Winning Government Contracts: Can Small Businesses Really Compete?

Is your small business certified as an Emerging Small Business? There are several special certifications any  eligible small businesses in Oregon can apply for. If you can't manage a government contract, it's possible you could work as a subcontractor for a prime contractor.

Government Contracting Assistance Program (GCAP) partners with government and various organizations to help small businesses overcome barriers to compete for government contracts. It doesn't happen overnight, but it does happen. Perhaps you've heard about huge government contracts. Did you know there are also small ones? There is a knack to getting all this figured out. If you have more questions than answers that's okay. In some instances small business owners may not even know where to begin asking questions. That's okay too. The fact is we all have to start somewhere. The operative word is "start".

If terms like DUNS, NAICS and SAMS baffle you, GCAP offers free educational and technical assistance. To learn more about this free service visit http://gcap.org/

Never Stop Going to School: Learn About Copyright, Patent and Copyright Laws from the Experts.

Do you have questions about copyright, patent or trademark laws and more. The Global Intellectual Property Academy offers seven short training modules and delivers high quality information that is pertinent to many small business owners. Although this information is not a substitute for sound legal advise, it's a great resource for a survey of topics, brushing up, or verifying information. Expert presenters help by identifying the section of law. Learn more at http://www.uspto.gov/ip/training/index.jsp

From Flash Cards to Project Manager

Recently I've been writing curricula for a three part nonprofit series. One of the earlier tasks was to explain to novices or experienced students how to set up a nonprofit organization using a variety of learning methods. First, I had a crude timeline, but wanted more visuals. Good visuals can save a
lot of time. So instead of a timeline, I used a pictoral flow sheet. Since my desire was to appeal to
a diverse group of students, using a wide variety of teaching methods, it occurred to me that a more
effective way to teach this concept would be to create old fashioned flash cards with picture and
a written decription, and have small groups of students interact, and manipulate the cards and report
to the larger group the rational for the proposed order. By each group reporting, students learn from
each other, and listen to others' perspective. It occurred to me that not all students may be familiar
with basic project management.

Another task in the first class is to select a nonprofit board using nine defined criteria. This requires them to interview other students and is a nonprofit version of speed dating. The objective is to match desired attributes to the needs of the organization. Once the small group has selected their "Board", and before they "hire" staff or recruit any "volunteers", the Board will need to wrestle with how to assign resources (match the right Board member to the right task, or find and manage outside resources to aid them in the process). With any project, there is a time limit, so one or more task are requires in order to proceed with another task so they can be put in the correct order. Different tasks require different amounts of time. Some tasks are significant enough that they could be another whole project. The goal for students is to learn basic project management skills, so they can integrate these skills and build on them for the rest of their life.

Learning is more than spitting out the right answer to pass a test. One hallmark of successful learning is that students becomes passionate about teaching others.

There Is No Such Thing as a Target Audience

When delivering an oral presentation, it is important to know your audience. Unless it is an audience of one, there is no such thing as a target audience. Depending on the subject matter gender, age, life experience which is affected by family of origin patterns, financial or social status (in terms of access to opportunity), occupation, education and training, perspective including a shared or similar historical context, whether English is the primary language, culture, ethnicity, geographical location or origins, religion or world view filters perception.

Polling an audience about interests, and learning motivation and style, provides an instructor the opportunity to tailor information to for greater impact. Break out groups improve learning for most students and gives the instructor the flexibility to hone in by observing the group process. By gleaning information through observation, an instructor can make corrections, scale down objectives to ensure students grasp key concepts or initiate a large group discussion to help students flesh out details by learning from each other.

Training Employees and Volunteers

Training and developing employees or volunteers requires a consistent plan that takes learning styles into account. Good curricula includes a baseline to measure current knowledge of specific content, a list of learning objectives and multiple teaching methods.

Teaching methods may include shading boxes with borders, and colorful graphs, charts, maps or flow charts. Substituting pictures for verbiage speeds comprehension and may reduce volume. Kinetics (movement) and interactive learning (problem solving) helps learners integrate theory and practice. Each training module should measure the degree of student learning.  Lastly, engage participants in improving training content, methods, delivery and learning outcomes.

Who Owns Your Ideas?

Intellectual property is defined as a method, process or idea developed by an individual or group. It may be protected by the originators or an organization.

Though an employee designs training material, curricula or manuscripts while on the payroll, this intellectual has commercial value which may create an income stream for years to come.  Who owns the rights to intellectual property?

If a nonprofit board has failed to define or communicate ownership to employees this can become a source of contention.  Periodic review and amendment of bylaws, and polices and procedures are an effective method of bringing clarity, protecting interests and may even create the opportunity for negotiation.

Nine Considerations For A Healthy Nonprofit Board

A Nonprofit Board is charged with authorizing key paid positions, fiscal responsibility, strategic planning and organizational visibility. It is baffling that new drivers must study for a permit and take a driving test, but there is no requirement to prepare Americans for marriage or parenting, or Board members to oversee a nonprofit organization that may impact the lives of hundreds, even thousands of people. In Oregon there are three types of nonprofit. There are nonprofits that benefit the public, those that serve their own membership only, and religious nonprofits. Each has different challenges and obligations.This post will focus primarily on nonprofits that benefit the public.

There are good Boards, and troubled Boards. Based on observation and experience, here are our recommendations for nine considerations for building a healthy Nonprofit Board.

Relational and Technical                Commitment and Flexibility             Accountability
Industry & Sector Balance                 Passion & Prior NP Experience          Ability To Manage Conflict
Technical Skills                                  Obtain Financial Buy In                       Capabilities & Training
Connections & Resourcefulness         Commitment As A Working Board      Evaluation & Improvement

This are key aspects of one element in a course we are developing on Nonprofits.