There seemingly comes a time in every business owner’s life where they think: “I want to work with the Federal Government and be in Government Contracting.”

Maybe it’s the overtly appealing statistic they see that says the Federal Government spends on average $500B a year on products and services. Maybe it’s the appeal of a new and untapped market. Or perhaps the Federal Government provides driven business owners with the fuel they need: a problem, a challenge, a mission, and a way to give back to their country. 

Whatever the reasoning, most companies enter the marketplace ill-prepared to work in the field of Government Contracting. 

Why? Because the Federal Government is a very different beast compared to your typical commercial customers. The flow of information is more regulated, the sales cycle is slower and more cumbersome, and market research tools are rife with outdated technology and workflows. 

No doubt about it, Government Contracting is not for those looking to make a quick buck. You have to work for it. But if you’re willing – the juice is worth the squeeze. So after you take care of the paperwork, register for a DUNS, set up an account in SAM.gov, and identify your NAICs, then it’s time to consider the following:

1. Know What You’re Selling in Government Contracting

Understanding your company’s offerings isn’t enough – you also have to understand how your Federal customer refers to those products or services. In short, navigating the keywords and translations unique to this industry is key to success. Once you know your relevant keywords, it’s time to develop key communication tools. These are components of your Government Contracting marketing plan and include a capability statement, your solutions offering, and a focused website. Using these tools will help inform Federal customers on the specific issues that your products and/or services solve. It’s just as important that these items match in messaging and terminology as it is that they are visually appealing and easy to read. 

2. Make Opportunity Tracking Habitual

The speed of Government Contracting gratification isn’t for the faint of heart. With the slow Federal Government sales cycle, a company can’t just focus on one opportunity or relationship at a time. Government Contractors must leverage targeted pipelines of potential contract opportunities and potential buyer relationships in order to successfully manage, shape, and pursue opportunities best fit for their organization. Your pipeline should be a living, breathing document, and is the mechanism by which you track contract status, changes, dates, and how the opportunity matches to your company’s mission and/or service areas.  

3. Implement a Practical, Researched Government Contracting Communications Plan

Best practice in the Federal marketplace mandates frequent touchpoints with the decision-makers within your potential federal customer base. First and foremost, this means you have to know who these decision-makers are and what is the best way to reach them (phone, email, social media, etc.). However, any cold outreach method in this industry is not typically effective if you don’t initiate the conversation with some preliminary research. By researching and understanding what your federal counterparts buy (and how they buy) you will effectively connect your offerings to their needs, thus opening up a line of communication that would have otherwise been nonexistent. By being proactive and pleasantly persistent (because trust us, the practice of following-up is also key here), you are able to stand out in a sea of unknown email addresses. 

4. Make Friends and Influence Past Performance

Two things ring true in Government Contracting: first, it’s difficult to go alone; second, (good) past performance is king. Subcontracting is not only a viable way to get your foot in the door at a Federal agency, but it also helps you build your portfolio of past performance. One of the most effective ways to pitch yourself as a subcontractor is to offer your services to fill a niche need, labor category, or offer a cost-saving solution. Once you find out where that need is, research some of the potential bidders and reach out to sell them on your capabilities – the same way you would with a Federal customer. 

5. Establish Your Government Contracting Bid Response Infrastructure for Success

A successful Government Contractor needs to understand the bid-proposal process, but that understanding is meaningless unless they have the right resources in place to execute it. Set your company up for success by building your bid-proposal machine and divvy responsibilities accordingly. If you expect one person to identify opportunities, vet them, and develop the proposal response, then you’re looking at inevitable burn out. Invest early in people with the right, complementary skill sets to execute. 

---

If you are a new Government Contractor feeling lost in the fog, then let us help! The Pulse of GovCon offers tailored training and focused consulting services supporting each of these components. Reach out to us today to learn how we can help you #bidwithintent.

As Government Contractors go through the bid/no-bid decision process, organizational stakeholders analyze, measure, and weigh critical factors to determine if a winning strategy can be formulated and executed. One of the most significant factors to consider is the incumbent profile. Established incumbents performing on an existing contract are often believed to have the upper hand in the federal procurement game. An established incumbent brings institutional knowledge, existing federal stakeholder relationships, experienced on-site personnel, and leadership buy-in – all presumably resulting in a lower risk transition to the federal customer.

But what about re-compete opportunities where the incumbent is, quite frankly, failing? Unseating an incumbent with poor performance is an ideal scenario for any Government Contracting growth and business development professional, but typically this is only identified through the rumor mill. Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) is source selection sensitive (meaning it is off-limits to Government Contractors) and getting Contracting Officers to spill on their experiences is a pipedream.

So how do you pick up on data signals that a federal customer is looking to replace their current contractor?

With CPARS being off-limits, Government Contractors must find alternate routes to the required incumbent data, so in comes FPDS-NG, USASpending,gov, and beta.sam.gov. Federal spending transparency laws makes federal contract transaction summary data available to the public through these systems after federal agency representatives manually enter information in data fields such as “incumbent contractor name”, “socioeconomic status”, ‘action dollar obligations”, “contract values”, “work location”, “type of work”, “contract award date”, “date signed”, and “period of performance”.

This data is dispassionate, factual, and does not express opinions about contractor performance. However, by analyzing circumstances of an incumbent contractor’s “awards” and “current state” a Government Contractor can infer whether the federal customer is likely satisfied or dissatisfied with performance.

Award Dates. It is no secret that there are seasonal trends in federal contract spending and that federal contract spending spikes during the last week in September (the end of the federal fiscal year). This tradition has long sparked debate on if these expiring budgets lead to wasteful spending, and in 2017 academic economists conducted a study that concluded that fiscal year end deadlines for signing contracts may incentivize a “rush to spend resources on low-quality projects at year’s end.”

In this study, the authors found an increased prevalence of lower quality ratings, schedule delays, and cost growth for IT systems contracts awarded in the last week of the federal fiscal year as compared to the other. These projects are genuine agency needs but may suffer from issues such as poor requirements definition and limited acquisition planning.

