide business advising and technical assistance to existing small businesses and pre-venture entrepreneurs. The APEX Accelerators program provides education and training to support the capacity for businesses to participate in federal, state, and local government contracts.