Mentor-Protégé Program (MPP)

The NASA MPP encourages NASA prime contractors to assist eligible Protégés, thereby enhancing the Protégés’ capabilities to perform on NASA contracts and subcontracts, fostering the establishment of long-term business relationships between these entities and NASA prime contractors, and increasing the overall number of these entities that receive NASA contract and subcontract awards.

The Mentor and Protégé must both meet the established eligibility requirements in order to participate in the MPP, as defined in NFS 1819.72 and summarized below. A list of approved mentors is available for review below.

Mentors

All approved Mentors are eligible to participate in the program and must resubmit a renewal application every 6 years to verify their continued eligibility. Mentor applications can be submitted at any time during the year with or without a Mentor-Protégé Agreement (MPA). In accordance with NFS 1819.72, a Mentor must be:

1. A large prime contractor performing under a NASA contract with at least one approved Federal subcontracting plan, as required by FAR 19.7 (the Small Business Subcontracting Program), and
2. Eligible for the receipt of Government contracts.

Protégés

To participate as a Protégé, an entity must meet one of the eligibility requirements as defined in NFS 1819.72 and must maintain that status for the life of the agreement. If the Protégé self-certifies that it meets the eligibility requirements, a separate written self-certification of its small business status must be provided with the MPA. (Note: If Protégé eligibility expires prior to the end of the agreement period, the agreement may still be approved for the remaining duration of the POP but must include the condition that any credit received is subject to the Protégé’s recertification.)

A Protégé may participate in the NASA MPP as many times as they would like. However, a Protégé may engage in only one NASA MPA at any given time. In accordance with NFS 1819.72, the following entities are eligible to be chosen as Protégés:

1. Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDBs)
2. Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs)
3. Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) concerns
4. Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs)
5. Service-Disabled Veteran–Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs)
6. Historically Black College or University (HBCUs)
7. Minority Serving Institutions (MSI)
8. Small businesses with an active NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II contract
9. Companies participating in the AbilityOne program

The MPP has the ability to uniquely transform a small business or minority-serving institution and enhance its capabilities to win contracts and subcontracts as a direct result of its participation. Some of the potential benefits of the program include the following:

For Mentors:

• Develop long-term business relationships with small business concerns.
• Develop a qualified small business subcontracting base.
• Accrue credit toward small business subcontracting goals.

For Protégés:

• Receive relevant technical and developmental assistance.
• Qualify for sole-source contracts from Mentors.

For All Participants:

• Cultivate teaming opportunities with their partners to win new contracts and/or subcontracts.
• Engage the MPP as a marketing tool.
• Foster networking opportunities.

Credit Agreements

Award Fee Program

• NASA Contracting Officer’s Representatives (CORs) act as liaisons between the Mentor and the Contracting Officer (CO). A signed endorsement letter from the COR must be added to the agreement package before submission to the CO.
• NASA COs are responsible for adding approved MPAs to existing contracts through a contract modification. A signed letter endorsing the MPA must be added to the complete package before submission to the relevant Center’s SBS.
• NASA Small Business Specialist (SBSs) are responsible for the overall administration and management of their respective Centers’ MPAs. As the Center’s MPP point of contact, the SBS is responsible for reviewing and endorsing all agreements received at the Center before forwarding the complete applications for final approval to the NASA MPP Program Manager (PM) at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, AL. Additionally, the SBS ensures that all agreements endorsed by the Center fulfill the requirements of NFS 1819.72.
• NASA’s MPP Program Manager (PM) at MSFC coordinates and manages the program from a Headquarters perspective with participating Centers to ensure successful program execution.
• The MPP PM is responsible for overall NASA MPP administration, policy, and oversight. The MPP PM will review all Mentor applications and conduct a semi-annual MPA performance review that highlights the progress and accomplishments gained under the approved MPA.

More information on MPP small businesses can be found at http://www.sba.gov/content/mentor-protégé-program.

The evaluation of all proposed agreements will be based on the following criteria:

• Perceived benefit and/or value of the agreement to NASA
• Merit of the developmental assistance to the Protégé
• Developmental assistance cost ratio
• Potential subcontracting opportunities available to the Protégé
• Utilization of HBCU/MSI, Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs), and SBA Business Development Centers (SBDCs)
• Proposed cost

Below, you will find the basic steps necessary to establish a NASA MPA.