Further, while not mentioned in the study, new contracts awarded at fiscal year-end can face longer background investigation timeframes due to a deluge in new background investigations. Why does this matter? Contract awards occurring during the fiscal year-end “busy season” cascades into a high volume of background investigation requests. When background investigations take longer it impacts schedule and contract performance is delayed.

The chart below shows this phenomenon occurring within a dataset of 258 contractors on an IT service contract.

Firm-Level Data Points. Research published by the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) identifies firm-level data points associated with an increased risk of contract termination or performance/integrity issues. In this research, firm-level risk characteristics were assessed against the entire portfolio of a particular vendor’s federal prime contract awards, as opposed to a single contract award. Another, NPS study identified other data indicators of contract performance risk. For example, Cost Plus Award Fee (CPAF) and Cost-Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) contracts are significantly more likely to have CPARS failures. Also, high Contract Specialist workload correlates with an increased risk of poor contract outcomes according to CPARS.

A Government Contractor’s instability in the federal ecosystem, newly formed companies, and diversifying beyond prior relevant corporate experience into new functional areas, were found to heighten the risk of performance issues. Further, unpublished research found other risk factors such as:

• A Government Contractor’s percentage of dollars obligated in September (i.e., the percentage of dollar obligations received in September was calculated for all federal contractors. Higher percentages correlated with increased contractor risk. Some contractors receive all dollar obligations during September.)
• A Government Contractor’s overall de-obligation (i.e., work cancellation) percentage

By leveraging USASpending.gov, a Government Contractor can filter a recipient’s activity by fiscal year and view descriptive statistics in different categories such as a recipient’s top awarding agencies.

Being able to see data from all federal agencies give a government-wide perspective – but what hidden data points might you be missing?

Let’s use this question: “Did a Government Contractor’s federal business suddenly quadruple due to different agencies making large contract awards at a fiscal year-end?”

If you’re data-savvy, you can use scripts/code to calculate firm-level risk metrics within the USASpending.gov enabled by the bulk data downloads. The below risk metrics are calculated using a government-wide FPDS-NG/USASpending.gov dataset.

If you’re not-so-data-savvy- don’t worry! There is still plenty that can be inferred by examining the information in front of you. For example, you can sense when a Government Contractor has bit off more than they could chew. Consider the story of an inexperienced small business (SB) Government Contractor who won a large construction award:

• The awarded prime contractor had difficulty getting bonded because the construction project was significantly larger than jobs handled in the past few years.
• The awarded prime contractor’s account indicated that the original design was behind schedule, $7M over budget, and had serious constructability issues.
• The federal government’s facility was eventually constructed with significant financial and litigation issues.

How did we know about this contractor’s troubles? For one thing, a FPDS-NG contract modification record revealed a surety takeover, and an employee of the prime contractor (joined by the Department of Justice) filed a qui tam lawsuit alleging violations of the False Claims Act…and this just garnered by a quick internet search!

Construction is known to be a high-risk type of federal contracting, but similar principles apply with IT systems and other types of federal requirements. Publicly available data can reveal when federal agencies may have erred in judgment in selecting a Government Contractor, and these are the opportunities to target as the likelihood of unseating the incumbent increases the more frustrated a federal customer is with performance.

Scenario 1: Rapid Growth, Major Decline in Federal Business. A glance at a Government Contractor’s year-to-year changes in federal business can be found on USASpending.gov’s Recipient Profile. This Government Contractor’s federal business grew rapidly to $80M in a single year. However, this amount of business could not be sustained long-term. At the end of the day, rapid growth can increase the risk that a Government Contractor will be unable to effectively manage projects and satisfy federal agency customers.

Scenario 2: Unable to Handle Large Award, All Funds De-Obligated. Drilling down to a monthly view of a Government Contractor’s obligations can be revealing. With only an annual summary receiving a large award then abruptly having all funds de-obligated would be a net-zero and wouldn’t be noticeable on a bar chart. In contrast, a monthly detail view on USASpending.gov shows a $33M award that was canceled and de-obligated in full. This Government Contractor did not receive any further contract awards.

Scenario 3: Hasty Fiscal Year-End Awards.  As we mentioned previously, due to the federal fiscal year-end deadline, federal agencies obligate more contract dollars in September than any other month. That being said, a Government Contractor with an unusually high percentage of obligations occurring in September has an increased risk of failure.

Using the risk scoring methodology outlined above, there is currently over ~$30B* worth of at-risk contract opportunities up for grabs across the federal government. This is an estimated population of poorly performing incumbents with federal agency customers eager for new contractors.

In the game of unseating an incumbent, data is crucial, but we know contextualizing it to be actionable is king. Government Contractors will need to connect the data-dots to translate them into strategic plans to effectively target opportunities and federal customers. By utilizing the open-source data differently you can get a leg up on analyzing your PWin for contracts with an established incumbent – all while increasing competition and driving out underperforming competitors.

A note on the data: This estimate was derived from risk factors found to be statistically significant by a random forest machine learning model. Each federal contractor was then assigned an overall risk score. $37,303,616,689.80 is the total obligations received by contractors with high-risk scores. The risk scoring methodology is admittedly imperfect, and the accuracy of risk assessments improves when complemented by the expert judgment of contracting professionals. The quantity of dollars up for grabs is difficult to reliably quantify in precise terms, but there is high confidence that billions of dollars are ripe for competing contractors to win.

About the co-author: David Gill is a government contracting official and data scientist. He has signed Treasury/IRS contracts for information technology, tax administration, and special initiatives such as the Troubled Asset Relief Program. His data science skills were learned on the job while serving as a fraud data analytics program manager. David has led data science teams that analyzed tens of millions in transactions for fraudulent activity. He supervised technical data science work, briefed agency executives, and responded to oversight/audit inquires. David has written R programming code to analyze the trillions of dollars in government contract data available on USASpending.gov. For example, mining USASpending.gov contract data to produce one of the government’s most comprehensive lists of machine learning and artificial intelligence projects. Views expressed are not necessarily the official position of the U.S. Government.

If you’re reading this article then chances are good that you’re not a cog in the large Government Contracting machine, or included in Top 100 Vendors list on FPDS [yet!].

You’re probably a small business and a breath of fresh air to the Government Contracting ecosystem looking for guidance on how to correctly obtain the appropriate federal socio-economic status for your new[ish] GovCon venture, and it’s likely you already have one in mind.

