(a) Large business prime contractors serving as mentors in the HHS Mentor-Protégé Program are eligible for HHS subcontracting plan credit, and shall submit a copy of their HHS Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU)-approved mentor-protégé agreements as part of their offers. The amount of credit provided by the Contracting Officer to a mentor firm for protégé firm developmental assistance costs shall be calculated on a dollar for dollar basis and reported by the mentor firm in the Summary Subcontract Report via the Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS) at www.esrs.gov. The mentor firm and protégé firm shall submit to the Contracting Officer a signed joint statement agreeing on the dollar value of the developmental assistance the mentor firm provided. (For example, a mentor firm would report a $10,000 subcontract awarded to a protégé firm and provision of $5,000 of developmental assistance as $15,000 of subcontracting plan credit.) The mentor firm may use this additional credit towards attaining its subcontracting plan participation goal under this contract.

(b) The program consists of—

(1) Mentor firms—large businesses that:

(i) Demonstrate the interest, commitment, and capability to provide developmental assistance to small business protégé firms; and

(ii) Have a Mentor-Protégé agreement approved by HHS' OSDBU;

(2) Protégé firms—firms that:

(i) Seek developmental assistance;

(ii) Qualify as small businesses, veteran-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, HUBZone small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, or woman-owned small businesses; and

(iii) Have a Mentor-Protégé agreement approved by HHS' OSDBU; and

(3) Mentor-Protégé agreements—joint agreements, approved by HHS' OSDBU, which detail the specific terms, conditions, and responsibilities of the mentor-protégé relationship.