Mentor-Protege Program

Mentor-Protégé Program Offers Small Businesses Contracting Opportunities

GSA’s Mentor-Protégé Program is designed to encourage and motivate GSA prime contractors to assist small businesses and enhance their capability of performing successfully on GSA contracts and subcontracts. The program is intended to foster the establishment of long-term relationships between small businesses and GSA prime contractors and increase the overall number of small businesses that receive GSA prime contract and subcontract awards. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on August 14, 2009. 
 
Who Is Eligible to Participate in the Mentor-Protégé Program
To be eligible for selection as a mentor, a firm must be a large business prime contractor that is currently performing under an approved subcontracting plan as required by FAR 19.7 (small businesses are exempted), or a small business prime contractor that can provide developmental assistance to enhance the capabilities of protégés to perform as contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers. Firms must be eligible (not listed in the Excluded Parties List System) to receive federal contracts and subcontracts.
 

To be eligible for selection as a protégé, a firm must be a small business, small disadvantaged business, women-owned small business, HUBZone small business, veteran-owned small business, or service-disabled veteran-owned small business that meets the definition of a small business concern outlined at FAR 19.001, based on their primary North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code.

How to Find a Mentor

Small businesses can search the GSA Office of Small Business Utilization Subcontracting Directory or the GSA eLibrary to find potential mentors. 

How Protégé Firms Are Selected

Mentor firms will be solely responsible for selecting protégé firms. Mentors are encouraged to select from a broad base of small business concerns, including small disadvantaged business concerns, women-owned small business concerns, veteran-owned small business concerns, service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns, and HUBZone small business concerns.

A protégé must be either a current subcontractor or a newly selected subcontractor for the prime contractor’s GSA contract.

How the Mentor-Protégé Program Works

Under the Mentor-Protégé Program, eligible small businesses can act as suppliers, or provide services or subcontractors for any prime contractor with an approved subcontracting plan negotiated with GSA. The small business and mentor draft an agreement. The agreement must contain: 

(a) Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of both mentor and protégé firms and the name, telephone number, and position title of the person who will oversee the agreement in both firms.
(b) An eligibility statement from the protégé stating that it is a small business, its primary NAICS code and, when applicable, the type of small business.
(c) A description of the type of development assistance that will be provided by the mentor firm to the protégé firm.
(d) Milestones for providing the identified developmental assistance.
(e) Factors to assess the protégé firm’s developmental progress under the program.
(f) The anticipated dollar value and type of subcontracts that may be awarded to the protégé firm consistent with the extent and nature of mentor firm’s business, and of mentor firm’s business, and the period of time over which it may be awarded.
(g) Program participation term, which states the period of time over which the development assistance will be performed.
(h) Mentor termination procedures, which describe the procedures applicable to the mentor firm when notifying the protégé firm, in writing and at least 30 days in advance, of the mentor firm’s intent to voluntarily withdraw its participation in the program, or to terminate the agreement.
(i) Plan for accomplishing contract work should the Mentor-Protégé agreement be terminated or a party excluded under 519.7014(b). The mentor’s prime contract with GSA continues even if the Mentor-Protégé agreement or the Mentor-Protégé Program is discontinued.
(j) The protégé must agree to provide input into the mentor firm’s semiannual reports (see 519.7015). The protégé must submit a ‘‘Lessons Learned’’ evaluation along with the mentor firm at the conclusion of the Mentor-Protégé agreement.
(k) Other terms and conditions as specified by the Mentor-Protégé manager on a case-by-case basis.


The Application Process

A signed Mentor-Protégé Program application, must be submitted to the Office of Small Business Utilization (OSBU) for approval. Additional information may be provided in narrative form. Submit your application via e-mail to mentorprotege@gsa.gov.

Advantages for MentorsMentors participating in the program may attain the following advantages: 

  • Contracting officers may assess the prime contractors’ compliance with the subcontracting plans submitted in previous contracts as a factor in evaluating past performance under certain circumstances;
  • Mentors will be eligible for an annual non-monetary award presented to the mentor firm providing the most effective developmental support to a protégé.

 

The shortcut to this page is www.gsa.gov/mentorprotege.

Last Reviewed 9/21/2009