There was a moment a few months ago when Lisa Firestone, president and founder of Managed Care Advisors Inc. (MCA) of Bethesda, MD, saw a risk that a potentially huge federal opportunity might slip away and go to larger firms. She stepped up.

“I said, please, this should remain just for small business!” Firestone told Set-Aside Alert.

Her company, which is an Economically-Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business, provides workers’ compensation medical case management services and other specialty consulting, had been growing rapidly after entering the federal market a decade ago.

Starting out in joint ventures, she won a $21 million Transportation Security Administration contract in 2012.

The prospect of a larger opportunity for similar work opened up within the Homeland Security Department as a whole. Firestone feared the job might go to larger firms, who were lobbying for it.

“I decided to get in touch with Kevin Boshears (DHS Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization director), and I said, there is me, and there are other small businesses who can do this. Let’s keep it small!” Firestone said.

Her firm’s past performance certainly helped. Also, federal agencies estimated $100 million in savings from workers’ compensation managed care programs to date.

On Nov. 18, MCA was awarded a BPA valued at $53.5 million over five years--the firm’s largest---to supply its services to the entire homeland security department.

“We’re very, very excited,” Firestone said.

Firestone’s tips:

• Demonstrate savings for the government. That is especially persuasive in this time of fiscal constraints and budget cuts;
• Advocate for a set-aside. It is very helpful if you can present some evidence that other small businesses are available and capable of doing the work. You don’t need to do all the research, but do offer what you know.
• Use OSDBUs as your allies--She is especially grateful to Kevin Boshears for his strong support of efforts to award the recent DHS contract as a set-aside.