Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Industry Day, August 09, 2016

I am pleased to announce that NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Industry Assistance Office will be hosting a Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Industry Day on August 9, 2016 from 7:30a.m. to 2:00p.m. in Greenbelt, Maryland. The event will include networking.

HUBZone companies, and all small businesses, will have an opportunity to network with NASA Small Business Specialists, contracting officers, large prime contractors and Government agencies, in addition to participating in one-on-one matchmaking sessions with the GSFC Technical Directorates.

To sign up, please register in Eventbrite. Registration closes on Friday, July 22, 2016 at midnight and all participants must be issued an event badge before accessing the facility. Access to the Center is limited to U.S. Citizens only.

If you are interested in scheduling a one-on-one matchmaking appointment with any of the Technical Directorates or have any further questions, please email the GSFC Small Business Office at GSFC-SmallBusiness@mail.nasa.gov. 

Inaugural Aerospace and Defense Small Business Industry Day, June 28, 2016

I am proud to announce that NASA, in association with the Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation, will be participating at the Inaugural Aerospace and Defense Small Business Industry Day on June 28, 2016, from 8:00 a.m to 4:30 p.m in Lakewood, Colorado. The event will include a full day of workshops and networking opportunities.

This is an ideal opportunity to get information about upcoming Agency requirements, by participating in one-on-one matchmaking sessions with NASA Small Business Specialists.

To register, please visit www.nasa-aerospace-smallbizindustryday.eventbrite.com. Priority registration will be given to Colorado based companies.

For any information regarding exhibiting or sponsorship opportunities, don’t hesitate to contact Tom Livingston at (720) 544-5507 or tlivingston@jeffcoedc.org.

HBCU/MSI Technology Infusion Road Tour

A new creative initiative was proposed to me not too long ago by one of my Project Managers’, Ms. Tabisa Kalisa, on how we can better increase our partnerships and engagement with Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Serving Institutions (HBCUs/MSIs). The event would be hosted by the Office of Small Business Programs, the Office of Education and the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). The initiative would test out a pilot program called the NASA Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Serving Institutions (HBCUs/MSIs) Technology Infusion Road Tour. At the 2^nd Annual HBCU/MSI Partnerships Meeting at Marshall Space Flight Center there was great interest expressed from colleges and universities that wanted to participate in the pilot program including North Carolina Central University, The University of Texas at El Paso and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University whom were among those selected to participate in FY16. This initiative is two-fold as it is designed to help assist educational institutions integrate new technology that supports the Agency’s mission and it also aids NASA in making and exceeding our 1% goal for HBCUs/MSIs. We are also the only Agency in the government with this goal to date.

Our first event for the NASA HBCU/MSI Technology Infusion Road Tour was held at North Carolina Central University on March 22-24, 2016. I was able to attend the first two days of the event and I have to say I was quite impressed with all the enthusiasm and participation among the attendees. There were about 50 HBCU/MSI attendees and a good amount of NASA prime contractors including Boeing and SAIC that participated in the open forum Q&A. This was a good opportunity to ask questions about the Mentor Protégé Program, STMD’s Small Business Innovative Research/Small Business Technical Transfer opportunities and the Office of Education’s grant and cooperative agreement opportunities. I felt like the event was extremely productive and we took away many lessons learned to make our next event even more beneficial.

The next NASA HBCU/MSI Technology Infusion Road Tour will be on April 19-21, 2016 at The University of Texas at El Paso. Based off our first event, I have no doubt that I will be just as impressed with this one if not more. Our Eventbrite link is open where you can register and find out more details on this upcoming Road Tour. 

I wish everyone a happy and safe spring and thank you for reading my latest post!

FY16 Small Business Industry Days

March 1, 2016 is just around the corner. The NASA Small Business Program will be in Pasadena, California for the Service- Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Industry Day hosted by the NASA Management Office (NMO) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). You can still register for the event here:SDVOSB Industry Day. Glenn Research Center (GRC) will be hosting the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Industry Day on May 7, 2016 and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) will be hosting the Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Industry Day on August 9, 2016.

Registration for the WOSB and HUBZone Industry Days will open a couple months before the event takes place. Please keep a lookout on our Website, Twitter and Facebook for the events to open registration and for further details.

The NASA Small Business Program holds industry days to reach out to small businesses that may not have had networking opportunities with NASA. Attending one of our industry days will provide the perfect opportunity to seek further information on how you can do business with NASA. Your business could help support our various missions here on earth and into deep space. We encourage small businesses to sign up across the nation no matter what socioeconomic category you may be!

Ringing in the New Year

As we say farewell to 2015 and welcome the New Year, what do you typically reflect on as the year comes to a close? I like to reflect on what has transpired over the last 12 months and brainstorm new resolutions for the road ahead. We all like to be reminded of the highlights, success and cheerful endeavors, however, let’s also look at our setbacks and weaknesses so we can learn and grow from them moving forward.  

The NASA Office of Small Business Programs will continuously look for new innovative and creative ways to promote the development and management of NASA programs that assist all socioeconomic categories of Small Business.

As you think about your 2016 New Year’s resolutions, consider your local small businesses and think of ways to continue supporting them! We are looking forward to seeing the new ways that small businesses will help NASA achieve its mission next year and the years ahead!