About Us
We’re here to help you succeed in the government marketplace!
Northern California Procurement Technical Assistance Center (Norcal PTAC) is a government-funded nonprofit formed to help small businesses find, bid on, and win contracts with federal, state, local, and tribal agencies.
Our Vision
We envision a level playing field in the government marketplace, where all businesses have equitable access to resources and support for contracting success.
Our Mission
Our mission is to advance entrepreneurship and economic growth through procurement technical assistance for all businesses in Northern California. We help our clients identify, obtain, and perform on prime and subcontracting opportunities with local, state, tribal and federal governments. We support all businesses in our service area, with an outreach emphasis on underserved businesses such as women, minority, LGBTQ+, and veteran owned businesses, and businesses located in low-wealth, rural, or disaster impacted areas.
Norcal PTAC Service Area
Locations & Availability:
Our Procurement Specialists provide services remotely via teleconferencing, phone, and emails with some availability of office hours in the Bay Area expected in 2023.
Our administrative office is located on the campus of Cal Poly Humboldt in Arcata, California and we are available during regular business hours.
Visit our Contact Us page for more information.
History of the PTAC Program
The Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP) was authorized by Congress in 1985 in an effort to expand the number of businesses capable of participating in the government marketplace. Administered by the Department of Defense’s Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), the program provides matching funds through cooperative agreements with state and local governments and non-profit organizations to operate Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) for the purpose of providing procurement assistance to all businesses – particularly small businesses – interested in participating in the government marketplace.
This procurement technical assistance center is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the Defense Logistics Agency.
No-Cost assistance
We offer FREE client-only services including one-on-one counseling, custom bid matching and networking opportunities as well as FREE training webinars and government contracting resources on our website for everyone!
Coaching from an expert team of Procurement Specialists on topics :
- Determining whether federal, state, or local contracting is right for your business
- Identifying the agencies that buy what your business sells or offers (market
research) - Registering with government procurement portals (VIPR, SAM.gov)
- Completing state and local certifications (SB, DVBE, DBE, MBE, WBE)
- Completing federal certifications (SB, 8(a), WOSB/EDWOSB, HUBZone, SDVOSB/VOSB)
- Meeting requirements necessary to compete for contracts
- Interpreting complex regulations
- Reviewing bids and providing guidance and feedback on proposals
- Optimizing capabilities statements and marketing strategy
