Category: GovCon Guides

According to GAO, the Federal Government obligates over 40% of Government discretionary dollars to the GovCon world — which is made up of 435,661 registered, active and available organizations. It has been recently reported that Federal competitive bid opportunities are down, so small business GovCons have had to up their efforts by more than 72%. Contractors live in a world where they spend $150K or more a year to have a piece of the pie, and yet a significant portion ($262B out of an obligated $430B) is only earned (or eaten) by 0.023% of the industry.

With the competition over price, product, and services at an all-time high – what tools and resources should GovCon be thankful for? This Thanksgiving, your Pulse gals would love to share our gratitude for helpful and informational resources in this topsy-turvy industry:

GovCon-Specific Media.

The Pulse would be far less effective without industry-specific media engaging in GovCon discourse. One of our favorites is Washington Technology because of their unique approach, which integrates GovCon news with Wall Street analysis. Other industry favorites that are worth a follow include Government Matters, The Bridge, DoDLive, Federal News Radio, Federal Times, GovLoop, Intelligence Matters, Contracting Officer Podcast, GAO Watchdog Report, Federal Game Changers for Government Contracting, and Gov Actually FedScoop.

Targeted, Specialized GovCon Matchmaking.

Last minute teaming partner fall through? Need that socio-economic small business unicorn to fill in that last niche NAICS req for your bid on that GSA GWAC? Look no further. Our go-to is govmates, a free teaming partner platform for GovCon organizations with a catchy tag-line “#notyourmothersmatchmaking”. By the strength of straight hustle, the govmates matchmakers have made 8,354 GovCon matches since inception and work often with large Primes such as Boeing, CSRA, CACI, IBM, KEYW and Capgemini to assist with their teaming needs. For more information, visit www.govmates.com or email matchmaker@govmates.com.

Government Provided Tools.

We are proud to live in a country where our Government makes a dedicated effort to contracting transparency. Although these tools can be hard to navigate, platforms like FPDS and FBO contain a wealth of information that helps all GovCons position themselves for future success. Other Government favorites that are worth a follow include Acquisition Gateway, GSA Interact, Federal Acquisition Jumpstation and Defense.gov.

Organizations and Events that Connect Government, Industry, and Academia.

One of the main complaints in our world is the disconnect and lack of communication between larger entities that could all mutually benefit each other. So when Government, Industry, and Academia all find themselves in the same room, it’s a point of interest. An upcoming example would be the Defense Intelligence Agency to hold the Director’s 4th Industry Day on December 13-14, 2017. This event is designed to find new capabilities and business processes from the private sector and academia, and introduce them to DIA in a collaborative iHUB environment.  Other industry organizations that arrange informative industry events include: National Contract Management Association (NCMA), Professional Services Council (PSC), Section 809 Panel and AFCEA International.

Friends and Family.

As an anonymous startup publication, The Pulse has relied heavily on the kindness of friends and family. And as a subscriber, that means YOU are now included in that circle. The Pulse of GovCon is bigger than ourselves, but at the end of the day, it is just us humans running the show.

The Pulse works when we maintain the “human element” in our observations – not just rely on data and numbers. So it is imperative that we tell you this: humans make mistakes and humans don’t catch everything. In order to make sure The Pulse stays working for GovCon – we need you! We need your observations, suggestions, and comments. Don’t see something being discussed that deserves some attention? Tell us. See that we got something wrong? Tell us. Have something to add to the conversation? Tell us. You know where to reach us.