Clients of Ohio University Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), which connects small businesses looking to sell with government agencies looking to buy, earned contracts worth more than $592 million in 2017.
“This was our best year so far,” said Sharon Hopkins, director of Ohio University’s PTAC, which is part of the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs. “We have a very experienced team in place right now.”
Now in its fifth year serving 55 Ohio counties, the Ohio University PTAC consulted with 476 new clients to help them move forward in their goals to contract with the government. Over the course of the fiscal year, the program helped businesses earn 7,807 awards whose total value is more than $592 million, an increase of around $195 million from last year. This number combines awards recorded by the Defense Logistics Agency, which are earned by clients within a year of their last consultation with PTAC, and awards recorded by OHIO PTAC that are earned more than a year after the client’s last consultation.
When the grant-driven program was created, PTAC could help contract only with the Department of Defense. Now, the Assistance Center’s mandate has expanded to include a much larger number of agencies at all levels of government.
“We now can assist any size business in their efforts to contract with the government,” Hopkins said. “That’s everything from learning about certifications to registering at the right places to assisting them in getting certified. We can also help them once they find a solicitation that they want to respond to. We can help train them and walk them through the process, which can be pretty overwhelming, especially when they’re new to it.”
The top agency OHIO PTAC helps contract with is the Department of Defense, with clients being awarded over $246 million in the past year. OHIO PTAC’s top ten list of government agencies it works with includes the Department of Homeland Security, NASA Glenn, the Department of State and the Department of the Interior.
“Once we start working with a client, we will often pull somebody in within our team that might have more experience with a certain agency or a certain market to help our client,” Hopkins said. “That’s been extremely beneficial to our clients.”
On July 17-18, 2018, Ohio University PTAC is hosting a first-ever, four-state event, focused on aerospace contracting. Over two days, NASA will be on campus to interact with businesses and make potential connections for new buyers. The event is a result of collaboration between PTACs in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania and Ohio University’s Voinovich School.
“The first day is an opportunity for businesses to learn about NASA and how they buy,” explained Hopkins. “The second day is going to be spent matching businesses with government agencies that buy their product or services so they can meet up. We’re very excited about this event and eager to see how it benefits the attendees.”
To learn more about the event or to register, visit http://aerospacematchmaker.com. For further information, visit the OHIO PTAC website at ohio.edu/ptac or contact the center at ptac@ohio.edu.