Like us, when you started researching the correct steps, you probably found that instructions are at most times incomplete, dated, or scattered across various federal and industry sites and reference materials.

We want to help.

When we set out to aggregate and verify this information, we thought it would be easy…a simple exercise in pulling information into one place to bring efficiency to our readers. Boy were we wrong…

Instead, it was like falling down one long [not really exciting] rabbit hole filled with potentially inaccurate information, cumbersome PDFs, and lawsuits.

After weeks of scouring, vetting, and verifying — The Pulse has pulled together a one-stop reference guide for what it takes to get your socio-economic certification. Each certification has its own enumerated steps and any other necessary, supplemental information.

Note: we are not trying to reinvent the wheel, so we have pulled content (more or less verbatim) from various sources and cited/linked to their originators.

---

---

Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Certification 

Source: The SBA’s Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting program site.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the federal women’s contracting program, your business must:

• Be a small business

• Be at least 51% owned and controlled by women who are U.S. citizens

• Have a women manage day-to-day operations and also make long-term decisions

To qualify as an economically-disadvantaged, women-owned small business (EDWOSB) within the federal women’s contracting program, your business must:

• Meet all the requirements of the women’s contracting program (see above)

• Be owned and controlled by one or more women, each with a personal net worth less than $750,000

• Be owned and controlled by one or more women, each with $350,000 or less in adjusted gross income averaged over the previous three years

• Be owned and controlled by one or more women, each $6 million or less in personal assets

How to Apply 

First create and establish a SAM.gov profile and then pick you own adventure – either self-certify or obtain a third-party certification.

Self Certify. Self-certification for the WOSB Federal Contract Program means the WOSB and/or EDWOSB firm has not used a Third Party Certifier, but has completed all requirements required by Small Business Administration (SBA) at certify.SBA.gov and uploaded all the required documents for the WOSB program for their business type.

First the firm must be registered in SAM.gov  and adequately respond to the appropriate SAM questions found in the Representations and Certifications section, FAR 52.212-3, and Small Business Program Representations section, FAR 52.219-1.

Certify SBA questions almost directly mirror the two FAR clauses cited above as well as a few extra business forms. Required forms include new online versions of the SBA Form 2413 (for WOSBs) or the SBA Forms 2414 and 413 (for EDWOSBs).

When all of these conditions have been met, then the WOSB/EDWOSB can affirm to the Contracting Officer they are self-certified for the respective socio-economic category in which they are competing.

Third-Party Certification. There are four organizations approved by the SBA to provide third-party certification. Contact them to find out about their certification process. They are:

• El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

• National Women Business Owners Corporation

• US Women’s Chamber of Commerce

• Women’s Business Enterprise National Council

You’ll need to provide proof of your third-party certification through certify.SBA.gov. Read the instructions carefully to make sure you provide all the necessary information.

Noteworthy from Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP): “Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship to make necessary changes to programs benefiting entrepreneurs through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The Committee was scheduled to vote on a bill (Chairman’s draft) combining many important changes on July 24. Unfortunately, the Committee postponed action after failing to agree on proposed regulatory changes contained in the draft legislation. Now, Congress is in recess from August 5 to September 6. The Chairman’s draft contains 15 changes that, if passed, will be game-changers for women business owners.”

 

---

 

Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Certification  

Source: SBA Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses program

Eligibility

To qualify for the disabled veterans’ business program, your business must:

• Be a small business

• Be at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans

• Have one or more service-disabled veterans manage day-to-day operations and also make long-term decisions

• Eligible veterans must have a service-connected disability

You can view the full eligibility requirements in Title 13 Part 125 Subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

How to Apply 

Two agencies are responsible for managing procurements on SDVOSB set-aside contracts: the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA). The VA regulates its own procurements, while the SBA regulates the procurement of all other agencies. Under VA regulations, a business may only compete for SDVOSB set-aside contracts if it has registered with the VA’s Center for Verification and Evaluation. If the Center determines that a business qualifies as an SDVOSB, it adds that business to a centralized database called VetBiz.

SBA Route

Source: GSA for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses

1. Self-certify your eligibility as an SDVOSB and register on SAM.gov

2. Certify Your Military Service: To be considered a veteran you must have your DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) in order to prove your service in the armed forces. Go to the National Archives site to request your service record.

3. Validate Your Service-Connected Disability: To be considered a Service Disabled Veteran you must have a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), or your discharge paper from the branch of service you were in, stating that you have a service-connected disability rating ranging from 0% to 100% disability.

Through VA (CVE)

Source: APTAC

“To  qualify for the Veterans First Contracting Program, businesses must be found eligible through the VA’s Verification process, which is administered by the VA’s Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE).  The eligibility requirements outline above apply to both veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned, and the verification process and requirements overall are outlined in 38 CFR part 74.“

Required documents can be found here https://www.va.gov/OSDBU/docs/Required-Documents-for-VIP-Application-4Dec2018.pdf

 

---

 

Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB)

Source: USFCR 

SURPRISE! VOSB is actually NOT a set-aside classification, but it is a certification. Although not a set-aside, the VOSB certification has its own array of benefits. This includes access to resources offered by the Office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD). This includes exclusive funding opportunities and entrepreneurship training programs.

Eligibility

• Be considered a small business under SBA standards.

• 51% of your business must be controlled by a veteran .

• A veteran must be involved in managing day-to-day operations and making long-term decisions.

How to Apply 

If your business fits this criteria, then you can move onto the technical requirements:

• Registration in the System for Award Management (SAM)

• Certification through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

• Complete DD Form 214 – Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty

 

---

 

HUBZone Certification

Eligibility

Source: SBA HUBZone program

To qualify for the HUBZone program, your business must:

• Be a small business

• Be at least 51 percent owned and controlled by U.S. citizens, a Community Development Corporation, an agricultural cooperative, a Native Hawaiian organization, or an Indian tribe

• Have its principal office located in a HUBZone

• Have at least 35 percent of its employees live in a HUBZone

You can find the full qualification criteria in Title 13 Part 126 Subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

How to Apply 

Source: Thomas Publishing Company

Companies wishing to become HUBZone certified must complete an online application on the SBA’s site. If the application is complete and accepted, additional supporting documentation will be requested.

