Small Business Office director takes Air Force beyond goals

  • Published
  • By Chuck Paone
  • ESC Public Affairs
Hanscom AFB, Mass. --  While visiting Hanscom AFB this week, Air Force Small Business Office Director Ron Poussard emphasized a theme he called 'beyond goals.'

By this, he meant not only that Air Force officials should work to exceed legally mandated small business contracting goals, but even more importantly, that they should view the program as being about much more than meeting those mandates.

"We're not advocates for small business," he said during the Hanscom Representatives Association meeting at the Minuteman Club Wednesday. "We're advocates for achieving the Air Force mission by providing small business solutions."

He said that, whenever he goes out to speak, he addresses goals, numbers and percentages last. "I talk first about contributing to the Air Force mission."

Mr. Poussard said it's critical to identify opportunities for small businesses to help the Air Force do what it needs to.

"We need to approach decision-makers with a value proposition," he said, making the case for the often-unique capabilities small firms bring to bear. "If we do that, the numbers will come."

Mr. Poussard, who is a New England native and a Hanscom alumnus, said the base and the Electronic Systems Center do a very good job of incorporating small and disadvantaged businesses into mission success opportunities.

One concern he addressed is the trend toward large, long-term integration contracts that, by virtue of their size and duration, tend to squeeze small businesses out. He said such contracts inevitably fail to anticipate all the requirements and opportunities that tend to pop up over time. The Air Force, he said, needs to look at strategies for addressing the needs that small companies are often in the best position to fill.

"It makes sense to look at companion contracts that enable small businesses to bid when those things arise," he said.

He also placed special emphasis on reaching out to service-disabled veterans. Congress, he said, has mandated that three percent of U.S. defense contracting be done with companies owned and operated by these veterans.

"That's a big number," he said, but one that's achievable and worth striving to meet, stressing that "it's good business and the right thing to do." He also added that their specific experience and understanding of the mission enables disabled veteran-owned firms to meet DoD needs with responsiveness, innovation and efficiency.

In addition to addressing the HRA, Mr. Poussard also spoke at the ESC Contracting Officer's Cross Talk session Wednesday and received updates on the center's support contracting efforts and the overall status of its small business programs.