Knowledge Base

Reference material for federal government contracting, set-aside categories, compliance frameworks, where opportunity data comes from, and common terminology. Looking for your own uploaded documents and past proposals? Those live in your account's Data Library once you're signed in.

Set-Aside Categories

Small Business: Reserved for businesses meeting SBA small-business size standards for the relevant NAICS code.
8(a): SBA's Business Development Program for socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses; sole-source and competitive awards up to program limits.
HUBZone: Historically Underutilized Business Zone, businesses with a principal office and workforce in a designated HUBZone area.
SDVOSB: Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans.
Woman-Owned Small Business: At least 51% owned and controlled by one or more women; some NAICS codes are further reserved as Economically Disadvantaged (EDWOSB).
Full and Open Competition: No socio-economic set-aside, open to any responsible offeror regardless of size or ownership category.

Compliance Frameworks

CMMC: Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, DoD's tiered cybersecurity requirement (Levels 1-3) for contractors handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).
DFARS 252.204-7012: Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement clause requiring adequate security for covered defense information and incident reporting.
NIST SP 800-171: The control catalog CMMC Level 2 and DFARS 7012 compliance are built on, 110 controls for protecting CUI in non-federal systems.
SPRS: Supplier Performance Risk System, where contractors self-report their NIST 800-171 assessment score.
FAR 4.804: Federal Acquisition Regulation subpart governing contract closeout requirements and timelines.

Where Opportunity Data Comes From

SAM.gov: The System for Award Management, the primary federal contract opportunity posting system.
USASpending.gov: Historical federal award and spending data, useful for agency spending patterns and competitor research.
FPDS: Federal Procurement Data System, the official record of federal contract actions.
Grants.gov: Federal civilian grant opportunities, a different buyer motion than contracts but often relevant to the same organizations.
DIBBS: DLA Internet Bid Board System, Defense Logistics Agency solicitations, mostly supply-item procurements.
SBIR / STTR: Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer, federal R&D funding set aside for small businesses.

Common Terms

NAICS: North American Industry Classification System, the code system agencies use to classify what's being procured and to set small-business size standards.
PSC: Product Service Code, a finer-grained classification of the specific product or service being procured, used alongside NAICS.
IDIQ: Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity, a contract vehicle for an unspecified quantity of supplies or services within a fixed period.
BPA: Blanket Purchase Agreement, a simplified acquisition method for anticipated repetitive needs from a given source.
RFP / RFQ / RFI: Request for Proposal / Request for Quote / Request for Information, the three most common solicitation types, in roughly descending order of formality.
POA&M: Plan of Action and Milestones, the corrective-action tracking document required for security control gaps under several security frameworks.

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