NOTE: Companies must undergo recertification every three years. Unless it is determined that an organization no longer meets all of the HUBZone program requirements, certification will continue as long as all eligibility requirements continue to be met.

The following is from APTAC:

• Determine if your business is “small” by SBA standards

• Determine if your business is located in a HUBZone

• Each headquarters and branch office must be registered so that it has its own Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number

• Your company must be registered in SAM, and the principal office address that is applying for HUBZone certification must be entered in the SAM profile associated with DUNS appropriate for its specific physical location

• Make sure that you have completed SBA’s Supplemental page for the DSBS system, which reflects your firm’s certification status. It is recommended to keep your profiles (SAM and DSBS page) up to date through the SAM website.

• Complete registration in the General Login System (GLS) for each individual that can update information to your business. Once you have registered, then you must add your DUNS and EIN number(s) and obtain access to the HUBZone application module.

The following is from the SBA’s HUBZone program webpage:

• Make sure you have a SAM.gov account.

• Make sure you have a General Login System account.

• Apply for HUBZone certification using the General Login System. Log in, select “Access” and then “HUBZone” before completing the prompts.

• Check your email for time-sensitive instructions to electronically verify your application within 10 business days.

• Submit any requested supporting documentation within 10 business days.

• Update your SAM.gov profile to indicate you are a HUBZone business after you get an email confirmation from the SBA.

 

---

 

8(a) Certification

Eligibility

Source: 8(a) Business Development program

• Be a small business

• Not already have participated in the 8(a) program

• Be at least 51 percent owned and controlled by U.S. citizens who are economically and socially disadvantaged

• Be owned by someone whose personal net worth is $250,000 or less

• Be owned by someone whose average adjusted gross income for three years is $250,000 or less

• Be owned by someone with $4 million or less in assets

• Have the owner manage day-to-day operations and also make long-term decisions

• Have all its principals demonstrate good character

• Show potential for success and be able to perform successfully on contracts

The federal government fully defines who qualifies for the 8(a) program — including what counts as being economically and socially disadvantaged — in Title 13 Part 124 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

Source: Thomas Publishing Company

This certification is intended for organizations that are owned and controlled at least 51% by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. SBA considers African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Pacific American, Native Americans and Subcontinent Asian Americans to be socially and economically disadvantaged. An individual who does not belong to any of the aforementioned groups can otherwise be admitted to the program if able to show they are disadvantaged due to race, ethnic origin, gender, physical handicap, long-term residence in an environment isolated from the mainstream of American society; or other similar causes.

How to Apply 

Source: SBA’s 8(a) Business Development program

• To get certified as an 8(a) business, simply use the certify.SBA.gov website. You’ll need to have a profile at SAM.gov before you can use the certification website. The information you’ll need to provide will vary based on your business structure and whether you’re already participating in other SBA programs.

• After you successfully complete your certification process through certify.SBA.gov, you should update your business profile at SAM.gov to show contracting officers that your business is in the 8(a) program.

• You’ll receive a letter in the mail informing you if your application was approved or not. If you’re accepted into the program, your profile in the Dynamic Small Business Search will show your approval date and exit date for the program.

• Your certification will last for a maximum of nine years. You’ll need to complete annual reviews to maintain your good standing in the program.

Native “Entity-Owned” 8(a) Classifications (Non-Profit)

Within the 8(a) program there are a few “entity owned” classifications. These include Native Hawaiian Owned (NHOs), Alaskan Native Companies (ANC), and Tribally Owned Business. Profits generated from a Native-owned 8(a) participant go back to their Native communities rather than individual business owners.

For SBA purposes, one does not exist without the other (i.e., the NHO and the for-profit) – so for example, in order for an organization to be considered an NHO for purposes of SBA programs (and federal contracting generally), the NHO must have a company in the 8(a) program.

Native HAWAIIAN Owned (NHO)

Source: Holomua Consulting in Hawaii

The requirements for an NHO-owned firm are largely the same as an individual-owned firm applying for the 8(a) program with some exceptions, some of which will be noted below.

• To qualify for the 8(a) program, the NHO must own a minimum of 51% of the for-profit entity and must control the applicant firm.

• In addition, a majority of the NHO’s Directors must be Native Hawaiian.

• The NHO must primarily serve Native Hawaiians.

• There is an additional basis for the waiver from the two-year in business requirement, which is if the NHO has made a firm written commitment to support the applicant firm.

• An NHO-owned firm applying for the 8(a) program cannot have the same primary NAICS code as a sister company in the 8(a) program or within 2 years of the date of the application.

• The NHO Directors must have management experience.

• Generally speaking, an NHO and its companies will not be found to be affiliated with each other for size purposes.

The SBA does have an NHO Business Guide, which can be found here: https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2018-02/NHO%20workbook%20P.pdf*

*Although it is a little outdated, the information is still accurate with one exception, which is on page 31 of the Guide. The prior requirement was that the NHO Directors had to be economically disadvantaged (i.e., personal net worth under $250k for initial eligibility and $750k for continuing eligibility). In 2016, SBA changed this to align with the way Tribes establish economic disadvantage, which is based on the people/Tribe.  Therefore, in order to establish that an NHO is economically disadvantaged, it must demonstrate that it will principally benefit economically disadvantaged Native Hawaiians.  To do this, the NHO must provide data on the Native Hawaiian community it intends to serve, including:

– The number of Native Hawaiians in the community that the NHO intends to serve;

– The present Native Hawaiian unemployment rate of those individuals;

– The per capita income of those Native Hawaiians, excluding judgment awards;

– The percentage of those Native Hawaiians below the poverty level; and

– The access to capital of those Native Hawaiians.

The steps to certification for an NHO-owned firm are largely the same as an individual-owned 8(a) firm with the following exceptions: (1) that personal information must be provided by the Directors of the NHO in addition to the Manager of the applicant firm; and (2) information pertaining to the NHO must be provided – i.e., establishing that the NHO is giving back to the Native Hawaiian community.

