Points of Entry

• FedBizOpps (FBO): a single location where government agencies must publish all business opportunities over $25,000;
• General Services Administration (GSA): which provides equipment, supplies, telecommunications, and information technology acquisition solutions for the military and all government organizations, usually through the use of indefinite delivery contracts; and
• Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs): which are used to acquire basic and applied research, and early development efforts unrelated to a specific system or hardware procurement.

While it is important to be familiar with these points of entry, simple searches through these government opportunities will likely not initially result in winning contracts. In some cases, 'entering' through FedBizOpps may already be too late when competing with seasoned vendors. It is therefore critical to know your market, network to build the profile of your product or service, join associations to get to know contracting officers and become familiar with upcoming opportunities, and potentially team with established U.S. contractors.

FedBizOpps (www.fbo.gov)

What You Will Find:

• All federal government business opportunities, known as solicitations, with a total contract value greater than $25,000.
• Synopses of proposed contract actions, Requests for Quotation, Invitations for Bid, Requests for Proposal (RFP), and draft RFPs open for industry comment.
• Combined synopsis/solicitations for commercial items, whereby competing contractors will respond with their quote, bid or proposal based on the FBO notice.

What You Need to Know:

• Indefinite delivery contracts and procurements set-aside for socio-economic programs are not listed.
• A significant amount of preparation is required before submitting a response to a solicitation. Try to stay informed of upcoming solicitations through industry publications, associations and networking.

Additional FedBizOpps Resources:

• SUB-Net, an online network of small businesses and small business associations with available subcontracting opportunities.
• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act actions including contract solicitations and awards.
• Federal Agency Information: grant notifications, federal asset sales, and federal agency business forecasts.

General Services Administration (www.gsa.gov)

What You Will Find:

• The GSA Schedules program establishes long-term governmentwide contracts that allow customers to acquire a vast array of supplies (products) and services directly from commercial suppliers.
• Detailed information guides for vendors that includes information on how to get on GSA Schedules and the types of GSA Schedule Programs available. Schedules are the primary means of contracting with the GSA.
• GSA Schedules program include opportunities at the state and local levels. Three programs allow sub-federal government entities to purchase from GSA Schedule contracts. They include:
  • Cooperative Purchasing which covers supplies and services purchased directly from two Schedules: Schedule 70 for IT-related contracts and, Schedule 84 for contracts related to law enforcement;
  • Disaster Recovery Purchasing used to facilitate recovery from a major disaster, terrorism, or nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack; and
  • 1122 Program jointly executed by the Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and the GSA, this program allows sub-federal law enforcement agencies to purchase equipment necessary to support homeland security, emergency response and counter-drug activities through GSA Schedules.
• Non-GSA Schedule contract opportunities including Technology Programs, Assisted Acquisition, and programs specific to GSA Fleet & Automotive, GSA Global Supply, and GSA Travel Services.
• Information on the SmartPay Card 2 program, providing charge cards to U.S. government agencies/departments, as well as tribal governments, through master contracts that are negotiated with major national banks. There are currently over 350 agencies/organizations participating in the program.
• Online purchasing through GSA Advantage!, of products and services from pre-approved commercial vendors.

What You Need to Know:

• To become a GSA Schedule contractor, a vendor must first submit an offer in response to the applicable GSA Schedule solicitation.
• GSA awards contracts to responsible companies offering commercial items, at fair and reasonable prices, that fall within the generic descriptions in the GSA Schedule Solicitations. Contracting Officers determine whether prices are fair and reasonable by comparing the prices/discounts that a company offers the government with the prices/discounts that the company offers to commercial customers. This negotiation objective is commonly known as "most favored customer" (MFC) pricing.

Additional GSA Resources:

• GSA training programs: an online training portal offering courses on GSA acquisition vehicles, policies, and guidance.
• Complete lists of products and services acquired/procured by the GSA for use by the U.S. federal government and its agencies.
• Information for businesses and vendors interested in working with GSA including: Schedules assistance, vendor support programs, assistance with marketing to the government, lists and descriptions of how the GSA buys products and services (indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contracts, being the most popular).

Broad Agency Announcements (BAA)

What You Will Find:

• Published on FedBizOpps, the Federal Register, and on individual agency sites or industry publications, BAAs are used to acquire basic and applied research, and early development efforts unrelated to a specific system or hardware procurement.
• BAAs are used by agencies to fulfill their requirements for scientific study or experimentation directed toward advancing the state-of-the-art or increasing knowledge or understanding of a particular techniques or issue. An example BAA may request research to address a need for improved filtration media. One respondent may suggest a limited laboratory study while another may suggest full scale testing of a new manufacturing technique. Both could be subjected to peer or scientific review, and if found acceptable either or both could be funded subsequently through a contract, grant or other transaction.

What You Need to Know:

• BAA evaluations address technical merit, importance to agency programs, funds availability, and other related factors.
• BAAs are commonly used by the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Energy (DOE); the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) but, they may be used by any agency.
• Within DoD, BAAs are used at the Defense Advance Research Project Agency (DARPA) and at various Army, Navy and Air Force organizational components.

Additional Resources:

• Aside from searching FedBizOpps, consider regularly consulting relevant agency websites or, conducting a general internet search using "broad agency announcement" as your search criteria.