Each fiscal year (FY), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) holds virtually ten 15-minute pre-scheduled meetings with small businesses as part of its Small Business Outreach Program . VOS provides a platform for small businesses to discuss their capabilities, learn about DHS procurement, and meet with larger businesses to discuss subcontracting and partnership opportunities. We have four sessions reserved for women-owned, veteran-owned serving disabilities, disadvantaged (including 8(a)) and HUBZone small businesses. These Vendor Outreach Sessions (VOS) are conducted by DHS Small Business Specialists (SBS) from each operating contracting sector and large businesses (“Consultants”). The next DHS VOS is December 15, 2022, open to all small businesses.see DHS VOS FY 2023 Schedule View or download the calendar and read Small Business Supplier Outreach Meeting Explain carefully.
Effective October 1, 2022 (FY 2023 VOS), there are significant changes to the VOS program:
- It matches small businesses with consultants by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code or core competencies. VOS meetings are no longer on a “first come, first served” basis.
- After being matched with the scheduling system, small businesses must request a meeting with a counselor. You can apply up to three working days after each VOS opens.
- Meeting requests will be reviewed and the counselor will determine if the request meets current competency needs. Upon acceptance, we will send the small business a meeting confirmation email with a link to the virtual meeting information.
- Small businesses with confirmed meetings will be at DHS Vendor Outreach Scheduling System.
- Small businesses that do not have a confirmation email or confirmation of the meeting in the dashboard do not have a meeting scheduled and cannot participate in the VOS for that particular month.
- Meeting space remains limited.
notes: All small businesses previously enrolled in VOS must update their profile to complete the additional required fields. For example, NAICS codes and a statement of competency are now required. Some businesses may need to re-register. If you have previously encountered a DHS component within the past three months, please consider this before enrolling in any VOS.contact directly Component Small Business Specialist Schedule a follow-up discussion outside the VOS instead. This provides additional opportunities for other small businesses that have not yet met with DHS to request a meeting and discuss their capabilities.
Each profile must contain a valid email address compatible with various virtual meeting tools (such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, WebEx, etc.). If you have connection issues using the virtual VOS link provided, please expect the session to take place over the phone. Some DHS components cannot access certain virtual tools. In these cases, we believe Microsoft Teams is the tool of choice.
FOS does not charge any fees.Please report any fee-related inquiries and questions regarding the VOS program to OSDBU.VOS@hq.dhs.gov.
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