How To Prepare a Business Plan for Government Contracting
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How To Prepare a Business Plan for Government Contracting

A well-written business plan is key to success in the competitive government contracting industry. It is a roadmap that outlines a contractor’s experience, capabilities and expertise as an ideal partner in fulfilling government objectives.

Learn the basics of a great business plan for government contracting.

 

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan is a comprehensive document that details the contractor’s objectives, strategies and financial projections. It serves as a manual for growth, helping organizations secure funding, attract investors and obtain new business opportunities. 

Having a business plan provides an organization with a method method to operate objectively, evaluate the feasibility of a new business idea and increase the probability of success in government contracting. 

 

Selecting the Right Format for a Business Plan for Government Contracting

Business people in the office workplace preparing a business plan
Photo by Yuri A/ Shutterstock

 

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to creating a business plan for government contracting. The ideal format depends on the type of business and its specific needs and goals. 

Two standard formats dominate the business planning process: traditional and lean startup.

 

Traditional Business Plan

A traditional business plan format must be very detailed to explain the contractor’s capabilities, past performance and compliance history. Government agencies consider these factors necessary in selecting the right contractor.

  • Widely used — The traditional business plan’s structured approach infuses detailed sections that account for all business components, making it best suited for a situation requiring thoroughness.
  • Detailed analysis — This business plan type executes a thorough analysis, where every section must be critically examined. It is particularly beneficial for contracts requiring a robust track record and complex project management.
  • Lengthy document — A traditional business plan is generally protracted, sometimes containing containing dozens after dozens of pages. This lengthy plan can prove advantageous when the level of information provided in the document increases the chances of winning a contract.
  • Specific use cases — A traditional business plan is well-suited for large-scale projects or high-security contracts, where the ability to deliver according to rigorous specifications is necessary.

 

Lean Startup Business Plan

A lean startup business plan involves quickly testing and validating business ideas. This approach is commonly used by startups and early-stage companies to create a strategic roadmap. It focuses on identifying and testing key assumptions about the market, ensuring that resources are used efficiently for agile adaptation based on market feedback.

For example, lean startup principles were utilized in the creation of healthcare.gov, which was launched within just 90 days and at a significantly lower cost than typical federal government projects of a similar nature.

  • Focus on essentials — A lean startup business plan prioritizes conciseness, emphasizing the most critical elements of the business strategy.
  • Efficient approach — This format streamlines the planning process by focusing only on crucial information, allowing for a more efficient document creation process.
  • Less common — While less prevalent than traditional plans, lean startups can be used by contractors seeking a concise and focused format. 

 

5 Helpful Tips for Preparing a Business Plan

Five people discussing business together
Photo by G-Stock Studio/ Shutterstock

 

1. Conduct Competitive Analysis and Market Research

Conducting market research and competitive analyses enables a contractor to identify specific targets and procurement needs of government agencies.

For example, contractors may need to analyze the contracts that the agency recently awarded to better understand the project scale, contract size and qualifications. With this information, they can tailor the business plan according to the agency’s requirements.

 

2. Showcase Capabilities and Accomplishments

A business plan must showcase a contractor’s capabilities and previous performance. It should detail the contractor’s contractor’s qualifications and expertise, focusing on certifications and industry recognitions that demonstrate the ability to deliver contract requirements within the given timeline and required budget.

This information can prove a business’ expertise and capabilities in handling the project and providing high-quality service.

 

3. Integrate Competitive Financial Analysis and Projections

Integrating competitive financial analysis and projections in a business plan can demonstrate a contractor’s ability to manage large government projects. The projected revenue, operating expenses and profit margins from the contract are recommended to be included in the study. 

Contractors seeking funding to acquire crucial systems and equipment must detail how these resources can enhance their ability to fulfill specific government contracts.

 

4. Ensure Compliance With Government Contracting Regulations

Government contracting comes with a unique set of compliance requirements and regulations. Compliance is vital to demonstrate a contractor’s commitment to ethical business practices and adherence to relevant laws. 

When drafting the business plan, outline quality assurance procedures and highlight the track record of meeting quality standards.

 

5. Follow IT Infrastructure Guidelines and Cybersecurity Measures

Depending on the type of contract, a contractor may be subject to some cybersecurity measures, security clearances and IT infrastructure guidelines.

The business plan should emphasize the contractor’s commitment to security awareness and employee security training to secure cybersecurity contracts. It should also highlight the ability to safeguard sensitive government data through firewalls, intrusion prevention systems and data encryption protocols. 

More importantly, the business plan must detail the contractor’s vulnerability management approach, incident response and disaster recovery for cybersecurity measures.

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DISA Releases Guidance to Securely Use Crunchy Data PostgreSQL Within DOD
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DISA Releases Guidance to Securely Use Crunchy Data PostgreSQL Within DOD

The Defense Information Systems Agency has published security guidance for using the Crunchy Data PostgreSQL versions 13 to 16 within the Department of Defense to ensure information systems and software are protected from cyberattacks.

