Reference

Who’s Who in Federal Contracting — The People an SDVOSB Deals With

A federal set-aside is run, reviewed, and refereed by people — and knowing who does what saves an SDVOSB from costly mistakes. Only the contracting officer can bind the government; the COR who asks for extra work cannot. The small business specialist and the SBA procurement center representative decide, before a solicitation ever posts, whether a buy becomes an SDVOSB set-aside. The SBA Area Office decides if you are small, and the Office of Hearings and Appeals decides if you are genuinely veteran-owned when a competitor protests. And the free APEX Accelerator counselor is the one official whose whole job is your success. These plain-English pages take one role at a time — each with an at-a-glance card showing who they work for and their authority, when you deal with them, and the SDVOSB angle, tied to its controlling FAR or CFR section and cross-linked to the glossary, how-to guides, forms, clauses, FAQ, and calculators.

Last updated Update cadence: Quarterly, plus on reorganization, program rename, or FAR/CFR amendment

Compiled from: Federal Acquisition Regulation (Title 48 CFR, Parts 1, 6, 9, 15, 16 & 19) · 13 CFR Parts 121 & 134 (SBA size determinations and Office of Hearings and Appeals) · 15 U.S.C. § 644, 38 U.S.C. § 8127, and 10 U.S.C. §§ 4951–4955 (OSDBU, Veterans First, APEX Accelerators)

Change log (1)
  1. LaunchedPublished the federal contracting roles & officials reference covering the people an SDVOSB deals with across a set-aside — the contracting officer (FAR 1.602), contract specialist (FAR Part 1), contracting officer's representative (FAR 1.604), source selection authority (FAR 15.303), OSDBU director (15 U.S.C. § 644(k)), small business specialist (FAR 19.201), SBA procurement center representative (FAR 19.402), SBA commercial market representative (FAR 19.402(e)), SBA Area Office size specialist (13 CFR § 121.1001), SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals judge (13 CFR Part 134), competition advocate (FAR 6.501), task- and delivery-order ombudsman (FAR 16.505(b)(8)), and APEX Accelerator counselor (10 U.S.C. §§ 4951–4955) — each with an at-a-glance quick-facts card, a when-you-deal-with-them list, a responsibilities table, an SDVOSB-specific angle, watch-outs, FAQPage, Article, Dataset, and BreadcrumbList structured data, primary-source citations, and cross-links into the glossary, how-to guides, forms, clauses, FAQ, and the set-aside eligibility, size-standard, win-probability, price-to-win, and subcontracting calculators.

The Agency Buying Team

CO / KOContracting OfficerThe only federal official with the legal authority to enter into, administer, or terminate a contract and to obligate government money — no one else can bind the government, so promises from anyone without a warrant are not enforceable.
CSContract SpecialistThe workhorse of the acquisition — the person who drafts the solicitation, runs the evaluation logistics, and is usually your day-to-day point of contact, working under the contracting officer's authority.
CORContracting Officer's RepresentativeThe government's technical eyes and ears on the contract after award — the COR monitors performance, accepts deliverables, and reports to the contracting officer, but has no authority to change price, scope, schedule, or terms.
SSASource Selection AuthorityThe official who makes the final award decision in a negotiated best-value competition — weighing the evaluators' findings on technical merit, past performance, and price to pick the winner and document why.

Small-Business Advocates

OSDBUOSDBU DirectorEach federal agency's top small-business advocate — the office charged by statute with promoting maximum practicable opportunity for small businesses, including SDVOSBs, and the front door for veterans doing business with that agency.
SBSSmall Business SpecialistThe small-business advocate embedded at a specific contracting activity — the person who reviews upcoming acquisitions for set-aside potential and signs off on the small-business coordination record before a buy goes to market.
PCRSBA Procurement Center RepresentativeAn SBA employee assigned to federal buying activities to advocate for small business from the inside — the PCR reviews acquisitions, recommends set-asides, and can formally appeal a contracting officer's decision not to set a requirement aside.
CMRSBA Commercial Market RepresentativeSBA's subcontracting-side advocate — the CMR helps small businesses connect with large prime contractors for subcontracts, counsels primes on their subcontracting plans, and reviews prime subcontracting performance.

SBA Eligibility & Appeals Officials

Area OfficeSBA Area Office & Size SpecialistThe SBA field office that decides whether a firm is 'small' — it issues formal size determinations and rules on size protests, applying the size standard and the affiliation rules to a specific company.
OHASBA Office of Hearings and Appeals JudgeThe independent SBA tribunal whose administrative judges decide SDVOSB status protests and appeals, size appeals, and NAICS code appeals — the final SBA-level word on whether a firm qualifies.

Procurement Oversight

Comp. AdvocateCompetition AdvocateThe official each agency must appoint to promote full and open competition and challenge unnecessary barriers to it — including bundled, sole-source, or brand-name requirements that keep small businesses out.
OmbudsmanTask- and Delivery-Order OmbudsmanThe senior agency official who reviews complaints from contractors on multiple-award vehicles about not getting a fair opportunity to be considered for task and delivery orders.

Your Support Network

APEXAPEX Accelerator CounselorA free, on-your-side government-contracting counselor — the APEX Accelerator (formerly PTAC) network helps small firms register, get certified, find opportunities, and prepare bids at no cost.

Know the people, win the work

The relationships you build before a solicitation posts — with the small business specialist, the SBA representatives, and your APEX Accelerator counselor — are what turn a full-and-open requirement into an SDVOSB set-aside. Check your eligibility, run your size standard, and let the weekly Brief surface the opportunities that fit, so you know which doors to knock on.

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