The United States Federal Government
The United States government buys many products and services from suppliers who meet certain qualifications. It applies standardized procedures to acquire goods and services. The procedures used by the government can be found in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).
The beginning of the decade is a great time for small business owners to get their hands on lucrative government contracts. The Small Business Administration has changed the rules on how to measure what qualifies as a small business. The 2018 Small Business Runway Extension Act will increase the period of measuring annual revenue from three to five years when the business is being evaluated for government contracts. This means a lot more businesses will qualify for small business set-asides. In fact, nearly a quarter of all government contracts have gone to small businesses in the last five years.
The Department Of Health And Human Services
The Department of Health and Human Services states its mission “Is to enhance the health and well-being of all Americans, by providing for effective health and human services and by fostering sound, sustained advances in the sciences underlying medicine, public health, and social services” This is an agency whose need has only increased due to the current pandemic of Covid-19.
This agency is a great contracting source for small businesses that provide healthcare services and products. Go to https://www.hhs.gov/grants/contracts/index.html for more information. This agency also does a lot of partnerships, so it is a great way for a small business to get their foot in the door with many other types of government agencies.
Streamlining and Modernizing Information Technology
Did you know that the Internal Revenue Service, the Veterans Affairs Department, Defense Department, and the Transportation Department are operating on computer systems that are over 50 years old? Some are still using 1970 IBM mainframe computers that store information on floppy disks!
This has caused the government to pass the Modernizing Government Technology Act, also known as the MGT. The MGT has authorized that 100 hundred million dollars be allocated to modernizing the federal government Information Technology systems in 2018. Then another 150 million dollars were added to the MGT in 2019. The Consolidated Appropriations Act also then added billions of dollars to upgrade the government’s I.T. systems and update infrastructure.
So small businesses that can help the government reduce redundancies, save money, and streamline government technology have a great chance of obtaining very profitable government contracts in 2020 and beyond.
2024 Is A Big Election Year
The beginning of this decade will decide a presidential election, one-third of the seats in the senate, and 435 seats in the House of Representatives. This does not even take into account all the local and state-level elections that will be going on across the country.
This will be a giant boon for small businesses that can provide the equipment and supplies necessary to make sure all these elections run smoothly. Homeland security alone will be spending 425 million dollars to help protect voting security and privacy.
Air And Missile Defense Innovation
The United States Army has big plans for developing its air and missile defense system to be one of the best in the world. Lieutenant General James H. Dickinson, commanding general of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command, said, “Our vision is that the AMD force of 2028 will provide the combatant commanders with a flexible, agile, and integrated AMD force capable of executing multi-domain operations.”
The army is particularly interested in modernizing its radar technologies. This is a fantastic opportunity for innovative small businesses to step up to the plate and help the army build some new prototypes. The army is very open to working closely with new businesses in order to develop key technologies that will streamline operations in the future.
Blockchain
Blockchain allows for the distribution of data on multiple platforms at the same time. It grows as a new set of recordings, referred to as blocks, are added to it. All the blocks contain timestamp information linking it to previous blocks, thus creating a chain. This allows for no data block to be altered without the alteration of all the blocks that came before it.
The government is interested in blockchain data management because it is decentralized and allows for more security for transactions. This usually also means that operating costs can be lower. The United States government became interested in blockchain technology in 2016 and it should be a very lucrative avenue for many small businesses.
Innovation OTS is a five-year program that will continue in 2020. It aims to provide opportunities for nontraditional government contractors to work with the Department of Homeland Security to develop new technologies to address upcoming threats. In 2020, small business contractors can take advantage of Innovation OTS to form government partnerships and provide innovative technologies.
Infrastructure Construction
There are at least 21 billion dollars allocated for infrastructure spending by the federal government. The United States is a vast land of highways, roads, bridges, and dams. All of these structures need to be constantly maintained for safety and to fuel a strong vibrant economy. The country also needs to construct new infrastructure in order to keep up with the needs of a growing population.
These types of large infrastructure projects take years to complete and will be a viable source of revenue for many types of small businesses. The United States government will be needing supplies, labor, and services for these projects for many years to come.
The Government Will Always March Forward
The Federal government will soon be back on track and in much need of goods and services provided by small businesses. Many agencies, such as the Department of Defense, are fully funded for the year. and will be moving forward with their contracts immediately.
To do any business with the federal government, you must register your business in the System for Award Management directory. The government will not hire any type of business (large or small) that has not registered in the SAM directory.