Alaskan Native Companies (ANC)/ Tribally Owned 

Source: SBA file “Alaska Native Corporations (ANC) Frequently Asked Questions”

13 CFR 124.109 outlines the initial eligibility requirements for ANCs and Tribes. An Indian tribe means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community of Indians, including any ANC, which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians, or is recognized as such by the State in which the tribe, band, nation, group, or community resides. ANC-owned concerns are subject to the same conditions that apply to tribally-owned concerns, unless specified

Copies of the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, along with all amendments are required. By statute, ANCs are deemed to be economically disadvantaged under 43 U.S.C. 1626(e). The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act provides that a concern which is majority owned by an ANC shall be deemed to be both owned and controlled by Alaska Natives and economically disadvantaged business. Alaska Natives and descendants of Natives must own a majority of both the total equity of the ANC and the total voting powers to elect directors of the ANC through their holdings of settlement common stock.

The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act provides that a concern which is majority owned by an ANC shall be deemed to be both owned and controlled by Alaska Natives and economically disadvantaged business. Therefore, an individual responsible for control and management of an ANC owned applicant or Participant need not establish personal social and economic disadvantage. The concern will be deemed owned and controlled by the ANC where both the majority of stock or other ownership interest and total voting power are held by the ANC and holders of its settlement common stock. For corporate entities, an ANC must unconditionally own at least 51 percent of the voting stock and at least 51 percent of the aggregate of all classes of stock. For non-corporate entities, an ANC must unconditionally own at least a 51 percent interest.

Source: Tribal Enterprise Business Guide: 8(a) Business Development Program This guide is designed to inform, educate and engage qualified tribal businesses in the 8(a) Business Development Program 2013

Regarding economic disadvantage, 8(a) program eligibility requirements require that the tribal applicant’s tribe, demonstrate to the SBA that it is economically disadvantaged. To do this, SBA will consider a number of factors, including:

• number of tribal members;

• present tribal unemployment rate;

• per capita income of tribal members, excluding judgment awards;

• percentage of the local Indian population below the poverty level;

• tribe’s access to capital;

• tribal assets as disclosed in a current tribal financial statement; and

• the aggregate of wholly or partially owned tribal enterprises or affiliates.

Importantly, once an Indian tribe establishes that it is economically disadvantaged in connection with the application for one tribally-owned firm, it does not have to reestablish such status in order to have other businesses that it owns, certified for 8(a) program participation, unless specifically requested to do so by the SBA.

A tribal applicant is required to submit all of the same documents generally required by all other 8(a) applicants. However, a tribally owned business is also required to submit additional tribal specific documentation, including:

• a copy of the tribal governing documents

• evidence of tribal recognition for special U.S. programs and services

• copies of the articles of incorporation and bylaws as filed with the organizing or chartering authority, or similar documents needed to establish and govern a non-corporate legal entity

• documents to demonstrate the tribe’s economically disadvantaged status.

Besides tribal eligibility requirements, there are business eligibility requirements for the 8(a) program that must be complied with as well. These requirements focus on the legal structure of the tribal business, the size of the concern, ownership rights, control and management of the enterprise, individual eligibility limitation and the potential for success of the tribal enterprise.

The tribal 8(a) applicant must be a separate and distinct legal entity organized or chartered by the tribe, federal or state authorities. The tribal firm’s articles of incorporation, partnership agreement or limited liability company articles of organization must contain sovereign immunity waiver language, or a “sue and be sued” clause which designates U.S. federal courts to be among the courts of competent jurisdiction for all matters relating to SBA’s programs. Importantly, the waiver of sovereign immunity language may require special board or tribal government approval, depending on the tribal firm’s structure. If the waiver language, however is not included in the documentation, the firm will be denied admission into the 8(a) program. Also, the tribal enterprise must be organized for profit, and the tribe must possess economic development powers in the tribe’s governing documents.

Business size matters. A tribally owned applicant must qualify as a small business concern as defined for purposes in 13 CFR 121. The particular size standard to be applied is based on the primary industry classification or NAICS code of the applicant concern. Also, in determining the size of a small business owned by an Indian tribe, or a wholly owned business entity of the tribe, the firm’s size shall be determined independently without regard to its affiliation with the tribe, any entity of the tribal government, or any other business enterprise owned by the tribe, unless the SBA Administrator determines that one or more such tribally-owned businesses have obtained, or are likely to obtain, a substantial unfair competitive advantage within an industry category

With regards to ownership, a tribe must unconditionally own at least 51 percent of the ownership or stock of the business concern. A tribe may not own 51 percent or more of another firm which, either at the time of application or within the previous two years, has been operating in the 8(a) program under the same primary NAICS code as the applicant. However, a tribe may own a participant or other applicant that conducts or will conduct secondary business in the 8(a) program under the NAICS code which is the primary NAICS code of the applicant business. In addition, once an applicant is admitted to the 8(a) program, it may not receive an 8(a) sole source contract that is a follow-on contract to an 8(a) contract that was performed immediately previously by another participant owned by the same tribe.

The management and daily business operations of a tribally owned business must be controlled by the tribe. However, such control may be exercised through one or more individuals who possess sufficient management experience to run the business. That is, management may be provided by non-tribal members if SBA determines that such management is required to assist the firm’s development. In such cases, the tribe must retain control of all management decisions common to boards of directors, including strategic planning, budget approval, and the employment and compensation of business officers. In addition, a plan must be in place to demonstrate how tribal members can grow in managerial skills. This is an important element in the eligibility and application process.

A Tribally-owned concern may establish potential for success by demonstrating one of the following:

• it has been in business for at least two years, as evidenced by income tax returns for each of the two previous tax years showing operating revenues in the primary industry in which the applicant is seeking 8(a) certification

• the individual or individuals who will manage and control the daily business operations of the firm have substantial technical and management experience, the applicant has a record of successful performance on contracts from governmental or nongovernmental sources in its primary industry category, and the applicant has adequate capital to sustain its operations and carry out its business plan as a participant

• the tribe has made a firm written commitment to support the operations of the applicant concern and it has the financial ability to do so.

As with other 8(a) applicants, a tribally owned applicant may not be denied admission into the program due solely to a determination that specific contract opportunities are unavailable to assist the development of the applicant firm, unless: the government has not previously procured and is unlikely to procure the types of products or services offered by the business; or the purchase of such products or services by the government will not be in quantities sufficient to support the developmental needs of the applicant and other program participants providing the same or similar items or services.

