September Spotlight: Veteran Institute for Procurement
Meet Owner Barbara Ashe
Barbara serves as the Founder and National Director of the Veteran Institute for Procurement (VIP), a high-caliber training program designed to accelerate the success of veteran-owned small businesses doing work with the federal government.
About VIP
In 2009, three individuals had a conversation about how to help veteran small businesses win more government contracts. The federal market had yet to meet its 3% contracting goal for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. These three leaders believed that by providing veteran-owned small businesses the tools they needed to be procurement ready and grow in the federal market, they could assist the federal government in meeting this goal. “We can help our veterans.
The first VIP class began in 2009 and was held every other Thursday evening at the Clark Construction HQ’s in Maryland. The class was offered at no cost to the veteran participants. The industry and government experts volunteered their time to instruct. Since 2010, there have been over $17 billion in Federal prime contract awards won by VIP Grads.
VIP’s value
VIP became a national training center in 2011 and began to offer multiple 3-day, 27-hour in residence programs per year at the William F. Bolger Center. Beginning in 2012, the federal contracting goal of 3% for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses was not only met but has increased each year.
