Decoding Government Contract Opportunity Types

Navigating the federal contracting landscape can be challenging, especially when deciphering notices on SAM.gov. In the latest FedBiz'5 podcast, we explored the types of contract opportunities available and how contractors can leverage them to succeed. Here’s a breakdown of the key notices and what they mean for your business.

1. Award Notices and Special Notices

• Award Notice: Announces contract awards, detailing award amounts and successful bidders. While no action is required, these notices offer insights into pricing and potential subcontracting opportunities.
• Special Notice: Used to share event details, procurement forecasts, or pre-bid conference schedules. Though they don’t present immediate bidding opportunities, they are crucial for networking and understanding future procurements.

2. Sources Sought Notices

Sources Sought notices are part of the government’s market research, identifying qualified vendors for upcoming opportunities.

Action Step:
Responding is a prime opportunity to market your business to government buyers. Submit your capability statement, highlighting your NAICS and PSC codes, certifications, and unique value. Even a brief response can increase your visibility and position your company as a go-to vendor.

3. Pre-Solicitation Notices

Pre-solicitation notices alert vendors about upcoming solicitations. These may include an "interested vendors list," which allows you to express interest and gain visibility. By responding, you can help influence procurement strategies, such as advocating for small business set-asides.

4. Solicitations and Combined Synopsis/Solicitations

These are the formal opportunities to bid. Combined synopsis/solicitations typically include more upfront details and are often used for simplified acquisitions.

Pro Tip:
Carefully review all instructions and evaluation criteria in the solicitation. Ensure your response aligns with the government’s expectations to avoid disqualification.

Best Practices for Contractors

1. Stay Proactive: Track notices that align with your capabilities and act early.
2. Showcase Your Strengths: Ensure your capability statement is updated and accessible.
3. Build Relationships: Use special notices and events to network with buyers.
4. Follow Instructions: Always adhere to the detailed requirements in solicitations.

Why Choose FedBiz Access

For over 23 years, FedBiz Access has helped clients win $35.8 billion in awards. Our experts provide tailored solutions, including capability statements and government-focused landing pages, to help you succeed in the federal marketplace.

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FedBiz Access specialists are here to guide you through the complexities of government contracting. Schedule a complimentary consultation today by calling 888-299-4498 or visiting FedBizAccess.com.

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Transcript

Bobby Testa 0:00
My name is Bobby, and I work with small businesses in the Government Marketplace. You're listening to FedBiz Five. Get informed, get connected, and get results on everything government contracting. We are back with another episode of FedBiz Five. Bobby Testa here, and as always, ready to offer you some knowledge in the government contracting arena. Now today, we are going to discuss how to interpret what the government is telling prospective vendors like yourself by the contract opportunity type listed on a sam.gov contract opportunity. Once again, we have our senior government contracting specialist, Frank Krebs, back with us to provide insight on the variety of contract opportunity types utilized by the federal government. Good to see you again. Frank, yeah,

Frank Krebs 0:48
Hey, Bobby, it's wonderful to be back with you and our listeners. And how do you like your new marketing position? I love the TikTok videos by the way that you're generating, funny yet very insightful.

Bobby Testa 1:03
Yeah, I love those videos. It gives me the opportunity to combine my knowledge of government contracting with my creative abilities. So most of the stuff you see out there in the industry, it's bland and boring. So I like to put a little fun spin on things. You know, that's it. That's

Frank Krebs 1:17
the way to do it.

Bobby Testa 1:18
All right. So let's jump into it. Our clients and a lot of small business owners have been asking how many types of contract opportunities are there in SAM? Everyone knows about solicitations, but when you search in SAM, there are more options.

Frank Krebs 1:33
That's right, Bobby, you've highlighted the most important one, however. But let me begin by saying that there are seven separate pre-award notice types that can be posted by the government. One, however, is rarely used and applies only to certain DoD-type contracts. That notice type is intent to bundle requirements. For purposes of this podcast, we're going to skip that type today and focus on the other six now. Then there are two that are strictly notices. One is an award notice and the other is a special notice. So first, the award notice, as its title implies, it's a notice published to announce that the government has made a contract award. Federal agencies may choose to upload into SAM a notice that informs the public of the award of a solicited contract. Typically, this notice will have the date that the contract was executed, the total award amount, and the name and address of the successful bidder. This notice is strictly for information only, and there's nothing required that you would have to do with it. Now the second notice type that's a special notice, and this is used by government agencies, typically to announce events. An event might be a convention, it might be a meeting or a business fair. It might be just the government providing some long-range procurement estimates. Or also could be announcing the dates, times, locations of a pre-bid or pre-proposal conference for an upcoming large contract opportunity. Now don't ignore special notices. Read them and react accordingly, as they can provide important information that will assist your firm in the future, as well as provide network opportunities that you will want to explore.

Bobby Testa 3:46
So these notices should not be ignored, but also they do not directly provide a bidding opportunity for businesses. Got it. Can you explain what a Sources Sought is? We see these all the time when reviewing potential opportunities in SAM and I am sure some of our listeners are confused as to what these are and how they are used by the government.

Frank Krebs 4:07
Hey, that's a great question, Bobby. Sources Sought, other than being difficult to say, is an announcement that is simply a synopsis of a contract opportunity that the government intends to award. However, they are typically still conducting market research and therefore not ready to request proposals or quotes at this time. It's during this phase of government contracting where the contracting officer determines if there are companies that can provide the services or products that the government requires. Remember, government contracting starts with a need, and the contracting officer is tasked with determining who the companies are that can address these needs. Are there any or many potential vendors that are part of a socio-economic category of businesses, such as veteran-owned, women-owned, HUBZone, minority-owned, or just small businesses? And finally, what contracting mechanism will be utilized to obtain vendor or vendors? By completing their market research, they are prepared to initiate the procurement phase. They will have determined if they are going to have to generate a request for proposals, RFP, or request for quotes, RFQ. Can they sole source the acquisition? Can they utilize the Simplified Acquisition approach, or will they use set-aside provisions to limit the businesses that can bid on the procurement to any particular socio-economic category? Now they use Sources Sought—see, I told you it was difficult. They use the Sources Sought feature to involve the vendor community in seeking answers to these questions and to request assistance while they form their contract requirements. Companies need to respond.

Bobby Testa 6:14
So Sources Sought is a type of request for information by the government.

Frank Krebs 6:19
That's correct, Bobby. Sources Sought is the process by which a government agency conducts a request for information, or RFI, for short...