Q4 in government contracting tends to come with some predictability, but thus far 2020 has seen unprecedented challenges worldwide. Today we want to share what we know about the government contracting space, what has yet to be determined, and how you can maximize opportunities unique to this time.
What We Know
8(a) and sole source opportunities will be utilized to efficiently contract by fiscal year end, but remote work may impact efficiency and execution. We are also still seeing an increase and repurposing of funding to address COVID-19. Federal contractors should be reaching out to their contracting partners in the federal government to see how they can support their needs. Although there is significant and specific spend on products and services directly related to the COVID-19 response, there are also significant ancillary needs, like staffing augmentation and IT support services.
What Needs To be Researched
It is important to continue engaging with your federal partners to see how any additional federal funding is being spent. As we all know, agencies have requirements to bring more funds under management (i.e. the Category Management Initiative), so it is important to understand not only what contracting vehicles will be used for any potential new funding, but how existing requirements will be re-bid.
We have seen client after client who have been impacted by their existing requirement being moved to a Best in Class Vehicle. You have to understand your customer’s Category Management goals. Get clear on which contracts are vulnerable. And develop a plan to capture future opportunities.
If you are an incumbent, but your requirement is going to be moved to a BIC which you don’t hold, it is important to do your homework and identify potential partners that do hold the BIC vehicle. Many such contractors would welcome the incumbent to be on their team.
What To Do
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- Be in constant communication with your contracting official and your program customers.
- Don’t assume it’s going to be business as usual. Agencies’ priorities are shifting.
- Lead with empathy. Understand that agency officials are also facing difficult circumstances and see how you can help. This crisis is unprecedented.
- Check out COVID-19 specific government web pages.
- SAM Disaster Response Registry
- Army Corp of Engineers – COVID-19 Resource Page
- DOD COVID-19 National Response Team
- COVID-19 Joint Acquisition Task Force
- Coronavirus Acquisition-Related Information and Resources
- DHS has created the COVID-19 Procurement & Acquisition Innovation Response (PAIR) Team. If you are interested in doing business with FEMA and supporting the response to COVID- 19 with non-medical goods and/or services, submit inquiries to DHSIndustryLiaison@hq.dhs.gov
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