Pennsylvania Code › Title 4 - ADMINISTRATION › Part I - GOVERNOR's OFFICE › Chapter 1 - AGENCY OPERATION AND ORGANIZATION › Subchapter MMM - IMPROVING STATE GOVERNMENT › Section 1.922 - Responsibilitie

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a) DGS shall lead
				  and coordinate efforts with agencies to increase their participation in the
				  Commonwealth-s SBR program. DGS shall post data on a semiannual basis for each
				  agency-s total qualifying operational spend for SBR procurements.
(b) The Secretary of General Services shall
				  utilize the United States Small Business Administration-s methodology and
				  Commonwealth-specific data to inform the Commonwealth-s definition of a small
				  business as it relates to the highest revenue limit.
(c) DGS and DOT shall collaboratively
				  undertake joint initiatives to facilitate an open, inclusive and accessible
				  contracting environment with the goal of increasing small businesses and small
				  diverse businesses spending as a percentage of all dollars paid for goods and
				  services by the agencies for their respective programs. These initiatives
				  include the following:
(1)
Undertaking
				  outreach and engagement with prospective small diverse businesses.
DGS
				  and DOT shall use internal resources to develop and execute an outreach
				  strategy to identify relevant small diverse businesses doing business in this
				  Commonwealth that could provide goods or services to the Commonwealth. DGS and
				  DOT shall leverage external partners, including small business development
				  centers, incubators, CDFIs, local governments, chambers of commerce and anchor
				  institutions, to identify and connect with small diverse businesses.
(2)
Connecting firms to wraparound
				  business assistance.
DGS and DOT shall partner with DCED and external
				  partners to connect small businesses and small diverse businesses doing
				  business with the Commonwealth to curriculum and services to support financial
				  management, and strengthen their overall project management, navigate bonding
				  and insurance requirements, and access government contracting opportunities,
				  including providing effective responses to solicitations. These resources shall
				  be deployed through trainings and, where possible, highlighted on the DGS and
				  DOT web sites.
(3)
Developing consistent and regular data reporting.
DGS shall
				  develop an internal data dashboard and reporting mechanisms to provide
				  regularly updated information on agencies- procurement spending levels and
				  percentages, including data on the agencies- small business and small diverse
				  business programs. DGS shall post a list of all previous contracts awarded to
				  small businesses and small diverse businesses and awarded prime contractor-s
				  engagement of small subcontractors and small diverse subcontractors from Fiscal
				  Year 2018 forward, including a standardized dataset on awarded contracts by
				  category and spend amounts.
(4)
Promoting efficient verification.
DGS shall ensure completed
				  verification requests take no longer than 10 business days to
				  approve.
(5)
Ensuring
				  prompt vendor payments.
DGS shall establish a policy that directs
				  agencies- prime contractors in bid solicitations for contracts for goods and
				  services to pay their small business subcontractors and small diverse business
				  subcontractors within 10 days of completed, acceptable deliverables and after
				  receipt of payment from the Commonwealth.
(6)
Promoting financing and capital
				  access options.
DGS and DOT, in partnership with DCED, shall
				  facilitate partnerships with external partners, including CDFIs, to promote
				  financial tools, training and resources that serve small businesses and small
				  diverse businesses. Additionally, DGS and DOT shall solicit feedback from the
				  small business and small diverse business communities to inform PACIP on
				  matters that may assist in the improvement of existing and potential future
				  Commonwealth-based loan programs and explore pilot programs that address
				  capital access issues.
(7)
Facilitating beneficial partnerships between prime contractors and
				  subcontractors.
DGS and DOT shall facilitate more efficient matching
				  and partnerships between prime contractors and available subcontractors, and
				  vice-versa, by industry, capability and region.
(8)
Creating a mentor-prot-g-e
				  program.
DGS and DOT shall lead and coordinate efforts to increase
				  small business and small diverse business participation in mentor-prot-g-e
				  programs across this Commonwealth, working to streamline and collaborate on
				  existing partnership initiatives.
(9)
Delivering a comprehensive and
				  consistent user experience for businesses in this Commonwealth.
DGS
				  and DOT shall partner with CODE PA to promote a whole government approach to
				  support all small businesses and small diverse businesses through an integrated
				  digital experience. This approach shall support small businesses and small
				  diverse businesses accessing available Commonwealth resources to assist them
				  with navigating the procurement process.