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  • Writer's pictureLatonia Jones

Education is Key


During the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ annual conference in September, NASA facilitated a panel discussion on contracting opportunities for HBCUs. Several panelists commented on the need for education on the nuances of government contracting.

In September’s blog, “Are we there yet?” I ended with this statement:


I believe in order to get the government contracting community “there” with more awards to HBCUs/MIs the following things must happen:

1) Education, of the both the universities as well as the prime contractors.

2) Communication. On multiple occasions I have heard the university is non-responsive. But lately I have been hearing that the prime contractor’s POC doesn’t follow through with their commitment.

3) Change the mindset of both entities the prime contractor and the university. The prime contractors need to understand how to be patient with an entity that is evolving in a world they have been in and probably built their business upon for a long time. As stated over and over again, the universities need to understand contracts ARE NOT grants.


I stated that I would unravel the three components starting with Education. I’ve been amazed while on this journey at how many people, organizations, universities as well as agencies, think that they can just plunge into government contracts and get contract awards when they have never done it before. This is a fallacy and must be addressed.


This can only be accomplished through education. Just as one goes to school to study his or her area of discipline, contracting is no different. I would venture to say it is a lot harder. I have spent 23 years trying to crack this code and demystify this process.


First, to become a player – and ultimately a winner – in this area, it takes knowledge of the acquisition process, federal regulations, and most all specific requirements of the different agencies.


Education is key, yet showing up to class and doing your assignments are also important. Most universities do not think it is necessary to attend a government contracting conference or visit the office of key stakeholders, such as prime contractors or even major subcontractors.


On the flip side of that, the agencies and government contractors do not think it is necessary to visit the universities. It is a myth to think you know something about an institution simply by looking at its website. You also cannot learn capabilities from a university by simply getting a capability statement.


We must remember these are universities with all sorts of capabilities that cannot be summarized in a “capability statement.” The universities cannot believe that because an agency is advertising an opportunity on whatever site/tool they use that it is their way of communicating their need. It is about relationships. Not just any relationship, but a relationship that you have nurtured for at least 18 months.


NASA has finally realized that educating both their offices and Minority Serving Institutions in the area of government contracting has become come critical. The Minority University Research and Education Program (MUREP) put out a solicitation with a new program element earlier this year entitled MUREP for Sustainability and Innovation Collaborative (MUSIC).


MUSIC is a two year cooperative agreement with organizations that team to provide workshops and training material that establish a structure of sustainable support for MSIs desiring to develop their institutions’ capacity for competition for federal funds. These workshops should connect MSI administrators and university STEM leaders to cutting-edge initiatives at NASA that will increase interest in securing research and contracting opportunities. To this I say, PHENOMENAL!


The award was announced in August to three organizations and fortunately Phenomenal Management Partners will get to be a part of educating and training universities in our area of expertise. We believe this will be a long road but well worth the journey. Please understand that although the journey may be long, the return on your investment will be well worth the time. Initiatives such as this will be the foundation that makes a difference.


Latonia Jones is the chief executive officer of Phenomenal Management Partners, a consulting firm that specializes in creating and implementing business development strategies for academic institutions that conduct research and development for federal government agencies.

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