The U.S Small Business Administration announced on August 21st an extension of the 8(a) Business Development Bona Fide Place of Business Requirement Moratorium through September 30, 2024, allowing 8(a) Business Development Program participants the opportunity to forgo the requirement of having an established physical presence in a particular location to be awarded any construction contract through the 8(a) Program.
“This was started during the COVID Pandemic where folks weren’t initially having a location where someone could walk in,” explained Cliff Cochran, Director of the Kenai Peninsula Small Business Development Center.
Based on the feedback received from the Alaska 8(a) community and congressional stakeholders, this modification to the 8(a) Business Development Program has made it easier for small and disadvantaged businesses to be eligible for 8(a) construction contract awards. This modification continues to be well received by other federal agencies seeking to increase construction procurement opportunities with small and disadvantaged businesses across the country, but especially in rural and remote areas like Alaska with population densities lower than the national average.
“Small businesses have had to pivot and adapt during the pandemic and continue to focus on more efficiently operating their businesses while expanding to capture more revenues, which is why this moratorium remains critical in today’s marketplace,” said SBA Administrator, Isabella Casillas Guzman during her recent visit to Alaska.
During the moratorium, any program participant seeking an 8(a) construction contract (either on a sole source or competitive basis) will not be required to have or establish a Bona Fide Place of Business Requirement in any specific geographic location.
Cochran offered some of the moratorium’s potential implications for local contractors. “[The SBA is] extending that just because lots of businesses have had to pivot [after the pandemic]. I guess kind of a local example would be like a handyman type business where the guy’s working out of a truck, or an electrician guys working from a truck and they don’t necessarily maintain an office, but they’re still doing work.”
For purposes of 8(a) construction procurements, a bona fide place of business means a location where a participant regularly maintains an office that employs at least one full-time individual within the appropriate geographical boundary. The term does not include construction trailers or other temporary construction sites. Firms participating in the 8(a) Program can email questions to their local servicing District Office or visit: 8(a) Business Development Program.