The latest security technical implementation guide, or STIG, provides PostgreSQL configuration guidance to address security requirements for auditing, logging, data encryption at rest, data encryption over the wire, access controls, administration, authentication and SQL injection protection, Crunchy Data said Tuesday.

PostgreSQL is an open source object-relational database system that allows programmers to communicate with the database servers using objects in their code and define complex custom data types, according to Amazon Web Services.

While the document is created for PostgreSQL deployments within the DOD, the STIG also applies to other organizations outside the federal government.

DISA has been releasing STIGs since 1998 to provide configuration standards that contribute to enhancing the security posture of the DOD’s information assurance systems.

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Stephane Bouatene Named Deputy Director for Cyber & Enterprise Operations at NGA’s Open IT Solutions Office
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Stephane Bouatene Named Deputy Director for Cyber & Enterprise Operations at NGA’s Open IT Solutions Office

Stephane Bouatene, a senior information technology professional who has been with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for nearly a decade, was named deputy director for cyber and enterprise operations within the Open IT Solutions Office at NGA, according to his LinkedIn post.

Bouatene most recently served as enterprise capabilities division chief, responsible for providing strategic oversight for the implementation and delivery of services and capabilities in support of the NGA enterprise.

His career at the agency also covered time as cybersecurity program manager, Geospatial-Intelligence Access and Information Sharing program manager, chief of the enterprise capabilities and services branch and deputy chief of the transport and cyber services division.

Prior to joining the NGA, Bouatene worked as a cybersecurity lead at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, where he spearheaded all cybersecurity efforts for Forge.mil, a Defense Information Systems Agency program.

He also previously served at SAIC, Lockheed Martin and EchoStar.

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CISA, Partners Issue New Guidance to Help Organizations Reduce Memory Safety Vulnerabilities
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CISA, Partners Issue New Guidance to Help Organizations Reduce Memory Safety Vulnerabilities

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has published new guidance to support organizations’ efforts to address memory safety risks in open-source software, or OSS, projects.

Titled “Exploring Memory Safety in Critical Open Source Projects,” the document is created to also help software manufacturers formulate road maps and plans to address memory safety in external dependencies, which typically include OSS, CISA said Wednesday.

The guide is in line with the 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy in its aim to invest in memory-safe programming languages and work with the open-source community in establishing an interagency Open Source Software Security Initiative.

Co-developed with the FBI, the Australian Cyber Security Centre and the Canadian Cyber Security Center, the guidance builds on “The Case for Memory Safe Road Maps” publication, which reported in December 2023 that memory safety vulnerabilities are among the most prevalent types of software security problems.

The new cybersecurity guidance contains methodologies and results that organizations and software manufacturers must study to help them reduce memory safety vulnerabilities and make secure and informed choices.

The publication will also enable organizations to better understand the memory-unsafety risk in OSS and assess strategies to reduce such threat.

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Karyn Runstrom Appointed DLA Chief of Staff
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Karyn Runstrom Appointed DLA Chief of Staff

Karyn Runstrom, deputy chief information officer at the Defense Logistics Agency, has been named as the new chief of staff at DLA.

In this capacity, she will lead DLA staff operations in enterprise integration, strategic planning, legislative affairs, installation management, organizational governance and strategic communications, DLA said Wednesday.

Runstrom will oversee teams related to small business programs, intelligence, protocol, inspector general, equal employment opportunity, public affairs, and the director’s staff group.

Since April, she has been serving as acting chief of staff of DLA following the retirement of Eric Smith from the role.

“Ms. Runstrom has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the DLA mission, having served as deputy director, DLA Information Operations, since August 2019, as well as multiple other roles in her career with DLA,” Army Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly, the agency’s director, wrote in an email to senior leaders.

Her career at DLA included time as deputy executive director for the logistics, policy and strategic programs directorate within DLA Logistics Operations, program manager of the agency’s Planning Improvement Effort and retail integration branch chief.

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AWS Launches $50M Program to Boost Generative AI Use in Government
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AWS Launches $50M Program to Boost Generative AI Use in Government

Amazon Web Services has launched the $50 million AWS Public Sector Generative Artificial Intelligence Impact Initiative to support projects that enhance the use of generative AI in critical government missions.

Dave Levy, vice president of worldwide public sector at AWS and a five-time Wash100 awardee, wrote in an article published Wednesday the company will offer AWS promotional credits, trainings, technical support and networking opportunities through the effort.

Participants willl leverage AWS generative AI services and infrastructure such as Amazon Bedrock, Amazon Q, Amazon SageMaker, AWS HealthScribe, AWS Trainium and AWS Inferentia for their projects.

