Overview
As of February 2004, DreamHammer was granted 8(a)/Small Disadvantaged Business status by the Small Business Administration. The program is designed to help small businesses with contracting to the federal government. SBA has helped thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs over the years to gain a foothold ingovernment contracting. Participation is divided into two phases overnine years: a four-year developmental stage and a five-year transition stage. In fiscal year 1998, more than 6,100 firms participated in the 8(a) Program and were awarded $6.4billion in Federal contract awards.
Benefits of the Program
- Participantscan receive sole-source contracts, up to a ceiling of $3.5 million for goodsand services and $5 million for manufacturing. While SBA helps 8(a)firms build their competitive and institutional know-how, the agency also encourages them to participate in competitive acquisitions.
- Federal acquisition policies encourage Federal agencies to award a certain percentage of their contracts to SDBs. To speed up the award process,the SBA hassigned Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with 25 Federal agencies allowing them to contract directly with certified 8(a) firms.
- Recent changes permit 8(a) firms to form joint ventures and teams to bid on contracts. This enhances the ability of 8(a) firms to perform larger prime contracts and overcome the effects of contract bundling, the combining of two or more contracts together into one large contract.