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4/9/2010
Top Five Resources to Research and Find Government Contracting Opportunities
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) signed into law on February 17, 2009 opened new opportunities for small businesses to obtain government contracts. Take advantage of the following top five resources to research and find government contracting opportunities:
1. The Governor’s Office of Economic Recovery website – www.flarecovery.com.
- Overview: The Governor’s Office of Economic Recovery was created with the goal of tracking all federal stimulus dollars flowing into the state, local governments, private businesses, and non-profit organizations.
- ARRA Contract Opportunities: On the website, under the “About” tab, you will find “State and Local Projects.” There you can browse the ARRA funds available for projects by industry (Health Care, Education, Infrastructure, etc.) and learn about the funding allocation. Even better, when you click on the “Documents” tab and scroll down to the “State and Federal Funding Announcements” you will find lists with specific fund allocations by city or by project.
- Training: To increase your chance of winning government contracts, you can review the training materials available from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The training materials, located under the “Documents,” are covering such topics as the Recovery Act Reporting Overview, Basic Principles and Requirements, Recipient Reporting Process Overview, and much more.
- ARRA Grant Opportunities: Grant opportunities are listed on the same website, www.flarecovery.com, under “Related Links.”
2. Florida Department of Management Services – dms.myflorida.com
- Overview: MyFloridaMarketPlace (MFMP) is the State of Florida’s online resource that streamlines interactions between state governmental entities and vendors. For vendors, the website provides a centralized source of procurement activities and enables vendors to reach a broader buying audience.
- ARRA Contract Opportunities: In order to gain access to bid opportunities, you need to register with MFMP. The instructions for the registration are listed in the “Vendor Toolkit” on the website. Once registered, you will be able to gain access to advertised bid opportunities as well as participate in the monthly online sessions for MFMP vendors.
- Training: MFMP also offers online training for the vendors, ranging from the MFMP Glossary to Vendor Performance Tracking Overview, and other topics.
3. Grants.gov
- Overview: If applying for grants is something that you do on a consistent basis, then you know this website is the place to find and apply for grants. In response to ARRA, Grant making agencies are now posting the ARRA specific grant opportunities on this website.
- ARRA Grant Opportunities: You can research the ARRA related grants by clicking on the “Recovery Act Grant Opportunities” link in the upper right corner (see the box titled “Recovery.gov”). Also, did you know that that select agencies are now temporarily allowed to process grant applications? According to Recovery.gov, the agencies that are now directly accepting grant applications are:
- Corporation for National and Community Service; Department of Defense; Department of Education; Department of Energy; Department of Housing and Urban Development; Department of Justice; Department of Treasury; Department of Transportation; Department of Homeland Security; the National Science Foundation; Environmental Protection Agency; and National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
4. Recovery.org
- Overview: www.recovery.org, a service provided by Onvia, tracks ARRA spending by federal, state, and local agencies. The tracking enables virtually everyone to have equal access to the projects associated with the recovery efforts.
- ARRA Contract Opportunities: To look up contract opportunities, go to www.recovery.org. The research tools are showcased on the main homepage. You can filter your searches by city or by type (RFP, Awards, Bids, Grants, Amendments, etc) as well as by publication dates and costs. As of August 3, 2009, for the state of Florida alone, www.recovery.org showed 1,314 projects valued at $4.91 billion. As of August 2009, Hillsborough County boasts the most ARRA contracts – 49 projects valued at over $1 billion. Miami-Dade follows a close 2nd with 185 projects valued at over $850 million. Pinellas County shows 18 total ARRA projects with a value exceeding $500 million. By ARRA projects value, Brevard places itself at a solid #8 among the Florida counties, with a total of 102 ARRA projects with an estimated value of over $120 million. According to recovery.org the neighboring Orange County showcases a total 32 projects valued at over $130 million.
5. FedBizOpps.gov
- Overview: FedBizOpps.gov (FBO) is the official database of all federal government contracting opportunities. Awards over $25,000 are listed, as mandated by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR Part 5).
- ARRA Contract Opportunities: To find ARRA opportunities on FBO, on the main page (www.fedbizopps.gov) click on the “Search Recovery Opportunities” button, located in the upper right corner of the page. Please make sure you and your company are registered with this website.
- Training: Despite the fact that www.fedbizopps.gov presents a wealth of information, the website is well organized and the average users should be able to find the information they are looking for. Under the “Getting Started” tab you will find FBO demonstration videos, user guides, and Frequently Asked Questions, which are grouped by vendor questions, buyer questions, and ARRA questions from vendors and buyers.
The ARRA funds are presenting many small businesses with new opportunities to win contracts. Be sure to take advantage of them. According to Onvia, as of June 2009, there were already over $50 billion allocated, just under $10 billion awarded, and close to $20 billion being advertised, for a total of close to $78 billion spent. Of that money, $62 billion are being spent on construction related projects and almost $10 billion are spent on Architecture & Engineering. The rest of the money is being allocated to operations & maintenance, transportation equipment, business consulting, Information Technology, healthcare, industrial supplies, and office equipment.
What should you do now?
- Set aside time to learn and understand ARRA
- Create a team whose focus is stimulus projects, or invest in a skilled Project Manager to fully realize the stimulus projects’ value.
- Review the resources noted above and decide on how to take advantage of them
- Consider making special offerings
- Leverage General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedules
- Reach out to public sector managers and private consultants
- And follow the money!
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