As we have said repeatedly, business development (finding end-users who purchase your product/service) is the most difficult aspect of federal sales. The following three federal programs can help make life easier by focusing your business development efforts.
Small Business Innovative Research Programs (SBIR)
The SBIR Program provides up to $850,000 in early-stage R&D funding directly to small technology companies (or individual entrepreneurs who form companies). SBA Size Standards for participation in this program are posted at http://www.sba.gov/size/sizetable2002.html. Go to the following websites to learn more about the SBIR program:
- Department of Defense (DOD) SBIR Program: http://www.acq.osd.mil/sadbu/sbir/. Solicitations for proposals for specific research and development topics are posted at the DOD site.
- Civilian agency SBIR Program announcements can be found by entering the agency name and “sbir” into the search box at http://www.firdstgov.gov.
The drawback to the SBIR Program is that your qualifications and research capabilities must precisely match the published SBIR topics for an agency. The upside of the program is that, if you’re successful, the government will fund the R&D of a product that you’ll eventually sell in the commercial sector.
Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs)
Established during World War II, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) assist the federal government with scientific research and analysis, systems development, and systems acquisition in defense, energy, aviation, space, health and human services, and tax administration. Although sponsored by government agencies, they are managed and operated by prime contractors and not-for-profit organizations.
The websites for the 33 FFRDCs are listed at: http://www.amso.army.mil/sites/ffrdc/. Each prime contractor operating an FFRDC has a contracting organization that is required to operate like a federal contracting division. They must follow public purchasing policies in general and comply with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) in particular.
FFRDCs have small and disadvantaged business goals just like a federal contracting office.
Call on these organizations. Frequently the competition for contracts at these FFRDCs can be less intense that that found in Washington, DC-based federal agencies.
A-76 Program
The FAIR Act requires all executive agencies to submit to Congress an annual inventory of activities that are not "inherently governmental," and to make this information available to the public. All other activities performed by federal employees are deemed "commercial" and are included in the inventories. http://web.lmi.org/fairnet/Index2.html.
OMB Circular A-76 (1983, revised 1999) established a federal policy that says, "Whenever commercial sector performance of a Government operated commercial activity is permissible . . . comparison of the cost of contracting and the cost of in-house performance shall be performed to determine who will do the work." The policy also states that the federal government "shall not start or carry on any activity to provide a commercial product or service if the product or service can be procured more economically from a commercial source." http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a076/a076.html.
A-76 competitions -- in which contractors compete for work against in-house government employees -- are becoming more and more common. The program represents significant business opportunities for federal contractors.
On the other hand, competing with the government in A-76 procurements is not for the feint-hearted. It takes considerable experience to play is this game, particularly in developing a winning pricing strategy.
More information on the A-76 program can be found in e-newsletter archive Installments 45 and 51. Go to the following URL and click on "Doing Business with Government":
http://www.fedmarket.com/freeRes/eNewsletters/index.php
Another way to get scads of information: go to Firstgov.gov and enter “a-76” in the search box.
