Meeting — Aug. 30, 2023

The GSA Acquisition Policy Federal Advisory Industry Partnerships Subcommittee convened for a public meeting at 3:00 PM on August 30, 2023, virtually via Zoom, with Kristin Seaver, Chair presiding.

In accordance with FACA, as amended, 5 U.S.C. App 2, the meeting was open to the public from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM EST.

Meeting agenda

Committee Members Present:

Farad Ali, Co-Chairperson — Asociar LLC
Susan Lorenz Fisher — AmerisourceBergen Corporation
Mamie Mallory — Mallory & Associates, LLC
Deryl McKissack — McKissack & McKissack
Nigel Stephens — U.S. Black Chambers of Commerce
David Wagger — Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries

Absent: Denise Bailey, Gail Bassette, Kristin Seaver, Stacy Smedley, Keith Tillage, Kimberly Wise White

Guest Speakers & Presenters: n/a

GSA Staff Present:

Boris Arratia — Designated Federal Officer
David Cochennic — GAP FAC Support
Skylar Holloway — GAP FAC Support
Sylvia Yang — Closed Captioner
Rene Devito — ASL Interpreter
Blair Fell — ASL Interpreter

Call to order

Boris Arratia, Designated Federal Officer, opened the public meeting by welcoming the group before reminding the public that there will be time for comments and statements at the end of the meeting. Any written comments can be submitted through regulations.gov. Roll call was performed before the meeting was turned over to Co-Chair Farad Ali.

Welcome and opening remarks

Co-Chair Farad Ali thanked everyone for attending today before reviewing the agenda. The group will review the subcommittee work plan, future speakers, work groups, and outputs for the upcoming full committee meeting.

Subcommittee business

The group reviewed who will be participating in the Innovative New Entrants work group and the Climate and Acquisition Maturity Model work group. After deciding who will be in what work groups, the subcommittee spoke regarding future speakers to help the group with recommendations based on upcoming challenges and interests.

Nigel Stephens expressed interest in understanding the challenges faced by small firms and nontraditional entrants when trying to enter the federal marketplace. He suggested addressing these challenges in an administrative meeting rather than a public one to have a frank discussion. The Community Navigators Program, run by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and possibly the National Business Development Association (NBDA), was mentioned as a way to reach out to nontraditional communities and bring new entrants into the federal government.

Boris proposed using a focus group format, involving a small group of participants who receive questions in advance, to gather insights from industry representatives and other experts. This format has been effective in other contexts and can yield productive discussions. Deryl suggested not only involving companies but also organizations representing these companies, as they can offer a broader perspective on the challenges faced by new entrants. She also raised concerns about legal challenges to diversity and inclusion (DEI) programs in corporations and their potential impact on federal programs. A suggestion was made to bring in a speaker to discuss these legal developments.

The group discussed the importance of including these discussions in industry groups and the maturity model and potentially inviting speakers to address these topics. The group was encouraged to continue brainstorming on potential speakers for the subcommittee.

Topic for subcommittee consideration

Boris shared an idea from an email sent by Kristin regarding the committee’s work. The idea came from Nick West, who suggested that the subcommittee consider the process of building an acquisition strategy from the government’s perspective, particularly in relation to sustainability and climate change. This involves thinking about criteria, source selection, and evaluation factors for vendors based on their sustainability efforts. The discussion highlighted the need to balance sustainability goals with the inclusion of new entrants and ensuring compliance and enforcement of contract requirements to support new businesses. The subcommittee plans to further explore this topic and its potential impact on GSA’s acquisition strategies.

Public comments

Cassius Butts expressed his appreciation for the constructive dialogue during the meeting. He specifically highlighted the discussion about the mentor-protégé program, which was designed to support individuals and businesses in underserved markets to navigate and succeed in the procurement process. Cassius Butts commended the committee for asking the right questions and believed that the discussions were moving in the right direction. He looked forward to more engaging conversations in the future.

Closing remarks

Boris discussed various action items and updates which included:

• Planning for future speakers and participants, with coordination through email to Farad, Kristin and Boris.
• Formation of working groups and scheduling initial meetings for these groups.
• Soliciting ideas for speakers and topics related to Title 6 and Title 7.
• Preparing high-level comments on the proposed FAR rule on sustainable procurement, with a special meeting scheduled for September 21st to review and vote on these comments.

Adjournment

Boris Arratia adjourned the meeting at 5:00 P.M. ET.

I hereby certify that, to the best of my knowledge, the foregoing minutes are accurate and complete.

Digitally signed by Kristin Seaver 1/30/2024
Farad Ali
Co-Chairperson
GAP FAC Industry Partnerships Subcommittee