 

---

 

Conclusion

As you can see, federal socio-economic programs support all types of business owners, and there are a lot of resources out there on how to obtain them. We hope that by pulling some of these sources together, you are able to get a better understanding of the eligibility and application requirements.

---

Every year, U.S. federal agencies, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and Congress work on a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which runs from October 1 through September 30.

The U.S. federal budget process is complicated and confusing. There is a lot of back and forth and collaboration to get this to happen and it doesn’t always go according to plan – and it doesn’t help that there are no enforceable deadlines (with exception of the federal government shutting down).

But at the end of the day, once this process is finished, the federal budget is approved by the House, Senate, and the President combined. Once the President receives it, they have 10 days to approve or veto it.

As federal government contractors, we sometimes lose sight of this process since a lot of this takes place during our busy season (and most of us don’t have a full-blown government affairs team to help us keep track). To help contractors understand the key processes of the federal budget lifecycle, we outlined three critical steps below:

In a typical year where there isn’t a Presidential transition, federal agencies submit their budget requests to the White House to help create the President’s budget request. Federal agencies engage in internal budget planning for at least six months before the fiscal year begins. These budget documents are great resources that help you understand where a certain agency sees itself going, its priorities, and its challenges (hello, white paper ideas!). These documents are a way to understand a new potential federal customer, or to better get to know your agency of choice.

The President’s budget request is supposed to kick off the budget process with delivery by the first Monday in February, but sometimes this submission is delayed. The President’s budget request plays three important roles:

1. Tells Congress what the President recommends as overall fiscal policy
2. Forecasts the President’s relative priorities for federal programs
3. Signals to Congress the President’s recommendations for spending and tax policy changes

On May 28th, President Biden released his proposed budget for Fiscal Year (FY22) requesting $6T in total mandatory and discretionary spending for the upcoming fiscal year. For this report, we will be focusing on how the President prioritizes the $1.5T in requested discretionary funding, which represents an 8.4% increase over regular discretionary spending in FY21.

Discretionary spending requires an annual appropriation bill and is typically set by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and their various subcommittees. After a budget resolution is met and 302(a) allocations are specified (that means once Congress agrees on the specific funding levels) – then the real fun begins in the form of drafting appropriation bills. Once appropriations committees pass their bills, they are considered by the House and Senate, and then eventually find themselves in a conference committee where all issues get worked out (hopefully). Once the conference has worked out all their differences and has passed both chambers of Congress, it is sent to the President who can sign the bill or veto it. As we all know, in recent years, Congress has not passed all of the appropriations bills before the start of the fiscal year which either leads to a federal government shutdown or a continuing resolution (CR).

FY22’s budget is filled with many changes and potential opportunities for spending. The President’s budget proposes an increase in many areas including education, and racial and sexual inequalities training. Earmarks have returned to the House and Senate Appropriations Committee. Currently, each House member has 10 earmarks while the Senate has an unlimited number.

As of the week of July 19th, House appropriators have favorably reported all 12 FY22 appropriations bills and are looking to move 7 of those bills as a spending package at the end of July before the House is scheduled to be in before a month-long recess and 2 months before FY21 ends. Senate appropriators have not yet announced their FY22 markup schedule, though there is a chance they will markup a few bills before the August recess.

Aside from the additional spending bills, the biggest issue in this year’s budget will most likely be defense spending. This is unpopular for both Democrats and Republicans. Democrats continue to be upset at President Biden’s lack of rollbacks with border barriers and immigrations and customs while Republicans are upset about the lack of defense funding.

Few people expect the 12 appropriation bills to become law before the end of the fiscal year on September 30th — especially while both sides of Congress try to work through the Infrastructure Deal, and the American Jobs and Families Plan.

The Pulse developed this guide to help you understand where federal funding could potentially be going in the next fiscal year. This 114-page guide summarizes the following across 19 federal agencies:

• Discretionary budget request summary
• Key focus areas going into FY22
• Comparison of Presidential and agency initiatives and budgetary priorities

Not only is it important to understand this critical lifecycle and budgetary elements for business development purposes, but we broke down the differences between the federal agency requests and the Presidential request to help you identify key focus areas, initiatives, and challenges for the next fiscal year.  It is important to note these differences as Congressional appropriators make the final decision on prioritizations.

Guide researched and authored by Katherine Eige and Daniel Bickle, Pulse Analysts.

As we enter 2021, the Government Contracting industry is benefiting from a 10-year high of discretionary procurement spending. The Pulse examined the last decade of spending data and found the following:

• Between Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 and today, discretionary appropriations have increased 30% – not including the additional $1.76T spent in FY20 for COVID-19 requirements
• Defense spending has grown more than 17%, while non-defense has grown more than 15%
• Federal spending is expected to total 21% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in FY20, while revenue is projected at ~16.4% – meaning the Government Contracting Industrial Base is 25% of the USA’s economic welfare

Change is all but certain with a new Administration and a party flip, especially for an industry that is so heavily impacted by the ebb and flow of the federal landscape.  Government Contractors have already seen a flurry of impactful agency and regulation updates, as well as Executive Orders during the Presidential transition:  

National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)

• Small Business Administration (SBA) issued final rule for a one-year extension for 8(a) program participants. 
• Pentagon’s Chief Management Officer (CMO) role officially disestablished by Congress.
• The new Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) will impose beneficial ownership reporting requirements on many companies, particularly small businesses (SBs).
• The final rule issued, implementing FY16 NDAA provision, clarifying the types of assets that individual sureties must pledge as security for bonds used with a Government Contractor.

Executive Orders

• Protecting the Federal Workforce and Requiring Mask-Wearing: requires federal agencies to coordinate with each other and creates a new “Safer Federal Workforce Task Force.” This also eliminates Schedule F, restores collective bargaining rights, and begins the framework for a $15 minimum wage (including contractors).
• Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government: ends restrictions on diversity training, and removes contractor requirements to flow down the diversity training restrictions to their subcontractors.