1. Locate a partner—Mentors and Protégés are required to establish their own counterparts. Each company has its own internal processes and procedures for locating partners. These processes are not mandated by NASA.
2. Determine developmental assistance to be provided—Prior to filling out the agreement template, the Mentor must perform a needs assessment of the Protégé to determine what type of developmental assistance is required. Typical examples of developmental assistance may be related to technical transfer or business infrastructure. The dollar value associated with the technical transfer tasks should be approximately 70 percent of the proposed hours and cost. The remaining 30 percent may be related to business development tasks.
3. Submit agreement for approval—The agreements are submitted to one of the NASA Centers for review and endorsement. If the agreement is endorsed at the Center level, it will be forwarded to the MPP PM at MSFC in Huntsville, AL, for final review and approval within 30 business days of receipt. The agreement officially begins on the date of the incorporation of the agreement into a contractual vehicle via a contract modification signed by the CO. Once the agreement begins, the mentor may start providing the developmental assistance outlined and reporting credit is received.
4. Fulfill all reporting requirements—The reporting requirements for the NASA MPP include the following:
   • Annual reports
   • Semi-annual reviews
   • Protégé post-agreement reports

AECOM Technical Services, Inc.

Aerojet Rocketdyne

Bechtel National, Inc.

a.i. Solutions

Assurance Technology Corporation

The Boeing Company

CH2M Hill

CSRA, LLC

Deloitte & Touche, LLP

Engility Corporation d/b/a TASC, Inc.

Enterprise Services, LLC

Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems, Inc (HSSSI)

Honeywell International, Inc. (Aerospace Division)

Jacobs Technology, Inc.

Jones Edmunds & Associates, Inc.

KBRWyle Technology Solutions, LLC (d/b/a KBRWyle)

L-3 Communications Logistics Solutions

Leidos Innovations Corporation

LJT & Associates, Inc.

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Millenium Engineering and Integration Company

Northrop Grumman Corporation

PAE Applied Technologies, LLC

Raytheon Company

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)

Sierra Lobo, Inc.

Sierra Nevada Corporation

SGT, Inc.

Southwest Research Institute

Teledyne Brown Engineering

URS Federal Technical Services, Inc.

Vencore Services and Solutions

Wyle Laboratories, Inc.

NASA SBIR Program
Phase Two Selections

• Get more information at NASA's SBIR/STTR website

NASA STTR
Phase Two Selections

• Get more information at NASA's SBIR/STTR website

How many agreements may a Mentor and a Protégé have?

If I currently participate in another Federal agency’s MPP, may I participate in the NASA MPP at the same time?

How long is a Mentor approval valid for?

Does a potential Mentor need to apply by division, or is there a corporate-wide approval?

What should a Mentor consider when selecting a Protégé?

Where is a listing available of all NASA SBIR Phase II awardees?

What is the Protégé application?

What are the required documents that must be submitted with the agreement?

What is the agreement approval checklist?

What are the selection criteria for MPA approval?

What is the limit on the period of performance for a MPA?

If I previously participated in the NASA MPP prior to the update, will that affect my future participation?

What are examples of technical transfer?

What do the following acronyms mean?

On Mentor-Protégé Program (NFS 1819.72)

• www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/NFS.pdf

Forms (PDF)

• NASA Mentor Application Template
  
• NASA Mentor-Protégé Agreement Template
  
• NASA Protégé Application Template
  
• 2020 Agreement Checklist
  
• 2020 MPP Guidebook
  

Reporting Forms (Excel)

• Mentor Annual Report Template
• Protégé Annual Report Template
• Protégé Post-Agreement Report Template

NASA Headquarters (HQ)

Ames Research Center (ARC)/Armstrong Flight
Research Center (AFRC)

Glenn Research Center (GRC)

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
and Headquarters Acquisition Branch

Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Kennedy Space Center (KSC)

Langley Research Center (LaRC)

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

NASA Management Office at Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL)

NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC)

Stennis Space Center (SSC)