Section 26.35 - [Effective 5/9/2024] What role do business development and mentor-protege programs have in the DBE program?(a) You may or, if an operating administration directs you to, you must establish a DBE business development program (BDP) to assist firms in gaining the ability to compete successfully in the marketplace outside the DBE program. You may require a DBE firm, as a condition of receiving assistance through the BDP, to agree to terminate its participation in the DBE program after a certain time has passed or certain objectives have been reached. See Appendix C of this part for guidance on administering BDP programs.(b) As part of a BDP or separately, you may establish a "mentor-protege" program, in which another DBE or non-DBE firm is the principal source of business development assistance to a DBE firm. (1) Only firms you have certified as DBEs before they are proposed for participation in a mentor-protege program are eligible to participate in the mentor-protege program.(2) In the mentor-protege relationship, you must:(i) Not award DBE credit to a non-DBE mentor firm for using its own protege firm for more than one half of its goal on any contract let by the recipient; and(ii) Not award DBE credit to a non-DBE mentor firm for using its own protege firm for more than every other contract performed by the protege firm.(3) For purposes of making determinations of business size under this part, you must not treat protege firms as affiliates of mentor firms, when both firms are participating under an approved mentor-protege program. See Appendix D of this part for guidance concerning the operation of mentor-protege programs.(c) Your BDPs and mentor-protege programs must be approved by the concerned operating administration before you implement them. Once approved, they become part of your DBE program.