8(a) Certification
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was established to maintain and strengthen the nation's economy by aiding and assisting the interests of small businesses (Source: www.sba.gov). SBA's 8(a) Business Development programs are intended to help small businesses succeed by offering a wide-range of services. The program was created to help small disadvantaged businesses compete in the American economy. Companies like ours benefit from these services, which in turn benefits our customers.

FAQ's
Information obtained from the U.S. Small Business Administration's website.

Q: So, what does it mean to be 8(a) certified?
A: Being 8(a) certified means that a company is registered with the U.S. SBA and complies with all of the requirements for being 8(a) certified (see below for details). Recently, new government regulations allow 8(a) companies to form partnerships that will benefit its business and allows federal agencies to streamline the contracting process.

Q. What are the basic requirements an 8(a) applicant firm must meet?
A: The applicant firm must (1) be a small business; (2) must be unconditionally owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals who are of good character and citizens of the U.S.; and (3) must demonstrate potential for success.

Q: What are the benefits of the 8(a) program?
A: The benefits of the 8(a) program are: (1) participants can receive sole-source contracts up to a ceiling of $3M for goods and services and $5M for manufacturing; (2) federal policies encourage federal agencies to award a certain percentage of their contracts to 8(a) certified businesses; and (3) 8(a) firms can form joint ventures and teams to bid on contracts.

Q: What are the benefits of working with a company who has 8(a) certification?
A: Besides having access to a wealth of information from the federal government, 8(a) firms are able to work with both government and commercial businesses. More specifically, the knowledge and experience that comes from working with different sectors of the community continues to increase JEM's engineering skill and institutional know-how.

Q: How can company's apply to the (8)a program?
A: Companies can apply to the 8(a) program by contacting any SBA district office; office locations can be found at http://www.sba.gov/regions/states.html.

To learn more about 8(a) certification from the U.S. Small Business Administration click here. For additional FAQs click here.