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Eligibility Requirements

Mentor-Protégé Program

Eligibility Requirements

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 listed below 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. The following entities are eligible to be chosen as Protégés:

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

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