Each fiscal year (FY) the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), as part of the Small Business Outreach Program, virtually conducts ten sessions of 15-minute pre-arranged meetings with small businesses. Four of the sessions are exclusively reserved for women-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, small disadvantaged (including 8(a)) and HUBZone small businesses. These Vendor Outreach Sessions (VOS) are conducted by DHS Small Business Specialists (SBS) from each component and large businesses (counselors). Refer to the VOS FY 2023 schedule link to view or download the calendar.
These sessions provide small businesses with the platform to discuss their capabilities and learn about DHS procurements and large business subcontracting and partnering opportunities.
Effective October 1, 2022, there are significant changes to the VOS Program:
- Small businesses will be matched to SBS and large businesses by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes or core competencies. There is no longer a “first come, first served” approach to VOS.
- After being matched by the registration system, small businesses must request meeting(s) with the SBS or large business of interest.
- The meeting request must be accepted by the SBS or large business. After acceptance, a meeting confirmation email will be sent to the small business to include a link to the virtual meeting information.
- Small businesses, with confirmed meetings, will be able to view their meeting dashboard in the registration system.
- Small business without a confirmation email do not have a meeting scheduled.
- Meeting spaces are still limited.
Meeting requests for the October 20, 2022, VOS will begin on October 6, 2022, at 12:00 noon, eastern standard time (EST) and close on October 11, 2022, at 11:59 p.m., EST. Please read the instructions carefully at Small Business Vendor Outreach Sessions | Homeland Security (dhs.gov). Be aware that requesting a meeting does not guarantee a meeting and each counselor (SBS and large business) will only accept meetings that support their needs.
The OSDBU advises companies to upload their capability statements, register before the meeting request scheduling date at https://vos.mybusinessmatches.com/,and provide a valid email address in their My Business Matches profile that is compatible with various virtual tools (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Teams, WebEx, etc). Be advised that if connectivity issues occur using the virtual tools, expect to conduct the session telephonically.
There is no fee to the small or large business to attend VOS. Please report any fee related inquiries from third parties and any other questions regarding the VOS program to [email protected].
