Federal Acquisition Regulation FAR 19.702 states that any business awarded a contract over the Simplified Acquisition Threshold ($150,000) must agree that small businesses will have the ‘maximum practicable opportunity’ to participate in contract performance.
For contracts over $700,000 ($1.5 million for construction) the awardee must submit a subcontracting plan, outlining the steps they will take to ensure maximum opportunities for small businesses to participate as a subcontractor.
GSA’s Subcontracting Directory is compiled from awards that indicate a subcontracting plan was required.
At GSA’s eLibrary you can find a list of contractors in your field. Look for the small ‘O’ icon in the socio-economic column, which indicates that the business is “Other than small”, and most likely meets the threshold for a subcontracting plan.
If your company offers Information Technology services, check out GSA’s list of GWAC industry partners.
Check FedBizOpps for major acquisitions, where prime contractors may need your company’s services to meet their small business subcontracting goals. Major acquisitions often contain an evaluation factor for small business participation.
At SBA’s SubNet website, prime contractors post “solicitation” or “notice of sources sought”for small businesses.
Your local Procurement Technical Assistance Center and the SBA Commercial Marketing Representatives can also offer advice on how to market yourself to federal prime contractors.