(a) Large businesses are encouraged to participate in the DHS Mentor-Protégé program for the purpose of providing developmental assistance to eligible small business protégé entities to enhance their capabilities and increase their participation in DHS contracts.

(b) The program consists of:

(1) Mentor firms, which are large prime contractors capable of providing developmental assistance;

(2) Protégé firms, which are small businesses, veteran-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, HUBZone small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, and women-owned small business concerns; and

(3) Mentor-Protégé agreements, approved by the DHS OSDBU.

(c) Mentor participation in the program means providing business developmental assistance to aid Protégés in developing the requisite expertise to effectively compete for and successfully perform DHS contracts and subcontracts.

(d) Large business prime contractors serving as mentors in the DHS Mentor-Protégé program are eligible for a post-award incentive for subcontracting plan credit. The mentor may receive credit for costs it incurs to provide assistance to a protégé firm. The mentor may use this additional credit towards attaining its subcontracting plan participation goal under the same or another DHS contract. The amount of credit given to a mentor firm for these protégé developmental assistance costs shall be calculated on a dollar for dollar basis and reported in the Summary Subcontract Report via the Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS) at http://www.esrs.gov. For example, a mentor/large business prime contractor would report a $10,000 subcontract to the protégé/small business subcontractor and $5,000 of developmental assistance to the protégé/small business subcontractor as $15,000. The Mentor and Protégé will submit a signed joint statement agreeing on the dollar value of the developmental assistance and the Summary Subcontract Report.

(e) Contractors interested in participating in the program are encouraged to contact the DHS OSDBU for more information.