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Small Business Procurement Initiative Self-Certifications Reach 765

Commonwealth to begin competitive solicitation process

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In less than three months since Governor Tom Corbett announced the Small Business Procurement Initiative, 765 small businesses have self-certified to participate in the program, State General Services Secretary Sheri Phillips announced today.

The Small Business Procurement Initiative reserves certain procurements for competition among only self-certified small businesses – those that employ 100 or fewer employees and meet maximum revenue requirements – and enables them to participate in state contracting opportunities for supplies, services, information technology, and construction and design services as prime contractors.

"To reach 765 small business self-certifications in less than three months speaks volumes about the desire of the state's small employers to do business with the Commonwealth as prime contractors," Phillips said. "We are excited to reach the point where we have a number of vendors to begin the competitive bidding process."

The department also announced the availability of a public search function that enables users to search for profile information on each business that self-certifies with the Commonwealth. Results can be broken down by category and can be exported to an Excel spreadsheet. The new public search function, information for small businesses that would like to self-certify and detailed program information can be found online at www.smallbusiness.pa.gov. This one-stop website is the official source for all information regarding the Small Business Procurement Initiative and will be continuously updated.

"Based on the numbers, the first round of bidding opportunities will be for contracts in the procurement goods and service and IT categories," Phillips said. "We have released one Invitation For Bid, or IFB, and as we continue to increase the number of small business self-certifications, other opportunities will be announced."

The department also announced the following categories on the Master Information Technology Services Invitation to Qualify Contract (IT ITQ) will now be reserved for self-certified small business competition: Cabling Services, Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Software Services, Consulting Services - IT Project Management and Network Services & Telecom Services and IT Training Classroom/Non-Classroom.

For the latest information on Small Business Procurement Initiative opportunities, visit www.emarketplace.state.pa.us and click on "Solicitations." On the Solicitations Search screen, check the "View Small Business Procurements" box and click search for all available opportunities.

Media contact: Troy Thompson, 717-787-3197

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of General Services