Other

• OMB Bulletin No. 21-03 – Release of Civilian Agency Funds from January 14, 2021, Rescission Package: releases civilian agency funds that were frozen as part of a rescission package President Trump sent to Congress on January 14, 2021.
• New Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) Update for Low-Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) Source Selection Process: basic structure now is that agencies can only use LPTA after analysis and justification that responds to new criteria. However, these are not self-implementing rules, agencies plan to monitor adherence to criteria but won’t be tracking that at the agency level.
• Rule of Two Before Using Multiple Award IDIQ Contract Vehicle: agencies now have to conduct a SB “Rule of Two” analysis before it can use an existing multiple award IDIQ contract vehicle to procure services.
• Veterans Affairs (VA) Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) “Rule of Two”: the fact that an SDVOSB’s prices have been accepted by the General Services Administration (GSA) under the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program does not require the VA to accept those prices as fair and reasonable in a rule of two analysis.

The industry has also started to see a massive change in leadership, which will most certainly impact the federal workforce and agency and department initiatives. However, not too much will change in this FY’s spending as budget caps have been previously set, and since the FY21 Omnibus and the FY21 NDAA were passed into law just a few weeks ago.

Currently, the federal government has only spent 9% of its FY21 discretionary enacted spending level. This means there is a lot of money still left on the table. The FY21 Omnibus provided spending increases to over 15 federal entities including: Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Education (ED), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Transportation (DOT), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of Interior (DOI), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Treasury (TREAS), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Labor (DOL), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Department of State (DOS), and the VA.

In FY21, Government Contractors will continue to feel the impacts of the pandemic in the year ahead, but other requirements will continue to push their way forward. After digging through all +5K pages of the FY21 Omnibus and NDAA – we identified the top technical words that Government Contractors are sure to see throughout Section C of the Request for Proposal (RFP) this year:

The Pulse just released two special reports on the FY21 Federal  Discretionary Directives. In this report, we explored each agency’s favorite inter-agency acquisition vehicles to help Government Contractors understand where FY21 opportunities will likely be competed.

In summary, GSA IT-70 and PSS (now MAS) Schedule, as well as NASA SEWP V are overwhelming favorites with over 71% usage across the 19 federal agencies we researched. GSA OASIS and OASIS SB may only take up 3% but it is the primary favorite of DoD so don’t let the low percentage fool you.

Government Contracting in 2021 is sure to be interesting with a new Presidential transition taking place while the FY21 funding begins to be released. As new leadership comes into power, expect to see some opportunities get pushed to the cutting room floor (i.e. “transformation” or “reorganization” requirements for the previous FY); whereas some might come back to life as federal agencies (i.e. EPA) that have been dormant over the past 4 years get re-energized. 

Be on the lookout for spending to increase starting in mid-March through the end of September. However, since agencies are uncertain of what they’ll have for FY22…it could slightly dampen FY21 obligations. But inn the meantime, we can anticipate additional funding boosts – primarily in the areas of healthcare, transportation, construction, and technology modernization – as the new Administration works with the 117th Congress to pass additional COVID-19 stimulus bills throughout this year.

The Government Contracting industry is starved for talent. The demand is high! At any given moment you can find over 20k Federal Government Contracting job openings – including over 4k jobs for Federal Business Developers and Proposal Managers.

However, our industry has a problem.

The ecosystem is evolving at a rapid rate, is more geographically dispersed, and the need for “cross-training” professionals is at an all-time high. All of these pain points are well-known throughout the industry, but little has been done to address them. Until now.

In August 2020, The Pulse of GovCon created, presented, and recorded GovCon 101: Teaching the Basics to Market Entrants. For ease of use, we have divided this 4-hour series is divided into 2 parts.

---

GovCon 101: Part 1 provides a broad overview of the complex history and inner workings of the ecosystem. The objective of this training is to arm participants with the foundational knowledge necessary to succeed in the industry. It provides a baseline for the foundational concepts of what Government Contracting is and how it fits into the federal government acquisition and procurement life-cycle. Part 1 includes:

• History of Government Contracting
• Today’s current role of the Government Contracting ecosystem
• Breakdown of the federal acquisition and procurement life-cycle
• Deep-dive of the types of roles and responsibilities typically found internal at a Government Contracting organization**

**this primarily focuses on the internal positions found within the growth and/or business development vertical(s) such as Business Developers, Capture Managers, and Proposal Managers

In GovCon 101: Part 2, we narrow our focus on the string that ties these three growth and business development roles together – the entire federal proposal life-cycle. Each phase of the federal proposal life-cycle is discussed in-depth from pre-RFP to contract award to include what type of activities and tasks should be occurring during each phase.

---

Interested in these trainings? Click here to register and watch today. 

“You need to pay for Government Contracting intelligence” is one of the biggest lies in our industry.  Commercial systems and consulting firms would have you believe that the information they pull is shrouded in mystery, otherwise unattainable outside their paywall and their expertise. 

We are here to set the record straight. The origin of this intelligence is free…you just need to know where to look.  To assist you in your quest for this information The Pulse has provided four tangible ways to capture this intelligence online.

---

1: Investigate Industry Job Postings.

There is no doubt that any market intelligence research these days should begin with a simple Google search or visiting your competitor’s web page. But you can also learn something by studying the kinds of jobs your Federal agency or competitors are looking to fill. Encourage your recruiters and human resource (HR) professionals to set up Google Alerts to monitor free job boards such as USAJobs, LinkedIn Jobs, and beta.SAM for Personal Services Contractor (PSC) postings. This type of monitoring could lead to a potential opportunity to fill a vacancy on an active contract, gather intelligence on who is buying from your competitors right now, or what type of initiatives your Federal agency is preparing for. 

2: Scrutinize Federal Documentation.

To create work out of external need Government Contractors need to be aware of what Federal leadership views as their deficiencies, gap areas, and objectives. Government Contractors can glean context clues and information from the following creative sources:

• Budget and Performance Documentation: Each Federal agency includes budget and performance documentation as well as strategic plans on their website. Explore these documents to gather intelligence on where your agency-of-choice would like to spend their money and where they believe their agency is heading. 
• Government Accountability Office (GAO) Material: Use GAO material to connect areas for Federal efficiencies and improvements. Explore their bid protests decisions to understand how agencies evaluate their proposals and learn from your competitor’s mistakes. These decisions also prove as a great place to gather competitive intelligence not only on external vendors but on yourself as well (if you are ever the subject). 
• Organizational Charts: Study an agency’s organizational chart(s) to understand their acronyms and roles before you walk in the door.
• Congressional Documents: We recommend monitoring publicly available Congressional documents to include White House, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) memos to stay ahead of the curve. Read more on our thoughts here.

