Each fiscal year (FY) the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), as part of the Small Business Outreach Program, conducts ten sessions of 15-minute pre-arranged virtual meetings with small businesses. These Vendor Outreach Sessions (VOS) are conducted by DHS Small Business Specialists (SBS) from each operational contracting component and large businesses (“counselors”). Four of the sessions are exclusively reserved for women-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, small disadvantaged (including 8(a)), and HUBZone small businesses. The VOS provide small businesses with the platform to discuss their capabilities and learn about DHS procurements and large business subcontracting and partnering opportunities.
Refer to the VOS FY 2025 schedule at the bottom of this page or download the calendar.
Effective October 1, 2022, there are significant changes to the VOS Program:
- Small businesses will be matched to DHS component SBS and large businesses (counselors) by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes and/or core competencies. There is no longer a “first come, first served” approach to VOS.
- All small businesses that have previously registered to participate in VOS must update their profile to complete additional mandatory fields. Some businesses may need to re-register.
- After being matched by the registration system, small businesses must request a meeting(s) with a counselor. Meeting requests can be requested up to three business days after each VOS opens.
- The counselor will review the small business capabilities and core competencies provided. If those capabilities match with the needs of the counselor, the meeting request may be accepted, and a confirmation email will be sent to the company primary email address.
- Small businesses with confirmed meetings will be able to view meeting(s) in the company profile dashboard in the DHS VOS Scheduling System.
- Small businesses without a confirmation email or a confirmed meeting in the dashboard do not have a meeting scheduled and will not be able to participate in VOS for that specific month.
- Meeting spaces are still limited.
Please read all information carefully before requesting to schedule meetings. If you require additional information about VOS send an email to OSDBU.VOS@hq.dhs.gov.
NOTE: if you have previously met with a DHS component within the last three months, please consider this before registering for any VOS. Direct contact with the component small business specialists to schedule a follow-up discussion outside of VOS is preferred. This allows more opportunities for other small businesses who have not met with DHS to request a meeting and discuss their capabilities.
Counselors for VOS include representatives from DHS Headquarters Office of Procurement Operations (OPO), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), United States Citizen & Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR).
Additionally, large business counselors will discuss various areas of collaboration to include subcontracting opportunities, joint ventures, and mentor-protégé program relationships.
The counselors for each specific VOS can be found here: DHS VOS Scheduling System
All requests for meetings must be submitted through the DHS VOS Scheduling System. If this link does not open directly to the scheduling site, copy the hyperlink, and paste into the browser address bar.
The VOS Calendar identifies meeting request opening and closing dates and times. The scheduling system times follow the U.S. Naval Observatory Master Clock.
Prior to the meeting request period each small business must follow these steps:
- Small businesses must have a profile created in the DHS VOS Scheduling System.
- A profile can be created at any time. It is recommended, at a minimum, that the profile be created at least one day prior to the meeting request opening date.
- Previous registrants must log in to the DHS VOS Scheduling System and update their profiles with mandatory information.
- Each profile created and updated must include the following:
- Company Name
- Point of Contact
- Phone Number
- Valid primary and secondary email addresses
Note: The email addresses added to the company profile must be compatible with various virtual tools (i.e., Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.). There are some DHS components that are not able to access certain virtual tools provided by the VOS Scheduling System. In those instances, Microsoft Teams will be the preferred tool. - Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)
- Company small business primary NAICS Code(s)
- Socioeconomic Status (as applicable)
- Capability Statement
- Once the profile has been created, including completion of all mandatory fields, a confirmation will be forwarded to the primary email listed in the profile.
Note: Creating a profile does not request or guarantee a meeting. - For each VOS, review the list of VOS Counselors to determine which DHS component or large business may have requirements that match the capabilities of your firm.
Confirmed Meetings:
- Counselors will review the company profile and capability statements from meeting requests of matches and accept meeting requests in accordance with business needs.
