How to Find Government Contracts

Government contracts can be found on government websites and in market intelligence platforms that cover the government contracting market. You need to know how to search for and find these opportunities to grow your public sector sales.

In order to find government contracts that fit your business, you will need to identify your target market, be that federal or state, local and education and then search government contracts that map to your industry and core competencies – giving you the best chance to win more government business.

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In This Article:

• What is a Government Contract?
• How to Find Federal Government Contracts
• How to Find State and Local Government Contracts
• How to Find Small Business Government Contracts
• How to Find Canadian Government Contracts
• How to Search Government Contracts
• How to Bid on Government Contracts
• How to Win Government Contracts

A government contract is an arrangement between a government contractor (private company) and a public government agency, where the contractor (or contractors) agree to provide the government with goods or services in exchange for an agreed-upon fee. Government contracts generally account for approximately 10 to 15 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in developed countries.

Government contractors must follow the same laws that apply to everyone else in business. Some contracts will be delivered upon by a group of government contractors that have entered into a subcontracting agreement or a teaming agreement.

Federal agencies use several methods of advertising their intent to spend money, including socioeconomic set-aside programs and government websites such as SAM.gov. Sometimes agencies also offer a preview of coming solicitations by hosting industry days. In order to find federal government contracts that best match your company’s core competencies, you’ll want to determine which agencies have the most best-fit opportunities.

However, relying exclusively on government websites to get government contracts can be a time-consuming and lengthy process. Though most federal contracting opportunities appear on SAM.gov or other government websites, private companies like Deltek have tools such as GovWin IQ that track likely opportunities up to five years before a bid or a request for proposal (RFP) is actually issued. The best way to find federal government contracts is to leverage these tools to identify federal spending areas well in advance, then prepare your company’s go-to-market strategy for when those federal contracts are released.

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State and local (SLED) government agencies in the United States spend more than a trillion dollars every year, so devoting time and energy to building a SLED market business plan is well worth the effort. If you are wondering how to find state and local government contracts that align to your business, your first step should be to determine which levels of government you want to sell to and which regions are best fits. Then find those agencies and register to business with them by signing up for their procurement portals, which differ by state. You can save time by signing up for a government business development tool like GovWin IQ that can track opportunities from each of those agencies you are targeting.

Once you have defined your target governments, you need to understand how and when they spend. Unlike the federal government, SLED agencies set their own fiscal year schedules and their spending patterns often align with their state’s fiscal year start and end dates. It’s important to understand your target agencies’ fiscal year and spending patterns to pinpoint when you will find the most best-fit government contracts from those agencies.

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If you meet the definition of a small business you may have access to a wealth of small business government contracts. Governments offer a number of small business set-aside contracts through a variety of programs:

• 8(a) Business Development
• Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Programs
• Minority-Owned Small Business (MOSB) Programs
• Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOSB) Programs
• All Small Mentor-Protégé Program

Small businesses often break into new fields or gain contracting experience through subcontracting and serving on a prime contractor’s team (teaming). It is a way of getting experience that often allows you to avoid some of the complicated compliance requirements and challenges competing against more established vendors, yet gaining some experience and past performance. Searching for federal contracts from one of the above programs, or seeking out teaming and subcontracting opportunities, can help you find small business government contracts that best match up with your company’s strengths.

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The Government of Canada procures tens of thousands of products and services, ranging from aircraft to business supplies to training and scientific research services. Billions of dollars are spent annually on public procurement in Canada across the country’s provinces, the territories, MASH (municipalities, academic institutions, schools and hospitals) entities and the federal government. The broad range of government types and goods and services being procured makes the Canadian market a valuable one for businesses seeking to expand their government sales.

To find Government of Canada contract opportunities, public sector contractors must understand the government contracting process in the country. Canada operates with different terminology, different rules and different regulations than in the United States and the various federal, territorial and provincial agencies utilize a number of different trade agreements and co-operative purchasing agreements. But once a business understands those differences, it can be well set up to succeed in finding Canadian government contracts, tenders and bidding opportunities to add to its pipeline.

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Once you have identified the types of government contracting methods and vehicles that exist in the market, you should follow these steps and take action.

1. Select the methods and bid opportunities that best suit your business. Determine whether you are best suited to pursue a large contract, an opportunity as part of a bigger vehicle or subcontracting or teaming opportunity, and develop a list of target agencies.
2. Determine which socioeconomic categories, if any, fit your business. These might include designations like women-owned (WOSB), service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVOSB) or minority-owned (MOSB). These categories can give you a big advantage.
3. Identify your target opportunities – and pursue them. You can often find those opportunities through tools like GovWin IQ, the industry’s leading platform to help you find government contract bids and gain awareness of upcoming opportunities up to five years before the solicitation is even released.
4. Submit a strong proposal. Make sure to highlight your company’s core competencies and outline why your business stands out. You can also leverage market intelligence to differentiate your offering from those of the competition.

After identifying and pursuing opportunities that fit your business, there are specific tactics you can take to connect with the right decision makers and put your best foot forward in order to beat out the competition and win a government contract. By being proactive, getting ahead of the bid or RFP and putting your business in a position to win, you can ensure a steady stream of revenue from your government business.