3: Explore Federal Government Trackers and Tools.

Surprise, not all Government Contracting information and spending data is publicly available or easy to find. Why is that you ask? We will save that for another day. In the meantime, we recommend exploring the few Federal websites out there to garner greater insight on what is happening under certain Federal procurement vehicles and their task orders: 

• Public Category Management Dashboards & Analytics: The General Services Administration (GSA) made its government-wide category management awards exploration tool that monitors Best In Class (BIC) vehicle activity publicly available. This database lets Government Contractors triage information by BIC vehicle and gain competitive intelligence at the award level such as by contract name and spend under management tier. Similar information can also be found on the GSA Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) Sales Dashboard. 
• Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Schedule Sales Query Plus (SSQ+): FAS’s Acquisition Oversight Division has developed the SSQ+ Dashboard to provide Government Contractors with information to see how their company stacks up compared to other vendors on the same GSA Schedule, how their sales compared to the competition overall, and how data can be leveraged to improve business practices and take advantage of new opportunities. Please note SSQ+ is now in Beta testing.
• Contract-Awarded Labor Category (CALC): CALC is a great pricing tool that helps Federal Contracting Officers and the Government Contractors find awarded prices to use in negotiations for labor contracts. It offers ceiling prices, fully burdened costs, services data, and worldwide rates. GSA’s OASIS Price Estimating Tool (PET) is a similar tool developed to help users conduct wage comparisons across different occupations, experience and qualifications levels, indirect rate levels, and metropolitan statistical areas. Note that OASIS PET can only be used by OASIS Government Contractors. 
• Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acquisition Planning Forecast System (APFS): DHS APFS is a portal for Government Contractors to view anticipated contract actions above $250,000. APFS allows users to view incumbent contract information (when available), point of contact information and projected release dates.
• Veterans Affairs (VA) Contract Catalog Search Tool (CCST) eCMS: CCST allows Government Contractors to search all open Indefinite Delivery/Quantity (IDIQ) ordering vehicles recorded in eCMS, VA’s contracting system of record. Contracts that can be found using the Pharmaceutical and MedSurg searches are excluded to prevent confusion and should be searched for using those search functions. Users can search by contract title, line item description, contract number, contractor, and contract action type.
• Micro-Purchases GitHub: VA has a GitHub repository for its micro-purchases primarily supporting VA’s API platform. In this repo, VA seeks feedback on draft micro consulting work statements and solicits micro consulting Request for Quotes (RFQs). Similarly, 18F operates its own GitHub repository for open-source coding services.

4: Forage Social Media and Federal Communication Platforms.

In case you have missed it, Federal agencies have been actively announcing and sharing events, challenges, and solicitations (including their awards) on various social media channels. A turnaround from just a few years ago, Federal agencies are now encouraged to participate in social media land to include LinkedIn, Twitter, and Medium. Social media and Federal communication platforms can increase a Government Contractors brand awareness and can turn a “cold call or email” into a “lukewarm” one. Make your organization known to Federal buyers by utilizing the following tools:

• GSA Interact: GSA Interact is an open, collaborative community for connecting, communicating, learning, and engaging across GSA topics. Create a profile, join groups, and be an active participant through the comment feature. 
• DHS Vendor Outreach Session Schedule System: DHS sponsors a series of small business Vendor Outreach Sessions featuring pre-arranged 15-minute appointments with the SBS and several large Government Contractors that currently have prime contracts with DHS. Create a profile, review the list of counselors, and determine which counselors you wish to meet with for further information.
• Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Internet Bid Board System (DIBBS): DLA’s DIBBS is a web-based application that allows Government Contractors to search for, view, and submit secure quotes on requests for quotations for DLA supply items. 
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Small Business Vendor Profile System (SBVPS): EPA has developed a web-based database of small business firms interested in doing business with the agency.
• Social Security Administration (SSA) Vendor Repository: The SSA Vendor Repository is the most effective way to market your goods and services to SSA. Send an electronic version of your capability statement to the listed SSA point of contact to demonstrate your organization’s ability to provide quality products or services that they buy.
• Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Small Business Capabilities Input Form:  Any organization can email a completed Small Business Capabilities Input Form to USPTO SB Specialist and Industry Liaison. 
• Treasury Small Business Electronic Capability Statement (SB e-CS): This is an electronic tool that enables organizations interested in doing business with the agency to identify their capabilities for their acquisition personnel.
• Education (ED) Small Business Customer Experience (SBCX): ED recently launched a new site dedicated to helping small businesses connect more easily with federal contracting opportunities. By registering on SBCX, you will be able to create an interactive profile where you can upload your information and indicate what Program Offices you are interested in working with.

---

Now that you know where the information hides, it is time to interpret it and put it into context. As professional Government Contracting storytellers, we stand ready to deliver you the critical context your organization needs to optimize your business development engine.

Want to learn more? Reach out to us today to learn how we can help you #bidwithintent.

In Government Contracting, you have always been taught that business development, capture, and proposal management are separate functions. But as merger and acquisition activity continues to increase, trading businesses like baseball cards, one is finding that not all swimlanes are entirely clear.

THAT IS BECAUSE THE INDUSTRY IS CHANGING.

Long gone are the days of hiring an internal Proposal Writer specifically to write your Past Performance volumes. Government Contracting has gotten leaner, meaner, and leadership is trying to cut Bid & Proposal costs wherever possible.

One of the frequently heard cliches in our industry today is, “I want to hire a unicorn”. Translation: I need one person to do more business development for less than the cost of building out a robust, niche team.

But unicorns are hard to find in the wild, which is why we suggest home growing your own. The perfect seeds to nourish are your Proposal Managers, who innately have the skills and knowledge base required to perform Business Development functions.

How can you make your Proposal Manager’s skills translate into BD? Download our free resource guide below.