Small Business Liaison Officers (OSDBU): How They Help
Every federal agency has an Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization — an OSDBU — staffed by small business liaison officers whose job is to help small firms win federal work. For a new contractor, the OSDBU is the friendliest door into an agency: unlike a contracting officer, who must stay neutral between vendors, […]
Government Matchmaking Events: How to Prepare
A government matchmaking event is speed dating for federal contracting: a small business sits down with a buyer — a contracting officer, a prime contractor, or an agency small business liaison — for a short, scheduled meeting, then moves to the next table. In a single day you can meet ten or twenty people who […]
How to Find GSA Contract Opportunities
The General Services Administration plays two roles in federal contracting, and confusing them is the most common mistake newcomers make when looking for GSA contract opportunities. First, GSA is itself a buyer: it buys goods and services for its own operations, from building management for federal facilities to IT systems for its own staff. Second, […]
How to Find DHS Contract Opportunities
The Department of Homeland Security is a large and fast-moving federal buyer, created from more than twenty agencies and still organised around distinct operational components. DHS buys border security technology, cybersecurity services, IT systems, professional services, facilities support, and equipment for a mission that ranges from airport screening to disaster response. For small businesses, DHS […]
How to Find VA Contract Opportunities
The Department of Veterans Affairs is one of the largest civilian buyers in the federal government and one of the most small-business-friendly. The VA buys healthcare services and supplies, medical equipment, construction, IT systems, facilities services, and professional services for a nationwide network of hospitals, clinics, and benefits offices. For veteran-owned firms in particular, the […]
How to Find DoD Contract Opportunities
The Department of Defense is the largest buyer in the federal government, spending hundreds of billions of dollars a year on everything from weapons systems and IT services to facilities maintenance, catering, logistics, and professional services. For a small business, that scale is both an opportunity and a challenge: the opportunity is enormous, but the […]
Agency Procurement Forecasts: How to Read Them
An agency procurement forecast is a public list of what a federal agency expects to buy in the coming months, often for the current and next fiscal year. Agencies publish these forecasts so that businesses — especially small businesses — can prepare long before a solicitation appears. For a contractor, a forecast is one of […]
Presolicitation Notices Explained
A presolicitation notice on SAM.gov is the government’s formal heads-up that a solicitation is coming. It appears before the request for proposals, sometimes weeks or months before, and it tells the market what the agency plans to buy, roughly when the solicitation will be issued, and under what conditions. For contractors who know how to […]
Draft RFPs: Why Smart Contractors Comment Early
When an agency publishes a draft request for proposals, it is offering contractors a rare opportunity: the chance to change the solicitation before it becomes final. Most firms ignore draft RFPs. They wait for the real thing, then discover requirements they cannot meet, evaluation factors that favour a competitor, or instructions that make no sense, […]
RFI Responses That Get You Noticed
A request for information, or RFI, is the government’s invitation to teach it something before it buys. Unlike a solicitation, an RFI asks for knowledge, not a price, and unlike a casual inquiry, it is published, structured, and read by the people who will shape the eventual procurement. Firms that respond well to RFIs gain […]