Every month, the IT group for BAE Systems North America Inc. invites about three dozen small-business partners to a Homeland Security Department trusted forum. They discuss issues and trends, and identify emerging opportunities as well as share best practices.
"What do you do?" is just about the worst question to ask Lynn Livengood, especially if you meet her at a small-business fair where she scouts potential partners.
About 100 small-business subcontractors are working with SRA International Inc. on the large task order contract it holds with the National Institutes of Health called the Chief Information Officer Solutions and Partners Innovations contract (CIO-SP2i).
Mihir Shah and Stella Mercado Colwell of Suh'dutsing Technologies LLC and MerCom, respectively, met Kim Bowley at State Department small-business networking events early this autumn. By November, both 8(a), HUBZone companies were teamed with ManTech International Corp., where Bowley has been the small-business liaison officer since 1990.
AT&T Government Solutions underscored its commitment to small-business partnering when it tapped 30 such companies for its team chasing the gargantuan Networx telecommunications contracts.
With more than 100 managers creating and running project teams, Anteon International Corp. has more people involved in finding teammates than some of its partners have employees.
The scope of a project can change drastically while work is under way. That's why Computer Sciences Corp. relies on experienced subcontractors for many of its government projects.
Leveraging relationships is part of EDS' approach to small business partnering, both for teaming and for its conventional subcontracting activities. EDS has also developed a small business staffing program that seeks to bring specialists into EDS contracts.
Early this month, Lockheed Martin Information Technology's health care solutions unit invited 23 small companies ? all prospective subcontractors ? to an all-day briefing and interview session at the company's Center for Leadership Excellence in Bethesda, Md.
