Policy Makers Luncheon

Meet the new Director of Small Business at Department of Interior: Mark Teskey Oversees $7 billion in Contracting Opportunities in 2014

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), the nation's principal conservation agency, offers about $7 billion in contracting opportunities of all sizes across the nation.

The DOI is responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, territorial affairs, and insular areas of the United States. The agency has over 67,000 employees and 280,000 volunteers located at approximately 2,400 operating locations with about $12 billion total annual budget (2014).

The DOI includes the following bureaus, each of which presents unique contracting opportunities:

• Bureau of Reclamation
• Bureau of Land Management
• Indian Affairs
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• National Park Service
• U.S. Geological Survey
• Office of Wildland Fire

Contracting with the DOI

The DOI Acquisition Services Directorate assists Federal agencies by managing project lifecycles and uses government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs), U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) schedules, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts, among others, to assist in acquisition.

All prospective DOI contractors must be registered in the SAM.

Small Business opportunities

In fiscal 2013, the U.S. Dept of the Interior awarded small businesses over 55 percent of its eligible contracting dollars, more than double the national average. The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization manages small business initiatives.

The DOI partners with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on its 8(a) Business Development Program. The SBA delegates the authority to sign contracts on its behalf to the DOI, but remains the prime contractor on all 8(a) Business Development Program contract awards, modifications, options and purchase orders. 8(a) participants remain subcontractors of the SBA.

Who Should Attend

• Small businesses wishing to do business with the government
• 8(a) and SDB Businesses
• Large Businesses Connecting with SBA Certified Businesses
• Woman Owned Businesses
• Service Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses
• Veteran Owned
• Native American Owned
• HUB Zones