1.  Federal Procurement Market Research
2.  Business & Procurement Opportunities through AeANET
3.  Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
4.  Government Sponsored Procurement Portals
5.  AeA Local Events on Procurement

Federal Procurement Market Research

If you are a small business considering the government as a potential customer for your product or services, you may have several questions about getting started.  For example:

• How do I go about researching the federal procurement marketplace?
• Who can I contact at a specific federal agency?
• What techniques should I use to market my company?
• Are there government programs intended to help small business break into the government marketplace?

You can spend days combing the Internet trying to track down this kind of information.  Fortunately, you don't have to now.  AeA has collected the relevant available information, including many key points of contact, to answer several of the questions you may have.

• Department of Defense Related Issues - Includes Excel spreadsheet listing the description and address of every active DoD Contracting office in 2002
• Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) Contacts - Includes links to over 20 individual agencies, including points of contacts
• SBA Small Business Assistance Offices - Can help you find the offices that are most likely to buy your products or services
• Defense Contract Management Commands (DCMCs) - Can help you find subcontracting opportunities and assist you in identifying DoD contracting offices likely to buy your products or services

Business & Procurement Opportunities through AeANET

AeA is pleased to announce the launch of our fully searchable online member listing.  To access your company information simply go to the Member Directory page of AeANet.

AeA has created fields to allow government procurement officials and other potential customers to locate your company by targeting specific products or services.  In addition, should someone be interested in finding a small, women or minority-owned business, AeA's fully searchable database will make sure your company is found.

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - What you need to know to get started

The risk and expense of conducting serious R&D efforts are often beyond the means of many small businesses. By reserving a specific percentage of Federal R&D funds for small business, the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) protects the small business and enables it to compete on the same level as larger businesses. SBIR funds the critical start-up and development stages and it emphasizes the commercialization of the technology, product, or service. 

With over $1 billion in R&D funding, the SBIR program can be an worthwhile alternative to growing your business.  But how do you get started?

As with any Federal program, there can be a maze of information you have to go through just to find out if the program is right for you.   Fortunately, AeA has gone through this information to make your analysis easier.   Check out the following documents to learn more about the SBIR program.

• Primer on the SBIR program
• Tips on writing a SBIR proposal  
• Specific information on Dept. of Defense contacts and resources
• Specifc information on other SBIR contacts and resources
• SBIR Interview with AeA Member

For additional information on the SBIR program, contact Matthew Page, Manager Small Business Programs and Services.

DodBusOpps.com and FedBizOpps.gov are complementary systems. They have similar missions, but they have different scopes and they are operated by different agencies. DoDBusOpps is sponsored by the Defense E-Business Program Office and sends information to FedBusOpps for their own solicitations. It was designed to offer contractors a single point of entry to search for DoD on-line solicitations regardless of dollar value. DoDBusOpps links the user to the Web sites of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and other DoD agencies and subgroups. DoDBusOpps only displays open and active solicitations throughout the DoD. The site includes Army, Navy/Marine Corps, Air Force, DLA and DISA solicitations but it allows for the future inclusion of smaller DoD organizations. Through DoDBusOpps users have access to 70% of the Defense Department’s opportunities. DoDBusOpps provides links to the actual solicitation and to the bidding module where they exist on the Internet, and to any technical data repository associated with it. By clicking on Auto-Notification of Opportunities under Special Features on the left-hand-side of the homepage, you can register to receive DoD procurement announcements by email. This will notify you when pre-solicitation or solicitation relating to your preferred DoD item is made available and released by DoDBusOpps. This auto-notification service is free of charge.

Central Contractor Registration (or CCR), is a government database of past, current, and potential vendors. CCR.gov was created to be the single repository of vendor data for the entire DoD to avoid administrative duplication and allow contractors to take responsibility for the accuracy of their own important business information by supplying it directly to the government. According to Defense Department regulation, vendors must be registered in Central Contractor Registration (CCR) prior to the award of a contract, basic agreement, basic ordering agreement, or blanket purchase agreement, unless the award results from a solicitation issued on or before May 31, 1998. To be active in CCR, vendors are required to register one time and check their information at least annually. The registration is free and because it is entered and maintained by the vendor, they have access to their registration at their convenience.

This page was last updated on 05/05/03.  
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