- If the meeting request is accepted a message stating Your Meeting is Confirmed will be sent to the primary email in the company profile.
- Meeting confirmations can be viewed at the company profile in the DHS VOS Scheduling System dashboard in the section My Schedule with options to See My Schedule or Print My Schedule. If there is no header that says Your Meeting is Confirmed, or if there are no scheduled meetings in the company profile dashboard when accessing My Schedule, your firm does not have any confirmed meetings with a counselor.
- A final confirmation email with instructions for accessing the virtual rooms will be sent to the primary email in the profile prior to the date of the VOS.
- You must have at least one meeting confirmed to attend the VOS.
- You can join meetings 10 minutes prior to the start.
VENDOR OUTREACH SESSIONS CALENDAR
October 2024 through September 2025
*All Sessions are Virtual*
|
|
|||
|
Date/Time/Location |
Description |
Meeting Requests Open |
Meeting Requests Close |
|
October 17, 2024 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
Regular Vendor Outreach Session with Small Business Specialists and Prime Contractors. |
October 3, 2024 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
October 8, 2024 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
|
November 21, 2024 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
Vendor Outreach Session with Small Business Specialists and Prime Contractors. Note: In honor of Veterans Day, this session is reserved for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses and Veteran-Owned Small Businesses ONLY. |
November 7, 2024 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
November 12, 2024 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
|
December 19, 2024 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
Regular Vendor Outreach Session with Small Business Specialists and Prime Contractors. |
December 5, 2024 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
December 10, 2024 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
|
January 30, 2025 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
Regular Vendor Outreach Session with Small Business Specialists and Prime Contractors. |
January 16, 2025 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
January 21, 2025 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
|
February 27, 2025 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
Regular Vendor Outreach Session with Small Business Specialists and Prime Contractors. |
February 13, 2025 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
February 18, 2025 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
|
March 27, 2025 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
Vendor Outreach Session with Small Business Specialists and Prime Contractors. Note: In honor of Women's History Month, this session is reserved for Women-Owned Small Businesses ONLY. |
March 13, 2025 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
March 18, 2025 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
|
April 2025 |
DHS will not host a Vendor Outreach Session. |
|
|
|
May 22, 2025 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
Vendor Outreach Session with Small Business Specialists Prime Contractors. Note: This session is reserved for HUBZone companies only. |
May 8, 2025 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
May 13, 2025 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
|
June 26, 2025 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
Regular Vendor Outreach Session with Small Business Specialists and Prime Contractors. |
June 12, 2025 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
June 17, 2025 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
|
July 24, 2025 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
Regular Vendor Outreach Session with Small Business Specialists and Prime Contractors. |
July 10, 2025 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
July 15, 2025 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
|
August 21, 2025 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
Vendor Outreach Session with Small Business Specialists and Prime Contractors. Note: This session is reserved for 8(a) and Small Disadvantaged Business companies only. |
August 7, 2025 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
August 12, 2025 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) |
|
September 2025 |
DHS will not host a Vendor Outreach Session. |
|
|
Small businesses that fail to attend a confirmed meeting take the opportunity from another firm to present its capabilities to the counselors. The VOS Scheduling System will suspend access to meeting requests after two “no shows.” Any firm designated as a no show will not be able to attend two consecutive VOS for which the firm was previously eligible to attend.
Participants must provide the proper cancellation notice and cancel appointments within the portal 24 hours before the date of the VOS. Failure to cancel properly will designate the firm as a no show. The system will generate an immediate email notification of the cancellation and forward to the counselors and the DHS VOS Program Manager.
Technical Support
Contact My Business Matches at info@mybusinessmatches.com for technical support.
If connectivity issues occur using the virtual tools, the meeting(s) may be conducted telephonically or rescheduled based on the availability of the counselor.
Questions about VOS
Any questions regarding VOS events can be sent to OSDBU.VOS@hq.dhs.gov.