DISA Small Business director shares advice on winning contracts: ‘Jump all in’

By Austin Suggs, DISA Office of Strategic Communication and Public Affairs

As the holiday season rapidly approaches, more than a few small businesses will have “win a contract with DISA” on their Christmas wish list or New Year’s resolutions. This week, Carlen Capenos, Defense Information Systems Agency Office of Small Business Programs director, spoke at SMART PROC GovCon in Frederick, Maryland, where she was joined by representatives from the Defense Counterintelligence Security Agency and the National Security Agency. Together, they shared how small businesses can succeed in the world of government contracting.

Trending technology, new policies and looming deadlines

Three trending topics proved top of mind: artificial intelligence, the recently approved Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, and the congressional budget.

While AI continues to dominate headlines, Capenos cautioned, “the truth really is that unless somebody like the DOD CIO says, ‘Go chase this technology. This is the next thing, or this is what we need,’ then we'll pursue it. Or if a customer comes in and says, ‘hey, we have money, and we need to look at this,’ whether it's quantum physics or AI or something new in robotic process automation.” 

Instead of pitching the latest technology based on the headlines, Capenos encouraged small businesses to focus on DISA Emerging Technologies’ tech watch list.

Regarding the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, Capenos spoke in no uncertain terms about the importance of compliance, no matter the cost. “I always tell people when they come to me and are upset about how much it's going to cost them to get compliant. I say two things. I say one, well, you're already saying in [the Supplier Performance Risk System] that you're already doing it. So, if you're already doing it, why would it cost you more money? So, either you've already paid for it or you're not doing it. In either case, it needs to be done. And then I always tell people I don't care. And when I say I don't care, I say that because I've been to Arlington National Cemetery three times, and I don't want to go again. So, if our national security depends upon you spending money to make us safe, that’s what I care about.”

Addressing the congressional budget, Capenos said that federal agencies are all tracking Dec. 20 as the funding deadline for Congress. “As you know, we can't start anything new until we have a budget or some sort of authorization or appropriation that allows us to move forward,” said Capenos. Whether the government is heading toward a new budget, a shutdown, or a continuing resolution is anyone’s guess, according to Capenos.

Tips for working with DISA

Moving beyond these trending topics, Capenos offered enduring best practices for small businesses looking to do business with DISA.

The first challenge, which was echoed by her peers, is that of obtaining a security clearance. Described as “catch-22” by Brian Shay, NSA Small Business Programs customer outreach advocate, Capenos agreed: “our number one barrier to entry is the facility clearance.”

To do this, she encouraged small businesses to look for opportunities to be subcontractors to prime contractors who can sponsor their clearance. Here, Capenos called out a common misunderstanding, stating, “the prime contractor to sponsor you does not have to be a large business. It can be another small business. And we find oftentimes working with other small businesses is more beneficial for everybody.”

Additionally, Capenos remarked that in her nine years at DISA, she’s seen a concerted effort to reduce over-classification. “When I started with DISA nine years ago, there was maybe one requirement that came out without the requirement of a clearance. Now about 20% of ours are coming out without that clearance,” Capenos said, adding that these unclassified opportunities are great ways for small businesses to build past performance.

Capenos shared that she often speaks with companies who have cleared this hurdle but nevertheless remain frustrated in their attempts to win business with the agency. She said she often hears these companies say, “I do everything that you tell me to. I respond to Sources Sought Notices. I call and email everybody to see if they'll talk to me. I go to all the events, I do the matchmaking, and I still don't have a government contract.”

The problem, according to Capenos, often comes down to a failure to fully commit. Despite all that these companies are doing, when she asks about the feedback they received on their most recent proposal, they inform her they haven’t gotten that far yet. Capenos advises these companies, “Jump all in. At least once. See if you’ll sink or swim.”

However, not all proposal submissions will be equally educational for small businesses looking to get their feet wet in the world of defense contracting. “Don't do [lowest price technically acceptable], because unless you win, you're never going to know anything,” Capenos advised audience members. Instead, she steered them toward best value tradeoff contracts to gain critical insights.

“You might win, hopefully you do. But if you don't win, you're going to find out what the winning price was. You're going to find out what your ratings were, what your strengths and weaknesses were, and you're also going to find out what the ratings were of the vendor who won.

Next steps

For companies ready to take the next step with pursuing business with DISA, her instructions were clear: sign up for DISA 101, email DISASmallBusiness@mail.mil, and look for DISA at conferences and networking events to begin making connections and familiarizing themselves with the agency. By taking these steps and following Capenos’ tips, small businesses set themselves up for success.

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