‘Doing Business with NASA’ set for July 20 at UA Little Rock

The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center will host “Doing Business with NASA” July 20 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Reynolds Business Center at University of Arkansas Little Rock.

NASA representatives from Johnson Space Center, Kennedy Space Center Marshall Space Flight Center, Stennis Space Center and NASA Shared Services will meet one-to-one with business owners interested in selling goods or services to NASA and its primary contractors, according to a press release from Arkansas SBTDC. Contractors including Boeing, United Launch System, SAIC and DXC, formerly Hewlett Packard, also will be present.

The space agency is working to increase its small business industrial base, said Troy Miller, small business specialist at the NASA Shared Services Center, according to the release.

NASA increased its grants to small business by $440 million in three years, according to the release.

“Awards to small business from NASA and our prime partners went from $4.8 billion in the 2013 fiscal year to $5.3 billion in 2016. Since small businesses are critical to the success of NASA’s missions and the heart of the country’s economy, events like these are very important to NASA and the local economies,” Miller said in the release.

Pre-registration is required and available online.

The Arkansas SBTDC is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration through a partnership with several higher education institutions, including the UA Little Rock College of Business. The Arkansas Procurement Assistance Center collaborated with the SBTDC on the event, according to the release.