Running from June 26, 2024 through June 30, 2026, the initiative is open to new and existing AWS Worldwide Public Sector clients and partners globally.

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NIST Solicits Comments on Draft Implementation Roadmap for National Standards Strategy for Critical & Emerging Tech
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NIST Solicits Comments on Draft Implementation Roadmap for National Standards Strategy for Critical & Emerging Tech

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking public comments on a draft roadmap for the implementation of the U.S. government’s National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology.

NIST said Wednesday the draft implementation roadmap establishes outcomes and actions for the government to boost investments in pre-standards development efforts related to critical and emerging technologies, or CETs.

The roadmap also seeks to expand CET standards participation, build up a CET standards-savvy workforce and ensure integrity and inclusivity in the development of CET standards.

The document lists eight lines of effort to meet such objectives and seven actions for sustained implementation outcomes.

Those actions include increasing investment in CET research and development and standardization to sustain U.S. technical leadership; strengthening support for federal programs to remove barriers and promote U.S. stakeholder participation in international standards development; and expanding communication, information-sharing and other cooperative efforts between the U.S. government and private sector.

Comments are due July 12.

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DOE’s CIO Office Unveils Reference Guide for Generative AI
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DOE’s CIO Office Unveils Reference Guide for Generative AI

The Department of Energy’s Office of the Chief Information Officer has released the second version of DOE’s Generative Artificial Intelligence Reference Guide.

DOE said the document offers an overview of the key benefits, risks, best practices and considerations associated with the responsible development, use and implementation of generative AI tools.

The reference guide provides a background on generative AI and cites opportunities to apply the technology, including key applications for text, speech, code and image or video.

For text, the use cases cited in the document are summarizing documents, inferring reference, translating language and writing emails.

The guide’s operationalization section provides foundational knowledge of three key concepts surrounding generative AI technology: organizational roles, public versus protected data and service models.

The document outlines generative AI-related best practices that are classified into people, organization and technology categories.

Under the tech category, best practices include providing a safe space for experimentation, exercising data minimization best practices when collecting data for a system and considering using synthetic data to mitigate risks surrounding privacy, data integrity and insufficient data.

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David Cattler Vows to Revamp Government Background Checking System
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David Cattler Vows to Revamp Government Background Checking System

David Cattler, director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, aims to ensure that National Background Education Services works to its full potential after initially not reaching its effectiveness goals.

NBIS is an information technology system meant to modernize the background investigation process. However, since DCSA took over the system in 2020, they have struggled to get it up and running, the Department of Defense said Thursday.

Cattler, who has served as DCSA director for just over 90 days, declared his commitment to NBIS’ progress on Wednesday to members of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee’s subcommittee on government operations and the federal workforce.

“Simply and directly, the delay in fielding NBIS is unacceptable to everyone,” Cattler said. “Oversight from GAO [Government Accountability Office] and Congress are important parts of this ecosystem of accountability. As we move forward, we will be guided by what is in the best interest of national security and what is in the best interest of the taxpayer.”

The system is expected to be a vital component of the Trusted Workforce 2.0 initiative, often referred to as TW 2.0, which aims to build a single personnel security vetting system for the federal government.

Cattler said, “When complete, NBIS will deliver robust data security, enhanced customer experience and integrate data access across the whole-of-government and cleared industry.”

In numerous reports, the GAO outlined areas DCSA needs to improve to move forward with NBIS.

“Even before I became DCSA’s director, I closely studied these reports and noted GAO’s concerns,” Cattler stated. “These recommendations do guide my focus and my direction as the director of DCSA. I have directed that we renew our focus on these recommendations, and we close the action items presented within them as soon as we can.”

Over the next 18 months, DCSA will prioritize five actions to push delivery of NBIS — modernizing and migrating NBIS applications; aligning acquisition and development actions; adapting the NBIS workforce; aligning program cost and service pricing and strengthening cybersecurity protections.

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GSA Raising VETS 2 Ceiling to $6.1B
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GSA Raising VETS 2 Ceiling to $6.1B

The General Services Administration is increasing the ceiling of the Veterans Technology Services 2 governmentwide acquisition contract from $5 billion to $6.1 billion, a move that will bring about multiple benefits, according to Laura Stanton, assistant commissioner at the Federal Acquisition Service’s Office of Information Technology Category.

The ceiling increase will ensure that VETS 2 remains available to federal agencies as they work to achieve the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business participation goal of 5 percent, as established by the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, Stanton said Wednesday on her GSA blog.

The timing of the ceiling increase will also ensure that disruptions to the use of the contract will be avoided. The increase was announced even before the current ceiling is reached. Projections show that 80 percent of the current ceiling will be reached within the fiscal year.

The increase is also expected to provide SDVOSBs the opportunity to join federal IT procurements, supporting the goal of the administration to foster diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.

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