Each fiscal year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Small and Distressed Business Utilization (OSDBU), conducts approximately ten 15-minute pre-scheduled meetings as part of the Small Business Outreach Program. businesses. VOS provides a platform for small businesses to discuss their capabilities, DHS procurement and larger commercial subcontracting and partnership opportunities. Four of the sessions are reserved for women-owned, service-disabled-veteran-owned, low-income (including 8(a)) and HUBZone small businesses. These Vendor Hosting Sessions (VOS) are conducted by DHS Small Business Specialists (SBS) from each contracting entity and large businesses (“Consultants”). The next DHS VOS, scheduled for October 20, 2022, is open to all small businesses. Look at that The DHS VOS in 2011 2023 schedule To view or download and read the calendar Small business vendor outreach sessions Follow the instructions carefully.
Effective October 1, 2022, there are significant changes to the VOS program:
- Small businesses are matched with advisors by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes or core competencies. There is no “first come, first serve” approach to VOS meetings.
- After being matched with the programming system, small businesses should request meetings with advisors. Meeting requests may be made up to three business days after the opening of each VOS.
- The meeting request will be reviewed, and the advisors will determine if the request meets the current talent need. Once approved, a meeting confirmation email will be sent to the small business to include a link to the virtual meeting information.
- Small businesses with verified meetings can view their meeting dashboard in DHS Provider Supply Scheduling System.
- Without a confirmation email or confirmed meeting in the dashboard, the small business does not have a meeting scheduled and cannot participate in VOS for that particular month.
- Meeting places are still limited.
Note: Small businesses that have previously registered to participate in VOS must update their profile to complete additional mandatory fields. For example, NAICS Codes and Skill Descriptions are now required. Some businesses may need to re-register.
Each profile must include a valid email address compatible with various virtual meeting tools (eg Zoom, Microsoft Teams, WebEx, etc.). If connection problems occur using the virtual VOS links provided, wait to conduct the session by telephone. There are some DHS units that cannot access some virtual devices. In those cases, Microsoft Teams becomes the tool of choice.
There is no fee for VOS. Please let us know any payment related questions and any questions regarding the VOS program OSDBU.VOS@hq.dhs.gov.
Read more at SAM.gov
